Lack of respect between school squads: Poor judgment shown by members of the band toward football

On Sept. 16, the bleachers were full and the football team was trailing 28-0 in a tough game against San Benito. The players were tired and frustrated. During the game, some players heard a couple of band members behind their bench cracking jokes about their ill-fated athletic performance.

The band members’ jokes irritated the players, forcing the coaches to intervene and talk to music department chair Michael Boitz. He told band members about their legacy and to not forget that the band has struggled in the past and how other schools made fun of them. He explained how because of this, they shouldn’t do the same to others—something he should not have had to say in the first place.

The football team has struggled in recent years. Although they haven’t had a winning season since 2007 they’ve consistently posted a record at or around 500.

Conversely, the band has been doing well in competitions, even earning the honor of marching with 10 other bands in the 2012 Macy’s Day Parade next Thanksgiving.

Despite the success of the band and the struggles of the football team, there should be mutual respect between these two school groups and both should be squads of which the school can be proud.

Football is one of the most visibly revered sports to students. Whether it’s girls wearing players’ jerseys on football Fridays or students stepping around on the falcon in the quad on game days, the school has carved deep traditions around the football team.

The band has been impressive in recent years and now more and more people are joining.
Because of this, both groups should be respected by all students—and perhaps more importantly, by each other.

Students have more class than what was shown in this situation. By showing this poor judgment, the students have tarnished the name of the band and have disgruntled the football team. Everyone makes mistakes but learning from these lapses is essential.

Other rivalries

Some other rivalries between groups are Key Club vs. Interact Club, newspaper vs. yearbook, and now even the sophomore class vs. the rest of the school.

These groups are enemies because they compete for similar causes. Key and Interact are similar clubs that compete for students to sign up during club days.

Newspaper and yearbook are school publications that sometimes compete for the rights to a story or a photo.

With their disqualification, the sophomore class have become the figure of many quad day jokes.

Regardless of the group or the origin of the rivalry, all groups are part of the school. Even with the competitiveness of students, they should not disrespect or belittle their enemy. All competitions should ultimately be friendly.