A rumor circulated on college football message boards Monday that The Michigan Marching Band, the proud instrumental accompaniment to University of Michigan football for more than a century, had lost a bet to Texas' Showband of the Southwest. Photos appeared to show Michigan's band marching out a Longhorn logo, allegedly to pay out on a bet lost on the outcome of the game.
The story was too good to be true, probably because it was.
As debunked by other marching band-focused fans, the image which circulated in the social media post above was actually captured as half of a two-part marching formation which Michigan formed after Saturday's nationally-hyped face off. The full image can be seen below, and clearly serves as an honorarium to Texas fast food mecca Whataburger ... or more likely, one of Whataburger's executives.
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Apparently "donor appreciation formations" are a common kiss up to encourage student scholarship donations from major companies and figures. This particular formation was captured as part of the Michigan Marching Band's postgame concert Saturday, which followed the Wolverines' disappointing loss.
Despite the final result, the Michigan Marching Band still marched the formation in pursuit of camaraderie with their Texas counterparts -- the Longhorn band traveled with a significant group to Saturday's game -- and to honor the unknown donor in question. All of which shows up on the ledger as a win for Michigan.
Nice to see that for one of the school's programs Saturday.