OPINIONS: Congratulations to the Red Raider band!

Not anymore!

The Madison County Red Raider Band has erupted onto the scene in fine fashion last weekend by grabbing the attention of others all over. The Raider Band proudly claimed the 2011 U.S. Scholastic Band Association’s National Championship in Allentown, Pa.

The Raider band has come a long way under the direction of director Nick Golding. Gone are the past days of using the halftime break to visit the restrooms or concessions for fans visiting Raider football games. Now we sit captured by an outstanding halftime performance by the Raider band. These same performances have captured the national championship for Golding and his marching Raiders that consists of somewhere around 99 members of very talented musicians and color guard.

There is perhaps more work involved in band performances than many even know about. It’s the long practices and learning formations not to mention new sounds and the working together of each individual member. It all comes together on Friday nights and it’s something we all get to enjoy.

It all takes me back to my middle school days many years ago. I joined the band for two years before opting out for sports. Little did I know how much practice and hard work would be involved. I took band at that time as an elective class, a class that I thought would be a breeze but later learned different. Long afternoons following school and practicing in the heat and some evenings of summer when it got so late-the lights had to be turned on at the practice fields. And this was just middle school band. I finally came to realize, after I found out I couldn’t march and play at the same time, that band was more than just an elective class and knew it was time for me to go back into sports, which was something I was much better at.

My niece is a Georgette dance girl this year at the University Of Georgia. I have been a few times to watch them practice their routines on Saturdays before games. They, along with the flag line, and majorettes are all on the practice fields as early as 7 a.m. working on the routine with the band. It’s amazing to see how it all comes together and even though I’m not a Georgia fan, I still enjoy and appreciate the hard work of just watching those three hours of practicing. The band and the different parts of each section and how it all comes together. Watching the director sitting atop of the platform yelling out instructions screaming “No, do it over!” and all the hard work they endure helps me appreciate what I once thought was just an “elective course” in middle school.

The Red Raider band’s road to the championship included a visit to Washington and the Arlington National Cemetery. They visited Ground Zero and remember those who lost their lives in the attacks of 9/11. The band took part in the Veteran’s Day Parade in New York on Friday before wrapping up the weekend with the competition in Allentown, Pa. The competition included 15 bands from all over the United States, but in the end it was the marching band from Madison County that captured the five-foot national championship trophy. That same piece of hardware accompanied the members as they arrived home in two charter buses on a Sunday afternoon. Awaiting their arrival were parents and fans holding banners of welcome home and congratulations for a job well done!

So keep your seats next season at Raider football games. Enjoy and appreciate the hard work and dedication of the Raider band. For me, it’s no longer an “elective” thing to do!

Add on to the trophy case at the high school because I have a feeling more trophies are still to come!

Dallas Bordon is the former sports editor of The Danielsville Monitor/Comer News and a regular columnist for The Madison County Journal.