For generations of Minuteman Marching Band members, the phrase is instantly recognizable:
Eyes with Pride.
What began in 1977 as a simple call-and-response teaching tool under legendary UMass band director George N. Parks has become one of the most enduring traditions in the marching arts. Designed to reinforce proper posture and performance fundamentals—from feet and stomach to shoulders, chin, and finally eyes—the exercise became a hallmark of Parks’ approach to teaching excellence.
Today, nearly 50 years later, that tradition is the subject of a new documentary.
Eyes With Pride traces the remarkable journey of a phrase born at the University of Massachusetts and carried by generations of students, educators, and performers across the country. The film explores how a lesson taught on a rehearsal field in Amherst became part of the culture of marching bands from coast to coast.
At the heart of the documentary is the American Fork High School Marching Band of Utah, one of the nation’s premier scholastic programs. After narrowly missing a Finals appearance at Bands of America Grand National Championships in 2022—finishing just one place outside the coveted Top 12—the band embarks on a two-year quest to achieve its goal of returning to Finals for the first time since 1995.
Through behind-the-scenes access, interviews, rehearsals, competitions, triumphs, and setbacks, Eyes With Pride captures the dedication required to pursue excellence at the highest levels of the marching arts.
But this is more than a story about competition.
Filmed in Massachusetts, Utah, and Indiana, the documentary examines the values that connect generations of performers: discipline, perseverance, pride, teamwork, and the pursuit of something greater than oneself. In doing so, it highlights the lasting impact of George Parks’ teaching philosophy and the profound influence it continues to have on students decades after it was first introduced.
For members of the UMass Band family, the film offers a powerful reminder that traditions do not end when a season concludes or a class graduates. They live on through the people who carry them forward.
Nearly half a century after George first called out the words on a practice field in Amherst, students thousands of miles away still respond with the same commitment and purpose.
Eyes with Pride.