In Milwaukee, where I grew up, bands and parades were big. There was some connection with sports, but band music and twirling were enjoyed independent of that, especially in parades.

I think the nation needs more twirling.

That was a joke about white people, so don't take it too seriously. (I started this thread partly in response to an earlier thread about white people and how bland they are.)I found a video of a Japanese twirling team. It is just remarkable to see them throw a baton four storeys in the air, do three cartwheels and catch it coming down.

One year when I was about ten or twelve, we went into downtown Chicago to watch the American Legion parade. This parade last something like ten hours. (We only watched for about three.) I shall never forget the first person in the parade. A black youth, tall and slim, strutting (there is no other word for it) so joyously and throwing his baton high, high into the air. We heard that he had been named the champion American Legion twirler, which is basically being named the national champion.

I had never seen a boy twirl, and I was thrilled with him. I can still picture him in his turquoise costume and his high hat with his baton sparkling in the air.