NSU band entertains football fans

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The Norfolk State University band has had a strong following in the stands on Saturdays during football season.

Suited for Saturday war games, a wave of Spartans defended a piece of territory called Norfolk State.

The football team sweeps the gridiron with punishing precision.  Observing enemy weakness, citizens of Dick Price Stadium welcome conquest.  But among the cheers for the action on the field, is an infectious love of rhythm and music, a marching band that is called the Legion.

NSU's marching band is an army of 250 who play it fast and loose.  

"Here at Norfolk State,  if this band is not right our fans will have a fit! They would have a fit, " said an NSU fan.

NSU fans in the audience demand  excellence on the field and in the stands. Excellence in this case means a host of dances and rhythmic moves that flow from one beat to the next, with a sound that personifies a sound of soul.  This is not your dad's marching band.

"I wish we could have done that," said a former member of the Legion who played in the 1950's.  

"It makes me feel like I want to try to do what they and they young they still spry and they get all the way down on their Knees and when I try to do it. I'm not as limber as they are."

Not many people are.  But this member of  the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) encourages  entertainment, not just background fight music for football. 

The Legion has entertained crowds from Kentucky to Bermuda, and their swagger often competes with the action on the field.