Thursday Oct.10 the Hollidaysburg and Altoona Junior High bands competed to wow fans during the halftime performance..
“It was raining hard enough that we didn’t need to pack the whole truck. It was a little bit harder trying to lug wet and slippery equipment acrossed the entire football field though. Other than that, it wasn’t much different,” band crew member and trumpet player Tyler Rispoli said.
“The Hollidaysburg band played well, and I didn’t get the formation thing. Their marching was “ehhh” and it could have been better,” ninth grade saxaphone player Mackenzie Brunnhuber.
The band played in the stands for the pregame show and played on the field for halftime.
“We did exceptionally well even with the conditions we were playing in because I don’t think we ever did a halftime at least a marching halftime with that much rain,” Rispoli said.
During the game, the bands played cheers in the stands to pump up the fans and the football players.
“Their stand stuff was cool, and they did a lot of cheering and dancing,” Brunnhuber said.
It was hard to get a judgement on how Hollidaysburg did at halftime because we were behind, we only saw them march. I couldn’t get a feel for the sound but they sounded good from behind,” varsity band director Kent Martin said.
Although the Hollidaysburg sports teams and Altoona sports teams are rivals the bands are too.
Some people had things to say about the Hollidaysburg band.
“I think the Hollidaysburg band was more upbeat, and they practiced more. They didn’t use as many beats,” spectator Madison James said.
“Of course we did better at halftime, but I did like their style and I just thought that marching on the field in lines and orders looks better. It gives the impression of a better sound to the audience,” Rispoli said.
“The bands have the same rivalry as the sports teams, and that is a bad rivalry,” James said.
