# Ohio State's marching band tribute to video games **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162 "2012-10-09T01:56:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/1 "2012-10-09T01:56:55Z")
[This is pretty friggin’ awesome.](http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/the-best-marching-band-in-the-world-takes-on-video) ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/2 "2012-10-09T02:49:29Z")
I was at this game. We were all pretty much staring at the formations in slack-jawed amazement. The horse was flipping awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/3 "2012-10-09T03:02:38Z")
Wow! My son was in high school marching band and I know the detail and work that goes into a performance like that. Wow! ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/4 "2012-10-09T03:36:54Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > The horse was flipping awesome. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/5 "2012-10-09T16:40:46Z")
There’s about 5000 band directors at schools with “mustang” and “stallion” mascots now thinking “Geez, I wish my kids were talented…” ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/6 "2012-10-09T18:32:28Z")
How do you even coordinate that? How do they know what positions to get into, where to walk, and how fast to go with such perfect synchronization?? ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/7 "2012-10-09T18:50:55Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > How do you even coordinate that? How do they know what positions to get into, where to walk, and how fast to go with such perfect synchronization?? Hours and hours and hours and hours of practice. And someone at the top of the stands, radioing down instructions during those hours of practice. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/8 "2012-10-09T19:48:10Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Hours and hours and hours and hours of practice. And someone at the top of the stands, radioing down instructions during those hours of practice. This. I was in the marching band at my undergrad college. During football season we practiced 90 minutes every weekday in a parking lot that had been painted with yardlines, with the director on top of a scaffolding that was lashed to a lamppost, yelling at us through a headset/loudspeaker combo. On game day we squeezed in one more practice on the actual playing field early in the morning. It was a lot of work, and you basically had to memorize where you were going and when you had to be there. We weren’t a huge division 1 school though, so our band couldn’t afford to be choosy about its members; they pretty much took anyone who wanted to join, and the result was that we couldn’t pull off really complex formations or exhibit high levels of precision like the OSU band did in that video. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/9 "2012-10-09T20:22:39Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > I was at this game. We were all pretty much staring at the formations in slack-jawed amazement. The horse was flipping awesome. I agree. The way the horse galloped across the field was freakin’ unbelievable. Second for me was the Tetris game. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/10 "2012-10-09T20:43:59Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > This. I was in the marching band at my undergrad college. During football season we practiced 90 minutes every weekday in a parking lot that had been painted with yardlines, with the director on top of a scaffolding that was lashed to a lamppost, yelling at us through a headset/loudspeaker combo. On game day we squeezed in one more practice on the actual playing field early in the morning. It was a lot of work, and you basically had to memorize where you were going and when you had to be there. That sounds about the same for my ex-wife. Everyday after school she had band practice. Her school took state 3 years in a row. It was the first time any high school in Wisconsin had done that…then they did it again the following year. IIRC she was Drum Major two of those years. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/11 "2012-10-09T21:27:30Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > How do you even coordinate that? How do they know what positions to get into, where to walk, and how fast to go with such perfect synchronization?? From the band member prespective, you use distance from the hash marks on the field and the spacing between you and the person to either side of you to judge your position and counting the beats to get the timing from point A to point B. That is why when they are not playing the drum corps still drums out a cadence to time the steps to. It takes a lot of concentration and peripheral vision to pull of something like they did. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/12 "2012-10-09T21:35:09Z")
I’m at a low point, recovering from a pretty traumatic tummy bug, and when I saw the video I cried. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/13 "2012-10-09T21:43:50Z")
[University of Hawaii marching band](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MREKsMPUdcg) is worthing cking out in this 1.5 minute clip. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/14 "2012-10-10T00:47:22Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > How do you even coordinate that? How do they know what positions to get into, where to walk, and how fast to go with such perfect synchronization?? Every picture is mapped out - even some inbetween pictures are mapped out. Everyone has a number and a number of beats in which your number is supposed to move from your spot in picture X to picture Y. The idea behind it simple, actually. The hard parts are putting the pictures together in the first place, then everyone moving in the right direction at the right speed at the right time. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/15 "2012-10-10T01:21:20Z")
When I was in marching band we used little bean bags. We had a different colored set of bean bags placed in each “position” we were supposed to hit. We’d use the beanies for the first few days or maybe a week while we were learning a new program, and by then we were supposed to have our positions memorized. We were nowhere NEAR the level of that OSU marching band, however. WOW. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/16 "2012-10-10T02:01:59Z")
I’ve never heard of a trombone suicide, but [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f6zAycXcP0&feature=related) is kinda neat. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/17 "2012-10-10T02:12:52Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > [University of Hawaii marching band](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MREKsMPUdcg) is worthing cking out in this 1.5 minute clip. I loved that the kicker followed through after hitting the ball. Easy detail to miss in the planning. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/18 "2012-10-10T03:32:16Z")
The OP’s link isn’t working for me, says “this page has been blocked by the site administrator”. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/19 "2012-10-10T03:41:57Z")
I think I [found](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAzzbrFgcUw) it. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162/20 "2012-10-10T04:39:08Z")
That’s neat. Now do a barrel roll. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-states-marching-band-tribute-to-video-games/637162.md?page=2)