The Texas Longhorn Band lacks the “necessary instrumentation” to play “The Eyes Of Texas,” according to a survey taken by director Scott Hanna.
The survey, which was first reported Wednesday by The Daily Texan, showed the band was “evenly divided” on the issue, but due to certain instrument groups not wanting to play, Hanna decided the band would not play at the Baylor v. Texas game on Saturday.
UT-Austin’s band will not play “The Eyes of Texas” at this Saturday’s football game after a survey revealed many members are unwilling to play the school song, @thedailytexan reported.
The song has ties to minstrel shows where performers wore blackface. https://t.co/swVjYkIUsH
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) October 21, 2020
The song has been played this season through a recording since the band has not been attending games. The University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell released a statement Wednesday claiming the band was never going to play at the game this upcoming weekend.
“While we would love the band to be with our fans at all our games, we never planned for them to perform live this Saturday,” Hartzell said in a statement. (RELATED: Texas Athletic Director Says He Expects The Football Players To Stand For ‘The Eyes Of Texas’)
“We knew this summer that, as we make our campus a more welcoming place, we would face many hard conversations,” the statement continued. “I remain truly optimistic that we will find ways to join together around our song, which has been so positive for so many Longhorns over the past 120 years.”
I get not wanting to play it or sing it because of your own personal convictions. However, many people still would enjoy hearing it played. I understand it has a dark history, but the song, as it stands right now, symbolizes so much for the Longhorn community.
“The Eyes Of Texas” is what has united the fans and the team through these not-as-fun football seasons where Texas hasn’t been that great. The song is what encouraged students to come to the games and stay “Eyes to eyes.” That’s what we always told each other when we just really didn’t want to watch the Longhorns let us down, yet again.
The most important thing for the community is to find a middle ground. Let’s work towards that.