I think it's a bad idea to bad mouth the bands. I know ours works hard even with the small numbers and other students constantly mouthing at them. I can't read music, so I don't try to be in the band. Just because a kid is not an athlete doesn't mean their bad or anything. I know our three girls on flags have done like four or five different routines this year just to try to change the routine up a bit. The band spends hours doing the one routine only to hear all this griping. It's not fair. Those who are talking should play in the band or shut up. JUST MY OPINION as a student in the stands, but the game would be a lot more boring without the band playing in the stands and pep rallies would be TOTALLY lacking w/o the band. I say lay off the bands, they put up with enough as is. It's easy to be in a "cool" program like football not so easy to be a teenage in a "not cool" program.