Spartans87

I am an alum of the Spartans, and one of my sons also marched (as you can see in my signature). I marched in 1987 when the corps made class A/A60 finals for the first time ever. An amazing feeling for all involved for sure, and I can tell you, if someone had asked a stupid question to me after our finals performance (I was one of the drum majors), it would not in any way take the shine off of what we accomplished. After watching the corps last week, and seeing how the drum majors handled themselves, I would bet the questions rolled off their backs, and it didn't take anything away from their accomplishments. I do think his question was just ridiculous, and I have felt he has bias in his interviewing past, but I also hate the way people pile on via the internet, and turn into a lynch mob when a person makes a mistake. Frankly, it is one of the reasons I don't use social media very much. In my opinion, he apologized multiple times, and more importantly, directly to the corps, so it is over in my view. And I would bet, knowing Paul Jr, he moved on the night it happened. Looking forward to next year already!

Frankly, the mother of the victim should be investigated by CPS. What parent in their right mind, puts out the email she did? This kid already allegedly had to deal with a situation, and now has to deal with not just the situation again, but the entire drum corps world knowing about it and what appears in some way, to be a money grab by his mother? This mother is off her rocker and not thinking about her son if her way to get what she wants is throwing that email out in public. That is just unconscionable to me. And in no way do I condone the alleged incident or the potential handing of said incident. Don't know enough facts to make a real, educated opinion.

Tearing her down? I did no such thing. I said I hoped she could figure out how to work the broadcast because I thought it would be great to hear what she had to say. But her rambling and talking over the corps shows is not something I enjoyed. Relax...

I hope so, because I do enjoy some of the info folks like her can give us while we watch. I just want it in small doses!

I did think Tammy Faye also - That was funny! My daughter was so tired of hearing me say "shut up already" under my breath that she would stop me before I started saying it because she knew it was comming! All the corps were awesome at this time of year, and I, like a few others, go with what I was entertained by versus the scores. It was a great start to 2019!

My only issue is with Lindsey Vento - she tried waaaaaay to hard to contribute to the broadcast, and talked when she should have been quiet. Even Rondo had to run over her a few times to get the name of the corps out before they started. She may be very qualified as a designer, but not everyone is cut out for a broadcast like this!!!

I certainly don't want it to turn into American Idol, and I don't think ANYONE suggested that either. But why not let some qualified professionals from other musical backgrounds have a crack at judging our activity, even if it is just as an experiment to validate our criteria? I am sick and tired of the "sacred sheets" comments. Who says the sheets are any good anyway? You guessed it - the folks that came up with the criteria on the sheets say they are good. Maybe they are not good....or MAYBE there is a way to change/improve those sheets to make them even better? That is my reason for thinking an outside professionals opinion may be something worthy of consideration.

I don't want to see this activity judged like Idol or The Voice, but I have often thought it could be interesting having an outside, professional person like a Grammy award winning artist (not necessarily one that is "famous"), with a completely unbiased opinion, share their opinions on our corps. Lets let them judge and score, and compare to what our traditional judges score, and see the differences, and hear why they evaluated the way they did. It could be very enlightening to say the least.

Personal relationship? That's ridiculous. Tricia asked a question, for which she received an answer. She does not want a personal relationship with DCI. How you draw that conclusion is beyond me.

Agree with this 100% I have said this before, and will say it again - If you are really upset with the handling of these serious issues by DCI and the corps directly in some/most cases, then stop supporting them with your wallet. I know there are innocent bystanders that also get the hurt, but this is the only way to send the strong message that what they do/don't do is not going to be tolerated. We all have a choice for the use of our entertainment dollars. Drum corps should not be a choice for now. Hate even saying it, but it is the harsh reality.

