I'm a longtime member of the Rice University Marching Owl Band, also known as The MOB. The MOB is a scatter band, which is to say that despite the name, we don't march. We do humorous shows with a script, action, and props, and we run screaming from one formation to another. There are a number of scatter bands in the US, mostly Ivy League schools plus Virginia and Stanford, which was the birthplace of scatter bands.

The MOB has on occasion ruffled some feathers with its mostly satirical humor, but for the most part we are appreciated and left alone by the athletic department. Sad to say, this is no longer the case at UVa. Good luck in your fight with the powers that be, Pep Band. We who do not march salute you.