I hear ya, but it sounds like the "student side" is now going to be the "student endzone". I think they're going to move as many of the students to the SEZ with you as they can fit. I'm sorry the band is moving, but I think it is for the overall good - more of the stadium will be able to hear you, I think you'll have a better opportunity to influence the game by being the only real source of sound coming from the SEZ, which is the only current weak spot soundwise now that the NEZ is complete. I understand there are some negatives, but on the whole I think this is a good thing.
I was in the band for 4 years (2003 - 2006 seasons), and I do agree that for all the hard work they put in, they deserve something in return. I do however, believe that it is also the duty of the Band to be the loudest section in the stadium and to be heard by all. For that to happen, their old location just didn't cut it (half the stadium not being able to hear the band kinda sucks...) I would probably be somewhat pissed, but then I'd realize that I wasn't in the band just to go to the games, but to be a part of the game day experience. Being in the SEZ will certainly help that. There are definitely those in the band who feel they are entitled to great seats and all, but sometimes people lose touch of what they're really there for. What's the point of being there to play The Eyes when only half the stadium can hear? (although by the time the blue-hairs have left, the East site gets a pretty good reflection...) You can have a blast with your friends in the band in the South End Zone, or you can complain about it and be grumpy. If you're doing the second, I'd recommend you take advantage of your student ticket offer. For me, it was the friends, the experiences, the two Rose Bowls, a national title, and a very special someone in my life who made that time worthwhile, not just the seats. So for those in the band who feel they're getting the shaft, there's no doubt you are, but then again, consider why you put on the fringe, and why you're in the Longhorn Band. If it's just for seats, you're doing waaay too much work. Think of how many more people will be able to hear the band now and how intimidating the South End Zone is going to be. There's no doubt that members of the Longhorn Band deserve better than they get, and there's no doubt that most (if not all) of them are better fans than the drunk frat boys / sorority chicks who leave early or the blue-hairs / yuppies who sit quietly the whole game and also leave early. Other people may feel their money entitles them to more (and as far as the athletic department is concerned, it does), but they shouldn't forget that people like the members of the Longhorn Band, Pom, Cheer, and many others actually put their time, sweat and sometimes even their blood on the line to make the UT gameday experience what it is. The least that other people can do is show some gratitude. There is certainly no lack of it here, and it is always good to see people who appreciate the Longhorn Band. As far as this move goes, I doubt it's about money at all. The seats are still going to be student tickets that they could've sold for the same price in the SEZ anyway. Lets not kid ourselves, DKR is going to be rockin' like a ************ when piggies come to town. (I'd like to say it'd be rockin' on the 30th of August, but hopefully I'll be pleasantly disappointed.)
My ideal seating setup: Band in NEZ, in actual stands. Most of stadium gets to hear them (maybe not NEZ upper deck). With the rest of the students. Students occupying almost half of NEZ, adding a crapload of noise in the place where the least will escape. Reaches just close enough to the 50 to yell at the opposing bench, but not so far that high-paying season ticket holders go into cardiac arrest. Students for the most part stay in the same area and aren't broken up across the stadium, making the student section unified and hopefully raucous, similar to Penn State's: Link Visitors are away from NEZ and in locations where their sound will escape easily. Also, they're broken up and hopefully can't get too much noise going. Won't be a student anymore in a week, so this really isn't self-serving. I just have this quaint little notion that students are deserving of halfway decent seats, money isn't everything, and the loudest fans should be put where they'll make the biggest difference. Sorry band, but you'll make a bigger difference and be more appreciated in the SEZ. My vote would be the NEZ though.
blue: i like your model -- save for he fact that you have students in the 2K per seat club seats and $750 per seat chairbacks... prolly not gonna happen.
Blue, I've been saying we should put visitors band in Section 32, so thanks for that picture. but I'd split the visitor fans in sections 101 and 109, upper part. Aggy puts our band in that respective section at kyle. I like the band in the SEZ rather than where they were, but I'd rather it be in the NEZ. I believe UT students should be together and next to the band.
Texas_Jeff, Yes those two bands don't sit in the endzone..... but there are many others that do. And of course LHB will remain during the entire game... thats because they are required too. Trust me if members in LHB had a choice many of them would leave in the middle of a blowout just like most of our other fans. You should really see LHB mob (and I really do mean mob) the front doors of the band hall after they march back from DKR after a game. You know, being in LHB for these past couple of years I never took for granted all the special "perks" we had. Those band people that are now complaining about this seating move I feel are just being a little too selfish when it comes to what they expect from being in LHB, or just in a college marching band. Compared to other college marching bands, LHB has it easy. We get to reherse in an air conditoned bubble at night while others rehersal outside during the afternoon and early morning. We get to rehersal just 6 hours a week while many others sometimes go above 10. AND... we actully pride ourselves for being an actual unique "college marching band" rather than a typical "high school band" complete with feathered plumes, capes, and a pit. I agree though that the seats that LHB has in DKR aren't "free". We "pay" for those seats through hell week and many other hours of hard practice. But there is no point for all of those long hard hours if our main audience can't even hear us in the first place. Just appriciate everything that we DO have with being in LHB and never take those for granted.
