List Of NFL Teams With Marching Bands

NFL Marching Bands List includes;

• Baltimore Ravens
• Washington Commanders

Baltimore’s Marching Ravens

Baltimore Ravens Marching Band is known as Baltimore’s Marching Ravens. The band consists of over 150 musicians and equipment operators.

It was founded on 7 Sept 1947 as the Baltimore Colts Marching Band. At the time of formation, the band was associated with Baltimore Colts.

Although the franchise ceased existence in 1950 and joined the list of NFL teams that no longer exist, the band continued to perform at different football games.

After a new franchise of Baltimore Colts was founded in 1953, the band became associated with the new franchise and continued performing with the NFL team until it moved to Indianapolis in 1984. The band stayed back in Baltimore and continued playing.

Since the relocation of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore forming the Baltimore Ravens in 1996, the marching band has associated itself with the team and presents a football atmosphere at their home ground every time their team is on the field.

The band is headed by the band’s president John Ziemann. In addition to playing during the game nights, Marching Ravens also play at parades and events throughout the offseason promoting the NFL team and the city of Baltimore.

Although the games are broadcasted typically for three hours, the day does not end for the band members for over 10 hours. They prepare for their performance nearly 5 hours before the game’s beginning.

They first rehearse for the day, change into their uniforms and pack their equipment, and head to the stadium. The next process involves lining up for the performance and the first performance for the day starts about an hour earlier than the kickoff.

Marching Ravens also play a two-bar riff after one offensive down and an eight-bar riff after two offensive down. They also play “The Baltimore Fight Song” after every field goal during the game.

In addition to the in-between performances, they play at half-time and 3rd quarter as well. They play the fight song one more time after the final whistle followed by a short concert as the fans leave the stadium and march towards their buses while playing music.

Washington Commanders Marching Band

Washington Redskins Marching Band is now known as Washington Commanders Marching Band. They replaced Redskins with Commanders between 2020 and 2022.

Commanders Marching Band is the oldest marching band in National Football League. The band was established in 1937 and has been playing continuously with only two years gap between 2020 and 2022.

Although still a huge band, the Commanders Marching Band is much smaller than Marching Ravens and only comprises 60 members playing multiple instruments during their performances.

The band typically rehearsed every Wednesday during the game season and additional rehearsals are called upon as per the requirement.

They do not just perform during the home games but also promote Washington Commanders by performing at parades and other events.

The band also plays Commander’s fight song Hail to the Commanders after every field goal in addition to the National Anthem before a home game, a halftime concert on the field, and other riffs and bars from the stands to uplift the player’s energy.

Washington Commanders Marching Band members are dressed in maroon tops and black bottoms. Golden accents run through the uniform from top to bottom in the form of buttons and lines.

Marching Band requires a time commitment and intense practice. Football is more physical but Marching Band requires longer practice.

Football and marching bands are two different things to make comparisons, football is a physical sport requiring great physical strength and marching band requires less physical strength as compared to football but requires attention to detail and concentration.

According to a Reddit user, Marching band is not necessarily harder than football but it is more time-consuming. He points out the time commitments required to perform as they act before the game, during the game, and even after the game during a typical gameday.

In addition to performing on gameday, they also have to rehearse before the game day and every once or twice a week. Furthermore, the band also performs at parades, concerts, and other events throughout the off-season and in between games.

Apart from the performance and skills required to produce melodies from the instruments, the band members are also required to coordinate with others at all times and march in perfect harmony.

They also require quite a bit of physical strength and some instruments can weigh up to 50 pounds and more. Furthermore, an instrument played using breath requires the player to hold quite a lot of breath in their lungs and not breathe for a long time as well.

On the other hand, football players have to be more physically active during their practice sessions which are mostly every day or on alternating days during the game season. They also need to show immense strength during the payoffs and games.

While they need to achieve the strength to improve their games, their time commitment can be way lesser than someone performing in a marching band. Unlike the band members, the footballer’s commitment on game day is usually over an hour or two from the actual playoff.

There is no denying that football and marching band are both hard sports to undertake and require a lifelong dedication of a master. However, they fall into completely different categories, and making a meaningful comparison to find out which one might be harder is difficult itself.

A marching band in NFL is a band associated with a football team to play their fight song and keep them motivated throughout the game.

Marching bands by definition are groups of musicians playing a wide range of brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments while marching for entertainment or competitive purposes.

However, in addition to the regular marching band duties, NFL-associated marching bands also represent the teams they are associated with and act as promotion ambassadors while performing outside of the game in parades, events, and competitions.

Moreover, NFL bands also perform the team’s chant or fight song while they score or gain victory during the game. They also play uplifting music and beats to keep the spirit of their team members. They also keep the fans entertained and excited throughout the game as well.

Marching Bands often wear uniforms that are inspired by the military. Baltimore’s Marching Ravens wear black and purple uniforms with the Ravens’ logo on the front while Washington Commanders’ Marching Band have maroon, black, and golden outfit.