Viewers' Choice For MN's Best Marching Band: Rosemount

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Thousands of you weighed in on our search for Minnesota's best high school marching band.

The winner: The Rosemount High School Marching Band.

"During the summer, all of our other friends are out there having fun and stuff and we're having fun here, but we're sweating out in the parking lot," drum major Tony said.

Marching band at Rosemount High School is a very big deal.

"We have 410 students in the band program here, we believe we're the largest in the state," band director Steve Olsen said said.

About half of that group makes up the marching band.

"There are no bench warmers in marching band," band director Bo Hoover said. "Everyone has to participate 100 percent of the time for us to be successful."

And on this team, the bar is set pretty high.

"All of our students are almost like athletes," Hoover said. "They have to train, they have to physically endure and march and perform at really fast tempos."

At Rosemount they've got the trophy case to show what they're doing is working.

But this winter Rosemount will march in the 125th Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena.

"There are over 100 bands that apply every year to march in the Rose Parade and there are only 12 high school marching bands that get selected, so we feel very fortunate that we're able to go," Hoover said.

Next week — who has the best chicken wings in Minnesota?

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