I sent an email to ole Deloss a year or so back about this fully realizing my opinion meant nothing. I guess my opinion was heard, or more realistically, we just shared the same opinion.
I'm also glad that everyone will be able to hear the LHB. I was also in the band when I was a student, so I can attest that their old seats are good seats. What some band members don't realize, however, is that not everyone in the stadium can hear them- especially the east side upper deck. When they're playing, all they hear is other instruments playing directly around them, so of course they think EVERYONE can hear them. I think the gameday atmosphere will only improve with this move, and maybe we can all actually clap/sing to the same beat of "Texas Fight" and "The Eyes". How many of you have heard fans clapping/singing to 2 or more different tempos because we couldn't hear the band? (ie, one section of fans is yelling "give 'em hell, give 'em hell" while a neighboring section is slightly ahead the beat and yelling, "OU sucks!") With all this said, I will miss the band sitting in their usual spot. I sit in the north endzone lower deck (section 17), and so now the band won't be as close. Anyone else in the north endzone or west side sections right in front of the band that'll miss their loud up-close sound? Nevertheless, I know I'll still be able to hear them. I also sit in the Texas endzone in the Cotton Bowl, and I know I can hear that awful-sounding OU band, so I know I'll definitely hear the LHB in DKR. I do wonder where they'll sit the Alumni Band for the Rice game? Will they seat us in our usual seats on the east side near the south endzone (Section 31 and 32)? If so, it should be interesting having the Alumni Band sit so close to the LHB. Can you imagine 900-1,000 band members sitting in the same vicinity?! Both endzones will really be rocking that day! Overall, this is a good move. HOOK 'EM HORNS!
I don't think moving the band is necessarily the issue, I think most people in the band would be fine with a move to the NEZ. Putting LHB where the current visitors section is, or atleast in the opposite corner right next to the students. The diagram that someone earlier in the thread made that had LHB right next to the students and splitting up the visitors is better than moving LHB to the SEZ. That's just my opinion, and am not against a move, but think it's silly that the opposing band will have much better seats than LHB, because when LHB travels, we get shunted off to either the some little corner (aggy and baylor) or are right behind the endzone (cotton bowl and tech).
So you guys like the idea of moving the band to the SEZ where you can supposedly "hear" them better, yet the same people don't even care about their halftime performances enough to stick around and watch and listen ... awesome. The move sucks. Two thumbs down
I agree that as a LHB member, the seats won't be as good as before. But I still think it'll have a very positive effect on the atmosphere. If the idea is to maximize that number of people who will be able to enjoy their contributions, the SEZ is the most logical place. Just look at the requirements... we know LHB must be in the front part of a lower deck section to have access to get there from the pregame and to and from during halftime. Second, to hear them clearly, someone in the crowd would need to be either in front of or potentially even alongside LHB. With those premises, any other location in the entire stadium besides the SEZ would have an upper deck and a large part of a lower deck behind them. If it makes any band members feel better, they can think of the entire rest of the stadium as a 'U' shaped concert hall around their SEZ stage.
I love our band, and I love the fact that EVERYONE can hear them if they are in the SEZ. That is the only place that makes logical sense from that standpoint.
This is fabulous. We can actually hear the band on all sides of the stadium. That is, assuming they don't add even more nauseating commercials and **** over the PA and eliminate even more of the band's time.
I never realized the band nerds were so angry. I thought the reason you guys played in the university band was so that you could continue doing what you loved in college, just like the football players, cheerleaders and pom squad. I didn't realize you did it just for the primo seats.
I'm not sure of the original source but I heard that the visiting band was going to move to section 32 and that the visiting fans would be spread around the stadium. I find it interesting that they would put both bands so close together. Regarding Tech and aggy, isn't there a rule that the band can't be within the 20 yard lines? Something about harassing the visiting team? If the SEZ will have restrooms and concessions, that's a hell of a lot better than we had in 2006. There was one water stand that always ran out of water and a row of porta-potties that were always full. No food, no sodas, no sinks.
Well, from an acoustic engineering standpoint, the NEZ would serve just as well as the SEZ in bouncing sound around the stadium and allowing more people to hear the band. As a former LHB member and current LHAB member, I know that is important to be heard. I think the NEZ would allow for a better atmosphere since it is actually closer to the field, making the NEZ a difficult place to score for visiting teams. Visiting teams should be split up and the visiting band would be better to be in the south section in the corner. This would definitely allow for a strong homefield advantage. All-in-all I agree with moving the band. But they need to stay near the students, and remove the visiting teams from getting any advantage whatsoever. I am curious to know where I'll be with LHAB though...
