Gosh, there have been a LOT of football games on TV today!

Did anyone happen to catch the halftime "show" at the Rose Bowl? Gosh, it was a hoot! Two absolutely different bands there! And, IMHO, both were silly!

The Wisconsin band was in the old Big Ten style, with the dumb uniforms and "prancing" style of marching, complete with side to side instrument movements. It was horrible.

Then, the Stanford band came out .. sort of an 'alternative band' approach. Really dumb and insulting. They appeared to be on drugs. It was even worse than the Wisconsin band.

No Dave I didn't see the halftime show,caught some of the parade on TV.One band had basically the same uniforms the
Cavaliers wear but a different color.I had to look twice when I seen them-----very interesting.

What did you do in the Corps? French Horn

What years were you a Corps member? 1957 thru 1963

Both of those bands are terrible, but I really can't stand Stanford; at least Wisconsin is respectful of the medium, even if they aren't very good. Yes, the Big 10 style looks very dated by now, but they aren't the only ones still doing it (Michigan, Ohio State, both of them much better).

And both the Wisconsin and Stanford bands have been banned (no pun intended) from performing or traveling in the past - Stanford for inappropriate performances and Wisconsin for apparently having sex parties on the busses and in the hotels at away games. Good thing the NCAA wasn't paying attention to the Bridgemen - they would never have gotten out of Bayonne!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

The Leland Stanford Junior University Band is not the typical college band. They operate separately from the University music department and membership is much broader. I noted a trombone player who must have been over 60 (white beard). They also had at least one drummer wearing a "cheese head." They are a change from the other schools. I like the half time shows they've done in the past--"The White Bronco" (a tribute to OJ Simpson USC's most famous alumni back in the 90s), "These Irish, Why Must They Fight" (Notre Dame at Stanford home game--they are banned from Notre Dame stadium after their Drum Major dressed as a nun for a game in South Bend) and the famous "Spotted Owl" show at Oregon (the Governor of Oregon actually banned them from the state). The "Spotted Owl" show is somewhere out on U-tube. Seem to recollect they formed a chainsaw during the production.

Don't know if the Stanford band uses drugs but their traditional pre-game meal is Beer and Donuts and they've been known to drink during games. About 25 years ago they had a incident due to drinking a lot of beer during the game. When they went on the field after the Cal game a couple of members relieved themselves on the field. The band was not allowed to perform at all the next season and had to redo their by-laws and operation. I think they've cleaned up their act a bit since Stanford has become a football power. Although the band was at the the Orange Bowl in 2011 the officials did not allow the band to do a half time show.

Only college band similar to Stanford is the Rice University Band. They aren't allowed at Texas A&M because in the mid-70s they did a half time show dressed in military uniforms (like Texas A&M) and started their show playing the "Aggie War Hymn" and marching at a goose step like the Nazi's. That happened at a game at Rice and the Rice Band had to be escorted from there own field by the Houston Police.

Actually though the Stanford Band is maybe most famous for one of their trombone players being run over by a Cal player scoring a touchdown on a kickoff return in the final seconds of a game. That is called "The Play" and you see it at least once or twice a year on ESPN or a telecast of the Cal-Stanford game.

There were a number of bands this year that looked like the present DCI corps. Most of the bands from "redneck" conferences like the SEC and ACC. Louisville, TCU and UCLA also have bands that look and sound more like corps than any of the others. I think TCU actually uses Contras instead of tubas and marching trombones instead of slide trombones.

Speaking of college football, except for Northwestern and Michigan State (The real University of Michigan) the rest of the Big Ten stunk up the bowl season. NU actually beat an SEC team.

My only comment on the pros football games is it is always nice to see the Packers lose (even if it knocked the Bears out of the playoffs) and the result was the 49ers got a first round bye--I guess I'm not longer a Chicago fan gave up on the Cubs in 2010 and now the Bears.

Hey John that Stanford band sounds a little like the Reilly Raiders,but the difference there is I don't think they were ever
banned from anything.Thanks John I got a good laugh from that.

What did you do in the Corps? French Horn

What years were you a Corps member? 1957 thru 1963

It's my understanding the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band has always been like that. Up until the mid-70s (long before I moved out here) the night before the annual Cal-Stanford Game ("The Big Game") there used to be a parade in San Francisco. One of my friends who went to Stanford at that time showed me a picture of the Stanford Band marching with a couple of dancers from the Condor Club as baton twiller's. That would be a good "can you top this" question for Reilly Raider's history.

I have heard many stories about Reilly, but they were gone before I came along.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob, I suspect that most of the stories you have heard about the Reilly Raiders are true! They were a unique drum corps and were a rough bunch.

The competitive corps folded in 1967 but the corps restarted in 1994 as a senior exhibition corps. You can go to their website (www.reillyraiders.org) and see their history. Pretty interesting. It is hard to describe the corps ... they were VERY good, innovative and entertaining.

if you want to see more about the Reilly Raiders, go to this website .. includes a lot of great pictures and history

http://www.osmondpostcadets.com/Reilly.htm