TheICON

1. Bluecoats 2. Cavaliers 3. Scouts 4. Crown 5. Cadets 6. Blue Devils 7. Blue Stars 8. Spirit 9. Boston 10. Phantom 11. Santa Clara 12. Glassmen Never saw Blue Knights, Troopers, Academy, Colts this season.

1. 2000- Niagara Falls: I felt like this show was performed better than the Cadets...in all aspects. It was my first year really following drum corps and their combination of music and drill to depict the Falls really grabbed my attention. 2. 2004 - 007: I absolutely love this show. It is entertaining and I liked it from the start. 3. 2002 - Frameworks: This was by far the best they have performed. I was there live for their first-ish show in Toledo as well as Finals. Was skeptical in Toledo, but loved it at Finals. 4. 2003 - Spin Cycle: If it had been cleaner, I think it would have won. In my opinion, this is the best designed show visually and has tons of effect. 5. 2008 - Samurai: This show was amazing come Finals...it is too bad the music wasn't a little more interesting. 6. 2001 - Four Corners: In my opinion, this is the dirtiest championship show I have ever seen. It is a good concept, but nothing that gets me too excited nowadays. 7. 2006 - Machine: I hated this show all season and I hated that it won. The gimmicks and subpar brassline really bothered me. Now, I realize that it is an excellent show to introduce young students into drum corps. I showed parts to my Kindergarten music class and they were glued to the tv. 8. 2005 - My Kind of Town: What a blah show for me. I just didn't like the music and I thought the show design was forced. 9. 2007 - And So It Goes: I love Billy Joel, but I didn't particularly like this show. Actually, I don't like any of the 2007 shows. The only DVD of this decade that I do not own. 10. 2009 - The Great Divide: Maybe 16 contras could produce a solid base for the brassline....maybe not. I just don't like it, at all.

I have very much enjoyed their brass sound in the past (00, 02, 04), but I don't this year. They do have a very distinctive sound and it is very controlled and balanced. This year, however, it just seems too controlled and it is not balanced. In my opinion, if the low sounds are not the loudest, the sound is not balanced. I guess that I feel Francis McBeth's "Pyramid of Balance" is a fairly accepted theory of musical balance, which in this show is not happening up to this point. Also, I very much dislike their repertoire...which reflects in my review of their show.

I am also happy that things seem to be alright.

My questions to you are: 1. Who do you root for/Why do you root for them? I tend to root for corps that have shows that are both entertaining and well performed. Actually I think that I root for the show more than I root for any corps. I really like what the Bluecoats have been doing lately though. I like entertaining shows that don't win. Or should I say, good shows that aren't of championship caliber. I tend to either love or hate the championship show. It depends on whether or not I believe that show deserved to win based on performance/design. 3. Have you ever been the victim of drum corps "elitism" simply because you did not march? Haha. Yes I have. What bothers me is that there are some of us that didn't march because we didn't know about it. I was denied the opportunity to march, that doesn't mean that those that did are better musicians or teachers than I am. Obviously there are people who marched who are better musicians or teachers, but not all of them. Sometimes they seem to think this is the case simply because I didn't march. 4. Have you any professional musical experience of another sort? (e.g., composer, conductor, performer, etc.) I am a band director in rural Ohio. I teach 5-12 band, HS Music, 7th Music, and K Music. Good times!

Classic Galen Karriker!

I remember the crowd being pretty weak after/during Cadets 02, especially when the firetrucks went off across the street. I don't know who was the crowd favorite though, I assume it was Cavies. It was a long time ago and unfortunately, my only finals so far.

Personally, I think that the Cavaliers will always have a strong fan base, but if they continue to dominate they may become the 49ers of the 80s, Dallas Cowboys of the 90s, Yankees of forever. Most people don't like dynasties. I know that those teams all irked me when they would be near the top each year. I started out rooting for the Cowboys and then started turning against them because, as someone else mentioned, I like rooting for the underdog. I do like parity, I like what has happened in the NFL recently and this year in the MLB There is a lot more parity than there used to be. As far as The Cavaliers go, it may or may not happen for me personally. The last two years have been entertaining, but not what I would call enjoyable. I absolutely love 2000, 2002, 2004. I also don't mind 2001 or 2003, but 2005, 2006 are not for me. I love their design and agree they should almost always win GE Visual, but those last two just weren't deep enough for me to be championship and runner up shows. Although they deserved those spots based on performance. I am reading a lot about fans having favorites. I have found myself unable to purchase any corps t-shirts, because one year I absolutely love a corps, the next year I strongly dislike the corps. So, if the show hits me, I like the corps. I think what bothers me is when people defend one corps, without having an open mind about their faults. For example, one of my best friends marched Glassmen in 2002. He thinks they should have been 5th, they were 8th. Every year he talks about how awesome the Glassmen's show is and how they should place higher. My point is...although it is his opinion, it is like he has blinders on and can't see the little things in those shows that keep them ranked lower in the top 12. I just would like to see fans...Cavies, Cadets, whoever take off the blinders and admit when their corps does not have a championship caliber show. With that being said, it is just my opinion and lots of people will disagree. Just wanted to throw my opinion in.

Obviously the top 3 are incredibly close...but I think tonight that Phantom and Cavies are ahead of BD. I like BD's show a lot more, but there were some musical errors tonight that got to me too much. Phantom's score seems low to be ahead of BD though...part of the reason they are holding the last two scores?? :P I think Cavies were more on tonight than last. Last night they had the most glaring brass issues of the top 3, to me. I like all of these shows, but feel that BD and Phantom would fit the championship better. Obviously, not everyone would and will agree with that, but from what I see and hear...Cavaliers just don't have the ooompf for me. Year in and year out they have the most incredible drill design and perform it well, but with that drill difficulty comes a lot more room for error. Phantom has got to get props for marching that well in all white, that is tough. I personally think BD has the most together marching style, but would like to see them marching a bit more. Also, it is nice to see competition 4-6. I really like Coats show this year, but tonight those streamer things really bothered me. Especially the contra that grabbed his during the hit of the ballad. SCV has a really cool design, nice to see them push at the end. Cadets, good, entertaining show...just hope the DVDs don't follow the characters around the whole show. So, as if anyone really cares what others' opinions are, that is what I think for right now. I don't post much, but I am constantly reading and analyzing what others say. Enjoy tomorrow night on DCP...too bad most of us can't be in Madison.

I apologize if I caused any problems sending in late. Although I have been using this site for years, I did not discover the fantasy league until this past week. I checked around to see if there were any entry deadlines and I couldn't find one, but I thought I would send an entry anyways to see what happened. Again, I do apologize if it is too late to join!

Wasn't this also one of the, if not the first, times all year that they held full retreat? Everyone makes mistakes, especially when something is not practiced.

I attended the Toledo sow last Saturday, so I've seen a few of these shows........I know not a lot of people will give the Glassmen a lot of credit, and I'm one of them, but their show is not as boring as I've seen written on here. I do have a few friends that march with the GMen an I always harass them for being boring.......but honestly I think they were more exciting than Madison, I waited like last year to be absolutely wowed by their sound and it never happened...The Cavaiers show is slow for the first half before it gets real entertaining, so I think people will like Glassmen more than they think.....maybe it's just me, and I like the huge sound jazz corps stuff.....oh yeah, Bluecoats have a sweet show and I think if one of the top 7 from last year has a bad year....they will be next to move up........haven't seen the others yet though, so...theres my two cents worth