Your question goes to the very heart of human nature.

We're tribal. We want our "team" to beat the other "team" in some way. It's why sports are a thing. It's part of why politics is so partisan. We all want to, in some way, destroy our enemies.

In band, we compete against a standard. There's no opponent to leave behind on the field of victory. It's simply an evaluation - and our kids are conditioned from third grade on that evaluations (read: tests) are a boring, waste of time and are stressful.

That's part of why marching band is so successful. We COMPETE. It's heat-of-the-moment (so dopamine rush) and it's a win or lose situation.

Remember, your kids will NEVER love music the way you do. Some (a very few) more - most less. But they'll never hear it with your ears. Your favorite piece may never be a piece that even captures their interest. We can't rely on "teach to the kids who love it" because simply put band music/classical music isn't something they love for 95% of your students. If it were, then why don't we have 450 community bands in every metro area full of former band kids that played four years of high school? They walk away - and will walk away - after their senior year, until and unless they have a kid that joins up in sixth grade.

IMO, the solution is either (1) we make the Spring band semester more competitive somehow, possibly by bringing in the opportunity for advancement with C&SR contest (Honor band tries to do this, but honor band isn't financially feasible for 99 out of 100 programs, realistically) or (2) we find ways to showcase ourselves more. Those annoying concerts in the park? Those people who call and say "Can the band play at the dedication of our new feed store?" Yeah. We need to do that. We have to get ourselves out there.

To borrow from Dr. Tim: It's not what you CAN do, it's not what you WILL do, but what you DO do that makes you who you are. What are we/you DOING to make the public sit up and take notice of you/us from December through July?