The Best Of John's Journal From 2020-21/ No. 9: Without Bands, The Sound Of Silence

Here is the second installment in the countdown of my personal favorite Top 10 John's Journal stories from the 2020-21 school year. This story seemed to resonate because we all noticed the lack of pep bands at events throughout the year.

I wrote this story during the state girls and boys basketball tournaments at Target Center. Being in the big arena is always special, but with limited spectators, no student sections and no bands, it didn't feel quite right.

Here's the opening paragraph: Crazy Train, Seven Nation Army, Firework, 25 or 6 to 4, Uptown Funk, Final Countdown, Gangnam Style, Hey Baby, The Horse. Name a popular pep band song and try to remember how it sounds. Because most of us haven’t listened to a live pep band, marching band or school orchestra for more than a year.   

Another excerpt: Tim Gleason, a band director and head girls basketball coach at Winona High School, said, “We’re mindful of everything we’ve lost; I miss what we used to have. Even watching the NCAA tournaments, we’re so used to watching on TV and seeing the bands. Bands are so much a part of those experiences. When you think Grand Rapids or Farmington, part of what you think about is the band. That’s part of our culture, part of our school environments.”

Click here to read the story: https://www.mshsl.org/about/news/johns-journal/johns-journal-without-ba…