The Boys In The Band
When you say you were in a band most people see sweaty musicians, guitars and soulful groupies. That is, until they figure out the band was in high school and the genre was marching band. Playing in the band in high school was a calling. You absolutely had to be really into music to don a uniform that screamed “UNCOOL” and parade in front of the jocks, prom queens and cool kids. But if you did you probably were either great with music, which will come in handy for the rest of your life. Or you’re good with your hands, equally useful…especially if you end up being a surgeon or a great artist or have a regular gig…say on the Letterman show or with Emeril.
Did the boys (and girls) in the band get a rough deal? Probably not. You were surrounded with people just like you and you didn’t have to go to all the trouble of finding them. They were right there with a big “something high school ” on their chest. Bandies were usually the kids who could conform, were disciplined and had a higher purpose. Their parents usually left them alone. How much trouble could you get in with a trombone?
You had built in friends that you spent a lot of time with and you all looked alike. (A concept applauded in most schools today so that everyone starts off the same and the pesky rich kid can’t always have the coolest clothes.) And you’ve got to admit that school spirit and the cheerleaders were nothing without that band. So whether you were a lone drummer or a hip band worthy of Drumroll. Music made it happen.
Shake It Like A Polaroid Picture
If you compare high school to being in a Royal Kingdom then cheerleaders have to be the ladies-in-waiting. And they were waiting for it …and they expected it. This small pool of carefully selected women were the queens to be, the future girlfriends of the jocks and the girls who broke your heart or left you with permanent self esteem scars. They were glossy…they were bossy and they knew a thing or two about shaking their pompoms.
It may have been Game Night for the jocks…but it was center stage for the cheerleaders, and they knew it. They had the bouncy curls , the little-girl hair ribbons and the neatly pressed shorter-than-short pleated skirts. Nothing, however, could disguise the display of Lolita-esque hormones in the sanctity of the organized sport arena. Sort of like being a pole dancer without the guilt.. It was catnip for teenage boys.
Being a cheerleader now isn’t the same. Cheerleading is a sport…….it’s all about being a gymnast, a precision dancer, a perfectionist. Back-in-the-day it was about being popular,, being competitive in the social arena and being part of the privileged crowd. Short on skills…long on attitude. That’s why every teen movie shows the mean girls as cheerleaders.
I have to confess that I was a cheerleader all through high school. I took what was handed to me. Great jock boyfriends and the self confidence to take my rightful place on the school newspaper, the yearbook anything I wanted. I’ve had my share of successes and failures….but I never lack the courage to go for anything I want.
There’s a lot to be said for the mindless dancing tributes to high school athletes on a field or court surrounded by screaming fans. And when you’re chanting “we’ve got the fever…we’re hot…we can’t be stopped..”…..It was just way too easy to think it included you.
