Sports

Tensions Boil Between FSU Football, Marching Chiefs Band, And Fans Over Request To Stop Playing ‘War Chant’

#FSU football
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FSU Marching Chiefs band at Doak Campbell Stadium

Getty Image / Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire


For those tortured souls who tuned in Monday night to watch Boston College put the hurt down on the Florida State Seminoles there was something noticeably different about the game that went far beyond the lackluster on-field play that pales in comparison to the standard of excellence FSU fans are used to and that was the obnoxious DJ music in the stadium being played on 3rd down instead of the iconic ‘War Chant.’

As it turns out, that was no coincidence and one alumnus of the world famous Marching Chiefs band, FSU‘s student band, revealed to SI’s NoleGameday that the band was asked by the football team to stop playing the iconic ‘War Chant’ on 3rd downs.

The request reportedly came last season with the football team asking the Marching Chiefs to stop playing the song on 3rd downs, a request that once revealed has angered countless FSU alums, fans, and more. First off, the Marching Chiefs have existed since 1939. They have been supporting this football team since it came to exist back in 1947.

They are as much of a part of the fabric of FSU Athletics as any entity and when they adopted the ‘War Chant’ in the mid-1980s to accommodate the student-created ‘Tomahawk Chop’ it created one of the most iconic in-stadium experiences ever. As one fellow FSU alumnus and insider told me, the ‘War Chant’ “gets the crowd into it, which feeds real energy back to the field for 3rd down stops. It’s an actual competitive advantage being thrown away.”

After the in-stadium DJ music was noticeable during Monday’s loss to B.C., people began to ask questions about the horrible music experience. The alumni of the Marching Chiefs that spoke with NoleGameday said “Now, it’s more or less stadium music with a lack of stadium hype … and I absolutely noticed a lack of playing (on Monday night) compared to last year.” In response, the FSU Marching Chiefs released the following statement:


Yesterday, Stephen Ponder who is President of Seminole Boosters shared this message on X in response to Seminoles fans bemoaning how awful the DJ music was:


It also isn’t just the ‘War Chant’ on 3rd Downs that’s being limited. Music from the Marching Chiefs has been scaled back across the board to make more room for in-stadium sponsorship reads, raffles, promos, etc. The Marching Chiefs whistleblower said “if the team wants the third down song, do it for them. Let the team have its song on third down, but there needs to be more opportunities for (the) Chiefs outside of that.”

Can somebody name some names?!?!

I’d love to know who within the FSU Football organization wanted to have the ‘War Chant’ stopped on 3rd downs. Was it the freshmen? I’d think not, they wouldn’t have that sway. Was it the seniors? Would they be pushing to do away with a decades-long tradition during their finals season at FSU knowing full well that former players, fans, and alumni would notice? That also doesn’t seem likely.

FSU AD Alford Releases Statement On War Chant

In response to NoleGameday asking Florida State athletic director Michael Alford about the Marching Chiefs x ‘War Chant’ situation, he shared the following statement with them:

“There is plenty of latitude for changes including opportunities for the Marching Chiefs to play at any time of their choosing other than the mutually agreed upon segments involving third downs or during sponsored elements requiring a PA voiceover. Scripted music is played during those sponsored elements and on third downs, in which football last year asked and was granted permission to select music.”

He’s pretty good at his job, right? That’s a very diplomatic statement where he managed to not say anything at all.

Of course, because it’s 2024 and there’s a Petition.org for everything, there is a petition to limit DJ music in the stadium and it has already picked up nearly 8,000 signatures. I just signed it. As an FSU alum I was furious after reading the NoleGameday article and learning that the Marching Chiefs are being actively muzzled from playing the most iconic in-stadium band song in college football.

Hopefully, changes will be made in the very near future. This would be like the New York Yankees dropping their pinstripes. There’s no reason to throw away beloved traditions especially not when the ‘War Chant’ provides a competitive advantage for the team.

Meanwhile, on the NIL front, FSU has issues as well given the 0-2 start to the season…