TA-WVFCI/OP(?)MPB&CSR,U!!!!! was founded in 1974. Originally created because Virginia football was truly awful, fans would come to the games to laugh and cry at the team and laugh with the pep band. Times changed, political correctness happened, and the pep band was censored. Essentially no jokes are now allowed, except the ones that slip by the geniuses in the athletic department who majored in sociology, business, or sports management. Not only are jokes about any school (including UVa) banned, but even bland political satire is forbidden.
One pep band antic VT_Hawkeye might have forgotten was the playing of a tape of barnyard animal noises as the VT players ran out into Lane Stadium. This was one show before the banning of the pep band from the field in Blacksburg.
It's more than a little hypocritical for VT_Hawkeye to mock UVa's academics but complain that UVa students mock other schools. It is, unfortunately, not unexpected. A typical angry response to the pep band is often along the lines of "Your team sucks, as does your state and your school! Now, just where do you get off making fun of us? That's mean . . ." Members of the Virginia Pep Band have been physically assaulted by crazed fans of opponents who claimed they were tasteless. The irony of this is lost on them.
The kind of anger directed against the Virginia Pep Band can also be found among opponents of Ivy League schools (excluding Cornell) and Stanford, all of which support "scramble" or "scatter" bands.
In response to VT_Hawkeye's update, the incidents at the Continental Tire Bowl show have been blown out of proportion by various media outlets. Yes, they did play music. Yes, the UVa graduate was wearing exaggerated UVa football attire, just as the WVU grad was wearing exaggerated WVU football attire. No, there was no square dancing.
Supporters of scramble bands argue that tradition is not a good enough reason for marching bands, which some find boring. They may also argue "If they can't take a fuck, joke 'em."