10 Little Known Facts About Color Guard

By Amanda Lawrence

I pledge allegiance to the flags and the color guard team of Concordia.

If you take a look at the band, chances are you won’t be watching the band. You will probably be watching the color guard, more commonly known as the” flag girls” even though the former is preferred. Here are a few little known facts, ten to be precise, about your Concordia color guard.

1)      We not only have to march but also learn and remember routines, ALL WHILE SMILING. Take it from me; it is hard to smile after you have hit yourself in the head with a pole once or twice. 

2)      As mentioned before, color guard is a dangerous sport, but participation does not require that a parent sign a physical or concussion form. BUT IT SHOULD. I’m sure more head injuries occur in color guard than in cross country and tennis combined.

3)      We have 6:30 a.m. practices multiple times a week and some night practices are required to create, teach, learn and memorize new routines. (Don’t mess with a girl who has a flag in her hand and has lost an hour of sleep because of it.)

4)      One major perk is the assurance of no CDs skipping or technical difficulties with our music.  Unlike the dance team, we have a band!

5)      We always joke about our Point System: a series of winnable points depending on who you hit.  Some favorites are 20 points for a kid at Fall Fest, 50 for an opposing cheerleader who doesn’t move out of the way, and an infinite number of points for a percussionist. (Despite our jokes, we have all hit someone and our consciences refuse to let us forget it which leads to no official tallying of points.)

6)      There are a lot of wannabes, but not everyone can be in color guard because someone has to play the music. I guess the saying’s true, “There are two types of people in the world, those who spin and those who wish they could.”

7)      We are constantly making up new moves, most of which never make it into a routine. (We have discovered that it’s hard to do a cartwheel while picking up a flag and marching at the same time.)

8)      Although our team is made up entirely of girls, more guys than girls were signed up for auditions this year.

9)      There is an ongoing feud between the color guard and the drum line which has lasted for years. This rivalry is mainly fueled by the drum line erroneously claiming their superiority.

10)   As stressful as color guard can be, one of the best moments is at the end of a performance when you know that the eyes of the crowd are on you and you did well. (Plus we look pretty good in those uniforms.)