October 16, 2019 at 12:18PM
As a Patrick Henry alumna, I am writing in regards to the Tri-Cities Friday Night Rivals. First, I want to thank the news for featuring local teams by showing the game on TV. This is great for people who are unable to make it to the game. I came home from college last weekend, so it was exciting to watch PHHS play.
However, I was disappointed when the band and cheerleaders were not given even as little as one minute of performance time. They advertise this as a way to highlight local teams, yet crucial aspects of the game are being left out. I was a member of the band, and I believe that the halftime marching performance is an important part to any football game. Instead of showing the band performance, commercials and interviews were played. Not only that, some of the interviews was repeated during halftime. I understand this must be included; however, band/cheerleaders should've had a small feature as well. Just like student athletes, band members practice throughout the summer and all week. They come to support the football team to turn around Saturday morning, get up early and travel to their own competitions. Neglecting to even recognize the band is very disheartening. Seeing the band performing in the background of their interviews was disrespectful and insinuates that arts are not valued, that band members don't matter. For some, the arts are their only escape and a way to express them. Excluding the band/cheer performance fails to recognize their hard work and dedication and doesn't portray the full atmosphere at a game.
News crews are failing to truly highlight football games. I ask that in the future, they consider how this makes students in band/cheer feel when what they do seemingly doesn't matter. Please consider highlighting all aspects.
As a Patrick Henry alumna, I am writing in regards to the Tri-Cities Friday Night Rivals. First, I want to thank the news for featuring local teams by showing the game on TV. This is great for people who are unable to make it to the game. I came home from college last weekend, so it was exciting to watch PHHS play.
However, I was disappointed when the band and cheerleaders were not given even as little as one minute of performance time. They advertise this as a way to highlight local teams, yet crucial aspects of the game are being left out. I was a member of the band, and I believe that the halftime marching performance is an important part to any football game. Instead of showing the band performance, commercials and interviews were played. Not only that, some of the interviews was repeated during halftime. I understand this must be included; however, band/cheerleaders should've had a small feature as well. Just like student athletes, band members practice throughout the summer and all week. They come to support the football team to turn around Saturday morning, get up early and travel to their own competitions. Neglecting to even recognize the band is very disheartening. Seeing the band performing in the background of their interviews was disrespectful and insinuates that arts are not valued, that band members don't matter. For some, the arts are their only escape and a way to express them. Excluding the band/cheer performance fails to recognize their hard work and dedication and doesn't portray the full atmosphere at a game.
News crews are failing to truly highlight football games. I ask that in the future, they consider how this makes students in band/cheer feel when what they do seemingly doesn't matter. Please consider highlighting all aspects.