The MSU Golden Thunder and Javelina Marching Bands celebrate Veterans Day, Nov. 11. (Cecil Witherspoon)

I don’t believe that the Kingsville band had malicious intent when they played over MSU’s alma mater.

Before I get ahead of myself, I want to say that the Kingsville band is a very talented group of people. They have a beautiful sound and some really fun stand tunes, and I’m extremely grateful that they came to play with us for our Veteran’s day tribute. Without them, I don’t think our half-time performance would have been as fun, or would have sounded as full and beautiful as it did. They did an amazing job; however, no matter how well they played, that doesn’t change the fact that they played over our alma mater on Senior Night.

There’s a certain decorum most bands follow and in general, playing over someone else’s fight song or alma mater is frowned upon. Especially at the end of the game. It would have been one thing if it was a freak accident and both bands began playing their alma mater at the same time. It would have been one thing if the Golden Thunder Marching Band had started playing the alma mater after the Kingsville Marching Band had started theirs. The fact of the matter is, Kingsville’s band played their alma mater with little regard to the MSU band. 

The MSU Golden Thunder and Javelina Marching Bands take turns playing the halftime show, Nov. 11. (Cecil Witherspoon)

Though some may argue that the opposing band hadn’t heard MSU’s band when they started, I would argue that they just weren’t listening. With over 280 members in their band, I find it hard to believe that not a single one heard the Golden Thunder Marching Band and didn’t speak up about it. I understand that they had to make sure they played their alma mater before they left, but it’s incredibly frustrating that they couldn’t have given the Golden Thunder two minutes to finish playing.

Though what happened was incredibly frustrating, it’s easy to forget that mistakes happen. I don’t believe that what Kingsville did was inherently malicious, just badly timed. At the end of the day, the Kingsville band drove over 12 hours to come perform at half-time with the Golden Thunder Marching band when they could have easily chosen any other band to perform with. Despite the fiasco that was the end of the game, I’m still grateful for the energy and sound they brought to the halftime show.