Just Watched "Bayou Classic" on Viceland

Just watched it and. it was GREAT ..(heres a link to it)

I can recall watching the Bayou Classic on TV as a kid and being loosely inspired to marching in band...in my mind they were like John McDonogh's band but better(speaking from an 8 year in 1993 old stand point) ..

It was the only time I was able to see a college band on TV, or hear about a college that wasn't a PWI.. Didn't have a clue what HBCU meant, didn't know what the SWAC was either. To my knowledge they schools just were simply not in the same "League" as the Big 10 or SEC which was on TV Season..

The most exciting thing was that bands played music that was on the radio or songs ya momma made ya listen too, and no "Hey Baby" or "Hang On Sloopy" .. lol .. we used to get in heated arguments in middle school about who won the Battle, even though not many of us had attended a battle nor were aware that there was a BOTB, we had based our opinions off of random stuff like ( who had the better halftime, who had the prettiest dancers.) All this was between 3rd and 9th grade. Otherwise I hadn't known any other Black Colleges prior to High School School... They were a major influence on my band career, Mimicking the styles and looks of both bands while in middle school ultimately going off to high school and eventually marching in high school. That all didn't come easy for me though. A lower back "injury" during that time caused me to to retire with no collegiate desire, Although I Did march in the Band at Texas Southern University.. My band career wsa technically over.. I had already been in a number of years covering college bands from the Sideline, and I still do it today..

.. All that to say, The Classic played a Major Role in my Band Career.. I wouldn't have known of it if i wasn't exposed to it... I'm just glad I'm one of the guys who get Inside Access now days.. It's a privilege. - Book