Tag: Marching Bands

Report: NFL to drop honor guards, marching bands from field

NFL games in 2020 will not see honor guards and marching bands.

A lot of the pomp will be gone from NFL games this season, according to a report. The decision is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Per the report:

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the NFL plans to eliminate on-field military and police honor guards and marching bands this season, said sources.

Honor guards from the U.S. Military and federal, state and local police departments present the colors before the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Many NFL teams invite local high school marching bands to perform at halftime.

The NFL’s goal is to strictly limit the number of people on the field and sidelines who can potentially infect players and coaches with the coronavirus. While the NFL will also strictly limit the number of credentialed reporters and photographers, the number of medical personnel on the sideline will remain the same.

One other intriguing piece to the article suggests sideline reporters will expect to report from the empty stands and concourses above the playing field.

Watch N.C. A&T’s and Alcorn State’s dazzling Celebration Bowl halftime band performances

SO GOOD.

The North Carolina A&T Aggies had a commanding 24-10 halftime lead over Alcorn State in Saturday’s Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, thanks in large part to two 50-plus-yard touchdown passes from quarterback Kylil Carter. Should NC A&T win, it will be its third straight Celebration Bowl victory and second consecutive one over the Braves.

Early in the second quarter, Carter connected with wide receiver Elijah Bell for a 53-yard touchdown to get the Aggies on the board, giving them a 7-3 lead.

And after Alcorn State responded with a touchdown of its own, Carter struck again, this time finding wide receiver Zachary Leslie for a monster 59-yard touchdown play only a few minutes later.

But in addition to these huge bombs downfield, both teams’ bands stunned during their halftime performances. That’s hardly surprising, especially since N.C. A&T finished No. 1 in the ESPN/The Undefeated HBCU Band Rankings this season, and these performances are as much fun to watch as the game, if not more so.

And thanks to The Undefeated, we can watch them over and over. So here’s N.C. A&T’s Blue and Gold Marching Machine:

More about the band via The Undefeated:

N.C. A&T’s Blue and Gold Marching Machine, which was tops in the September rankings, ended the season No. 1 because of No. 2 ratings in auxiliaries and musicality, No. 3 in percussion, No. 5 in drum majors, No. 6 in drill and design in the cumulative rankings for the season. The Aggies were No. 2 in the preseason rankings and in October, and were never out of the top five during the season.

And here’s Alcorn State’s Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite:

At the time of this post, N.C. A&T had a 52-31 lead in the third quarter.

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