# Best College Marching Band? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778 "2004-11-14T22:54:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/1 "2004-11-14T22:54:41Z")
What is the best college marching band? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/2 "2004-11-15T00:17:36Z")
The University of Wisconsin. Or maybe Spellman. Of course, I know nothing about bands. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/3 "2004-11-15T00:59:47Z")
If we are to believe the movie _Drumline_, Morris Brown has the best marching band. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/4 "2004-11-15T01:07:45Z")
Best? I’m from Ohio, so I say Ohio State has the best and the U of Michigan has the worst, but I may be just a wee bit biased. My favorite though is Notre Dame, but it is more a preference for the Victory March fight song. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/5 "2004-11-15T01:37:46Z")
Grambling. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/6 "2004-11-15T01:59:23Z")
The [Yale](http://www.yale.edu/yaleband/ypmb/faq/index.html) “Precision” Marching Band. ---
**Author:** ![Leonard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@Leonard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leonard)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/7 "2004-11-15T02:04:02Z")
I’ve mostly only seen Texas college bands. I like the odd balls. Rice University (“The Mob”) and Texas A&M (old school military style marching) are my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/8 "2004-11-15T02:14:34Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Best? I’m from Ohio, so I say Ohio State has the best and the U of Michigan has the worst, but I may be just a wee bit biased. My favorite though is Notre Dame, but it is more a preference for the Victory March fight song. Huh, and here I was thinking that the OSU marching band wasn’t a patch on even my middle school marching band, so in comparison to the Michigan band it’s like Boone’s Farm to a 1787 Chateau Lafite. But I suppose as a Michigan alumnus I might be a teensy weensy bit subjective here. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/9 "2004-11-15T02:16:45Z")
I hate to double-post, but I should say that the aformentioned bottle of wine would have to be, of course, the one owned by Thomas Jefferson. As for actually drinkable, it’d be a Montrachet 1978 from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/10 "2004-11-15T02:37:59Z")
Finally, a place where I can push my agenda that [SDMB](http://www.asuband.org/) doesn’t _really_ stand for Straight Dope Message Board. 😃 Disclaimer: the above named marching band is the only one I’ve ever paid any attention to, so the ASU band is certainly the best of all I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/11 "2004-11-15T02:55:01Z")
[Stanford.](http://www.stanford.edu/group/lsjumb/home.html) “A new low in tasteless behavior.” – Bob Shapiro, UCLA alum, 1994 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/12 "2004-11-15T15:04:34Z")
[Ohio State’s](http://tbdbitl.osu.edu/) is even \*called \* The Best Damn Band In The Land. Would a Buckeye lie to you? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/13 "2004-11-15T15:14:18Z")
I second Stanford. Do they still hitchhike to all the away games? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/14 "2004-11-15T15:47:09Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Ohio State’s](http://tbdbitl.osu.edu/) is even \*called \* The Best Damn Band In The Land. Would a Buckeye lie to you? We’ll have to ask Maurice Claurett about that one. I’ve always heard that FAMU is very good. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/15 "2004-11-15T15:48:18Z")
My man **Lamar** ’s got it right in one - the Badgers have the best band, bar none. Snicks, UW Grad 2000. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/16 "2004-11-15T15:51:22Z")
> [@UncleBill](#): > > Grambling. [Ditto.](http://www.gram.edu/Student%20Organizations/Band/) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/17 "2004-11-15T16:56:23Z")
Based on personal observation of all the Big Ten bands, I’d have to rate them by class: Military type bands: Well, Michigan State with my alumni bias. No glitz, no tits, just march and play. Party bands: Wisconsin. No matter what the score, play the Budweiser song and party on. Northwestern is a lot of fun too. Spectacle: Purdue far and away. The big drum. The Golddusters, Silver Twins, Lady in Black and of course the Golden Girl. The Illini band is a great spectacle too. And I still can’t figure out where Chief Illiniwek comes from. Overall, I like Purdue the best. Outside the Big Ten, it’s really hard for me to judge since TV coverage never shows the band. ---
**Author:** ![Stringer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Stringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringer)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/18 "2004-11-15T17:07:15Z")
The best band I’ve seen was this year when Florida A&M’s Marching 100 played at my alma mater, Illinois. They’re the band the movie Drumline is based on. They were fun, spirited, and creative, even though their football team got crushed they were still dancing around. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/19 "2004-11-15T17:36:34Z")
West Virginia University’s Marching Band has apparently won several national awards; they’re also quite impressive to watch. I’ll nominate them. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778/20 "2004-11-15T17:46:32Z")
WAHOOO! The UVa Pep Band, of course. So disrepectful that the governor of an adjoining state had the gall to demand an apology for how the citizens of his fair dominion were treated. The administration finally pulled the plug and formed a “real” marching band. I haven’t been to a game since. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-college-marching-band/274778.md?page=2)