OSU Marching Band Gives Big Shout-Out to Classic TV

The Ohio State University Marching Band just might be "The Best Damn Band In The Land," a moniker it often gives itself. This past weekend at halftime during the Buckeyes' first home game of the college football season, against Virginia Tech, the 225-member marching band paid tribute to cable network TV Land. Even though the Buckeyes lost the game to the Hokies 35-21, the band still scored — bigtime.

The OSU marching band turned out classic TV theme songs, incorporating its all-brass and percussion sounds as well as its highly stylized visuals, which are best viewed from what some might consider "crappy seats" in the higher nosebleed sections.

Commenters on YouTube are huge fans. One person wrote, "Never ceases to amaze me," while another added, "That was amazing. More exciting than football itself! That takes a lot of training for sure! Great job, Buckeyes!"

Throughout the 9-minute performance, the band enlivened images representing nostalgic television shows such as "Dragnet," "The Addams Family," I Dream of Jeannie," "M.A.S.H.," "Hawaii Five-O," and "Batman," to name a few. In the past, the college marching band has turned out visuals of a T-Rex, a video game medley, and a set honoring Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

One of the marching band's biggest hits to date is a tribute to the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson. The performance, which was an instant viral video sensation, currently has more than 10 million views on YouTube.

This was the Ohio State University Marching Band's first performance since the recent dismissal of band director Jonathan Waters, who was fired in July for allegedly encouraging a ‘sexualized culture’ among student bandmates.