Penn State Blue Band

The Blue Band drum major flip definitely is one of the best marching band traditions I've seen. It was started in 1971 was one drum major was uncomfortable about tossing his mace into the air. Instead of flipping his baton, he flipped himself. He continued doing back flips when the crowd absolutely loved the routine. When a new drum major filled the position for two years, he was ruthlessly booed by the fans for not performing the flip. Ever since then, the flip has become a Penn State tradition for all those involved with the football team. Over time the flip evolved - first becoming a running forward flip and then increasing the difficulty by adding the splits after the flip. The drum major flip
is not the only Blue Band tradition. The term "Blue" in the name came into being in 1924. When the band was first started in 1899 with six members, the band owned khaki uniforms. In 1923, blue uniforms were bought for the band. In 1924, a group of band members in the new blue uniforms formed a block "S" with khaki-wearing members surrounding them. From that day on, the band became known as the "Blue Band."

The 2005 Sudler-receiving band consists of 310 members [260 winds,34 silks, 14 Touch of Blue (majorettes), 1 Blue Sapphire (feature twirler), 1 drum major]. One major highlight in the band's career was being the first band to perform at a major fashion show - the Marc Jacob's in New York during Fashion Week 2005. Among other events, the band has performed at 33 bowl games, including the Rose Bowl. To find out more about the Penn State Blue Band, check out their official website.

In addition to the information that can be found on their site, the band made a documentary which will air in November on public television called, "Making the Blue Band." You can find the official website and trailer for the documentary here. The following is the first promo for the show: