Comments on: God Loves Flags

By: Tom Doyle

Tom Doyle — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 06:54:21 +0000

“Except for a very few battles in World War I, no battle fought in the 20th Century can come close to matching the horror of the typical large Napoleonic battle.”

E.g.:

Battle of the Somme

Date: 1 July 1916 – 18 November 1916

The 1916 Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the First World War, with more than one million casualties. …The battle is best remembered for its first day, 1 July 1916, on which the British suffered 57,470 casualties of which 19,240 were killed or died of wounds. It remains the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army.
[...]
An exact count of German casualties for 1 July is difficult to make, because German units only submitted casualty returns every 10 days. It is estimated that the Germans suffered 8,000 casualties on the British front of which 2,200 were prisoners of war.

[...]

Casualties[Total(T), Killed & Missing(K&M), Prisoners(P)]

Total British Empire 419,654(T), 95,675 (K&M), 200(P).
French 204,253 (T), 50,756 (K&M).

Germany 465,000 – 600,000 (T),164,055 (K&M), 31,000 (P).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme_(1916)

By: Maureen Hay

Maureen Hay — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 17:35:14 +0000

As an ex-marching band member, I can testify that the flags are not as difficult as they look. The pole is weighted to help sustain the momentum of the twirling flag.

The difficulty scale of female football accompaniment:

1. Really good baton twirlers (only have one or two)
2. Cheerleaders
3. Rifle drill teams
4. Flags
5. Bad baton twirlers (long line of twirlers)
6. Regular drill teams

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 16:43:26 +0000

I am drawn to the similarities between these and the displays from Mao era China.

It’s nothing so mysterious. Pageantry adapted from old military traditions. Typically, men would be spinning rifles rather than flags, but most college bands don’t have rifle squads.

By: Matt Weiner

Matt Weiner — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 16:35:06 +0000

Wasn’t Tori Amos’s cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” camp Nirvana?

By: mijnheer

mijnheer — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 19:03:57 +0000

“And the guy himself could have cared less….” So he did care?

By: Brautigan

Brautigan — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 18:29:15 +0000

Hmmm, wonder if it coulda been this guy?

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 16:28:54 +0000

As a foreigner watching these type of displays, I have to admit I am drawn to the similarities between these and the displays from Mao era China. Maybe those commentators who suggest that American colleges are hotbeds of communism have a point, although I can’t imagine anywhere less egalitarian than college sports departments.

By: Bob B

Bob B — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:45:05 +0000

Possibly, drums and the like were also a valued distraction from the appalling scale of battle casualties in the Napoleonic wars:

“Except for a very few battles in World War I, no battle fought in the 20th Century can come close to matching the horror of the typical large Napoleonic battle.”
http://www.napoleonic-literature.com/WE/Casualties.html

At some considerable personal risk, Wellington as a battlefield commander was given to riding around during proceedings issuing orders, a method he presumably regarded as more dependable. A recorded incident is where an aide sat astride a horse beside him lost a leg to a cannon shot. As reported, the conversation went, “I’ve lost my leg, Sir.” Wellington responded, on looking down from the telescope he was using to survey the battle, “So you have, Sir,” whereupon he resumed his survey of the battle.

By: rea

rea — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:12:16 +0000

The tradition of flamboyant male drum majors dates back to miltary practce in the Napoleonic era and earlier. In an age in which battlefield communications were largely a matter of flags and drums, these guys served a useful function, and tended to be noteworthy for physical courage.

http://www.napoleonguide.com/uniforms_britinf9.htm

By: dave heasman

dave heasman — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:47:06 +0000

I recall dear old GW Bush was a cheerleader in his youth. Doubtless his costume and comportment were as fetching. Perhaps it attracted “Jeff Gannon”.

By: Slocum

Slocum — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 11:51:53 +0000

Many college marching bands have a male drum-major who is ‘normally’ flamboyantly dressed, twirls a baton, and—for some reason—does a backbend to touch the top of his enormous hat to the turf without falling over. But nobody worries about ‘subversion of gender boundaries’.

By: dsquared

dsquared — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 08:57:52 +0000

hmmm, there might be a few vacancies for him over in Norn Iron now the marching season is beginning.

By: bryan

bryan — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 07:22:50 +0000

here he is

By: A. G. Rud

A. G. Rud — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 00:26:11 +0000

Back to orthodoxy this coming weekend with, are you ready for this, the Golden Girl, the Girl in Black, and the Silver Twins, not to mention the “World’s Largest Drum.”

By: Zeno

Zeno — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 00:24:37 +0000

You have now been to more college football games than I have ever been. Congratulation, I think. Your account of the color guard is wryly amusing and reminds me of accounts concerning the attempt of the Sacramento Kings to introduce a male pep squad. They were booed off the court by scandalized fans whose beer-addled brains were fixated on seeing cheerleaders’ bouncing jugs. It was not a pretty business and the male pep squad was quickly disbanded. I think a representative of the Kings said the fans were “not ready” for them. Yeah, rather. The male fans no doubt had heard somewhere that you can’t enjoy men’s acrobatics unless you are gay, so it was very important to protect their masculinity from such a grave danger.