You know what Brasso - I wrote that note because I do see it as a way to send a strong message, but I too want to see DCI survive and thrive, and I am willing to give it more time as well. I feel the way I do mostly because of the poor way DCI has handled some of the issues. I know the way they are organized/chartered, but they could and should handle some of the issues in a more direct and clear fashion. Lets all watch and see how things are handled such as Pioneer and Mr. Morrisson. Thanks for your reply.

I have been reading along with this since the beginning, despite the difficulty following some folks logic and opinion, but hey, they are entitled. I will say, the only way we can truly make a statement to DCI and more importantly the Corps, (because the corps ARE DCI) is to stop supporting the activity with our time and our wallets. It is difficult to do for many, if for no other reason, it will affect the kids on the field that do not deserve the consequences at all, but it is the only way we will send a message strong enough to make a statement. No shows, no volunteer work, no buying shirts or CD's/audio recordings, not any financial support in any way. That will send a message that the handling of this entire situation is unacceptable to us fans. Now, I do understand it puts the activity on the brink of existence (assuming everyone actually stops supporting), but how do we really keep supporting this when they seemingly only care to protect their own, and don't take the logical steps needed to really clean this up going forward? And when I say protecting their own, I am specifically referencing the Fred Morrison situation, because it is as egregious as it could get in my opinion, short of being a predator himself, and this soap opera that is Pioneer? These issues are so obvious in my book, as to how to handle them, it is shocking to me they have not been more swift with shutting them down. I would love to hear opinions on this. Thanks.

Here is my speculation on the events here: 1. DCI Suspends the corps 2. Roman is p###ed and calls Dan A. 3. Roman then lies to the Philly reporter, Tricia, about the suspension 4. Dan A tells the "family", they need to go and Roman needs to go. They don't agree and dig in 5. Dan A says :"We will officially remove you from the 2019 tour, regardless of suspension", if there is no change as DCI wants. Roman says "No", you wont do that 6. DCI announces they are out of the 2019 Tour 7. Romans bluff is called, and the family agrees to go away First, DCI showed some chutzpah here by pushing hard for this change. Good for them for a change. But the follow through for this, IE making sure the flying Belinski's are not behind the scenes working the puppets will be the real work DCI needs to make happen. That is, if this corps even survives this, which I am highly skeptical of happening. I word it this way because I don't want to see them fold, but I think this will be a huge mountain to climb for sure. Maybe my high school friend, who has worked with them on and off over the years (had issues with Roman, of course) and is a good drum corps guy, can help them get back on their feet. Will be interesting to follow this through the off-season for sure.

First, I totally forgot about the Premier having the interview with Kathy Black. My lack of remembering is primarily because I don't think it went far enough, but that's just my opinion and I can live with it. I would also agree it was a legal tight-rope to walk, and I understand the conservative nature of the response or lack thereof. I guess, I would have looked to handle it differently, and be more open. As for the victims being able to watch a show without reliving the trauma, I would generally agree, however, these folks were strong, and courageous to come out in public to make us all aware of the alleged abuses. I would suggest, that they may be looking to see more public info related to the progress. Seeing and knowing they did not act in vein, could make them feel like someone was listening and doing something material related to change for the future. All of this is speculation of course, but that is what a forum is for after all. Thanks for listening

I was very surprised to hear nothing both in June at the Tour Premier and then more so during Big, Loud and Live, related to the spring issues and how DCI and its member corps/BoD's have and are making changes. Frankly, it was a huge wasted opportunity to say to everyone watching, "We are making changes, and there are more to come". This could have been done WITHOUT putting anyone in harms way from a legal perspective, and would have gone a long way from a PR standpoint. It is just ridiculous nothing has been said directly to the viewing public as of now. I do see the page listed on DCI.org, but that is very dated at this point. Maybe, if Dan A. had addressed the issues a little more publicly during those two events/broadcasts, the majority of people here and elsewhere (Garfield excluded, as he seems to have some direct information) would not feel like it is the "elephant in the room we are all trying to not look at". Who knows, maybe the member that made the protest at I&E would not have done so! Just my opinion.