Football games are massive events. It’s all about the game, but also not really. There’s the pre-game tail-gate where people get rowdy in the parking lot, drinking beer and barbecuing burgers. Then inside the stadium, you’ve got all the pageantry from the cheerleaders to the national anthem, and when it comes to high school and college football, the marching bands, too.
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Those marching bands bring a wonderfully exciting atmosphere to a football game, and they’re a crucial part of the experience at the amateur levels. So why is it, then, that in the professional ranks in the NFL, there are only two teams out of 32 that have a dedicated marching band to perform during home games? Let’s dive in.
There are 2 NFL teams that still have marching bands
First of all, let’s talk about the two teams that have continued on with the tradition of marching bands, which used to be much more common among teams in the early stages of the league and into the 1960s. One of those teams is the Baltimore Ravens, whose “Baltimore Marching Ravens” have been a fixture ever since the Cleveland Browns relocated to Baltimore in 1996 to become the Ravens.
Formed in 1947, it was the second-ever NFL marching band (more on the first in a second). They were associated with the first Baltimore Colts franchise that lasted from 1947 to 1950. They stayed together during the interval from 1950-1953 before the Colts were revived, at which point the 60-person volunteer band latched on with the new franchise.
The marching band was left behind during the Colts’ midnight move to Indianapolis in 1984, but they stayed together and performed at other football games and even at the Miss America pageant. When NFL football returned to Baltimore in 1996 with the Ravens, owner Art Modell didn’t think twice about bringing the Baltimore Marching Band back into the fold.
The other marching band still operating, and the first to be founded back in 1937, is that of the Washington Commanders. They have gone through many designs and iterations, with many of the changes caused by the team’s former name, “Redskins”, and the questionable costume choices made in association with that.
The Washington Commanders Marching Band returned in 2022 after a two-year hiatus following the franchise’s naming controversy. And while they perform much less often than they used to, they still perform “Hail to the Commanders” after every touchdown the team scores at home. Unlike their Baltimore counterparts, members of the Commanders marching band are paid as part-time employees of the team.
Did other NFL teams ever have marching bands?
Early in the history of the NFL, there were often marching bands performing before and after games. However, it is not clear whether there were many teams with dedicated marching bands for their franchise specifically.
Even today, most NFL teams will have a marching band from a local college or high school come in and do a show during halftime. While dedicated marching bands are not generally part of an NFL team’s structure, they do contract them out for performances.
Why don’t they have marching bands?
There is no clear reason why NFL teams don’t have marching bands while colleges and high schools do. One possibility is the cost. Universities and high schools have marching bands, but they are not there solely for football. They are separate entities that are associated with their school’s football teams. For example, Notre Dame’s marching band predates its football team, despite how intertwined the two have become.
And since they already have this pool of amateur musicians, schools don’t have to pay the musicians, as they are all students. Whereas in the NFL, professional musicians would be commanding much higher pay for the same work.
