The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System will allow bands and cheerleaders for the schools to return to football stadiums once again this fall.
Although plans could change depending on COVID-19 concerns and changing occupancy mandates, as of mid-April, the Savannah Chatham County Public Schools will each be allowed to decide individually on if its bands will attend games or not. The system’s schools were notified of the news earlier this month.
An SCCPSS official confirmed the news to PSR in a text exchange, and school athletic directors confirmed the news as fact in follow-up correspondences.
“I think it’s great,” Savannah High head coach Michael Moore said of the bands returning during a Saturday phone call with PSR. “I think anything that gets us a little closer … anything that gets us closer to being back to normal is a good thing.
“It’ll help with the kids and their morale because it not only brings energy back to the games, but it brings fans back as well as traditions. Singing the Alma Mater in front of the Blue Jacket band after a game is a tradition that we can’t wait to renew at Savannah High.”
On August 12, 2020, SCCPSS officials delayed the start of fall sports and limited games to intra-district play only. The football season did not begin until Oct. 1. Prior to the start of football last year, SCCPSS leaders said there would be no bands or cheerleaders allowed at the games.
Anyone who witnessed a football game in 2020 in Savannah can attest: the absence of the notable public school bands on Friday nights led to an abundance of silence between whistles (of which there were many). This season, as the Savannah high school sports community treads back toward normal, the road back will at least feature funky tunes from the area’s finest high school bands.
“It was just weird being there sometimes how quiet everything was,” Moore said of the 2020 musical void. “Savannah has some prestigious, proud bands in its high school history. We are all ready for (the bands) to be back in the stadium and the cheerleaders back on the sidelines.”
Follow Travis Jaudon on Twitter & Instagram @JaudonSports and contact him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.
