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The history of the Westshoremen


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I'll catch up later. Just wanted to say hi as I hold my daughter!!!

A week early but please welcome Sadie Therese Ream to the Westshore family! 19 inches, 6 pounds, 10.8 ounces, full head of hair, born at 1:39 pm yesterday. All are doing well

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

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I just think it's interesting that that corps only seemed to do well in Jersey?!?! The rest of the shows (well with the exception of Canada) they seemed to really tank in comparison to the rest of the pack?!?!

Good stuff though!

Frank explained it to us in period after Verdun. His explanation made perfect sense then and now. I'll get to THAT later.

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So much to thnik about- but let's get back to retreat. To our right- we have a certain corps whose fans booed the heck out of us, and were evidently trying to intimidate us.

At retreat, they played games.

About 4-6 of their corps members in the back of their retreat block rather ostentatiously pulled out a bad with a bottle of bubbly- (Champagne? Cold Duck? Asti? Generic Beer? Who knows!?)along with plastic champagne glasses, make a big deal and prepare to toast their great victory against Westshore at the Grand Prix. We're watching this and pretty much looking at each other rolling our eyes at this stunt along with people passing it on quietly to just stay calm. I think they were looking for some response out of us, but I know I was thinking my share about what (fill in this blank- it's not difficult- you got it) they were.

Of course, the announcer- and this is pre-Fran, he's on the fiel;d with us in his own retreat block... goes on about the previous champions of the Grand Prix, blah blah blah, dragging this whole thing out and the goofs on our right are all excited about getting to imbibe and celebrate by drinking whatever the heck is in the bottle.

They go through the standard score annnoucements, Larry pretty much tells us as always to just stay calm and to behave regardless, and well, this corps ends up second. I'm unsure who got what caption awards, they may have given these clowns with the booze some false hope, I can't remember.

All I know is when it was announced they'd lost to us, they proceeded to smash the bottle and the plastic glasses (It took some effort on their parts because the turf was too soft to easily smash things on) and glared at us as their corps trundled off in defeat. I know we were pretty much snickering at them as they left. I hadn't seen crap like that before, and I was told by a source that I absolutely trust about a similar badgering incident taking place at Hershey post-1994 on retreat in the 90's by another group. I'm happy I wasn't there for that one BTW....

All I know is that it was just poor, classless behavior from a bunch of losers. Granted it was 4 to 5 guys, but still-- If some of us had tried to do something that in-your-face moronic, I know some of us would have killed whomever it was before Larry killed them for being a bunch of ########. Hmm. Maybe none of us would have had the chance to do anything before Eric ran back there and ripped their heads off with his bare hands, stuck them on poles and paraded them around the corps as an example of what would happen if we ever that stupid again.

And of course, more ugly boos from the crowd after they realized we won. I do really think it had an effect on the DCA brass that night when they saw that happen. I also have an educated guess strong words were exchanged in critique from that corps staff with DCA brass and also with the panel if not outright threats and screams.

I'll talk about some trends in DCA up to that point in 1982, because I think there were certain trends that were moving in certain directions for several years, which many corps were a part of before us, and corps that were a part of it afterwards.

Keep in mind that only the Bucs, Sun, Cabs, Hurcs, and Sky had won championships before 1982, and that in terms of making the top 3, only the 1968 Brigs and the Yankee-Rebels three times in the 70's had done even that. We were meddling around in very rarefied territory, and obviously-- some people weren't happy about it at all.....

start spreading the news.....

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Now that Jeff is a Dad, we will probably get to the 1990's by the time his Daughter graduates from College. :tongue:

2034. note made

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2034. note made

According to the title of the forum, we can only talk about 1992 and earlier, so I have SOME time. :cool:

So- should I talk about our visit to Post 199 after the Grand Prix or should I wait on trying to post some of my thoughts about DCA and how they dealt with crazy corps that upset the apple carts?

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So much to thnik about- but let's get back to retreat. To our right- we have a certain corps whose fans booed the heck out of us, and were evidently trying to intimidate us.

W, next time I see you I'll try to remember to tell you a story about the Bridgeport show the weekend before DCA championships in 1980. It fits this particular theme.

It was funny, sad and kind of bizarre at the same time. LOL.

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W, next time I see you I'll try to remember to tell you a story about the Bridgeport show the weekend before DCA championships in 1980. It fits this particular theme.

It was funny, sad and kind of bizarre at the same time. LOL.

Neat! I know you guys also fit into the 'upset the apple cart crowd' as well. IIRC, the Sunrisers were one of the first DCA corps to go co-ed, John Sasso's arrangements were very fresh and innovative BITD, etc.

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I may as well try and set thnigs up- the picture was a big picture. Not looking at previous history leads to people today not really realizing just how unreral what was happening to Westshore was.

Again- From 1965 to 1981, you had the Bucs winning 4 of them, Sky winning 3, the Hurcs winning 3, Sun winning 2, and the Cabs winning 5. From 1970 to 1976, the Cabs and SKy won everything in that period, and after that were pretty much in the top 3 versus Sun and Reading for most of that period afterwards. It was extremely difficult to break into the top 3 against this group of corps.

Sun had broken into the top 3 before they won their first championship, but as Fran and Tony have alluded to, the path was not easy. I have my theories about how Sun made it happen after listening to Fran and Tony and reading what they'd discussed. The answer is simple. The corps staff/management really sat down and thought hard about creating a special image and look for the corps and they also looked at where there might be some chinks in the armor from the Cabs and Sky in that period and try and exploit them- and they most certainly did with a juggernaut percussion section, I would say very effective and forward thinking for that period of time use of color and visual, and a pretty darned good color guard. Combine that with well-thought out programming and rock hard arranging of music people knew and liked that was also played very well and musically, they managed to crack the top, fending off some pretty good and exciting Cabs corps in the process.

The other thing Sun also managed to do, which I have learned from and tried to explain to some people, is to make sure your innovation and forward thinking is well-grounded and intelligently thought out. They didn't innovate just for the sake of innovation- something that's bit too many DCI Corps of late badly in their you-know-whats. An auto racing historian like myself would compare how Sun approached things snd won with the McLaren Can-Am teams, which thoughtfully applied technology and innovation to their cars but didn't go insane about it, but made sure the car was reliable, well-prepared and tested, well thought out, and then kicked everyones butts for several years.

You look at the Yankee-Rebels, who came close in that period where Sky and the Cabs locked things down. So close, but they had a unique brand and image that the crowd bought totally into.

I can't tell you much about the 1968 Brigs, who were 3rd. I would think Tom Peashey would shed some light on how they cracked the top 3. My guess is they found lightning in a bottle that season.

You also had some near misses in this period- Les Diplomats who were 4th one season, the 1977-78 Matadors who were 4th 2 years in a row, and the Crusaders- who really had some very good and likeable corps and shows and finished 4th to 6th most of the time. Looking back with hindsight, the problem might have been for them that they didn't have a special brand of music or style attached to them to really drive them past the big names. So close, and so frustrating.

And here WE were- the Westshoremen, DCA's goofballs, flakes, and perennial punchline for everyone's jokes, winning major DCA contests. We hit on the right brand for ourselves, we hit on an identity, the building of talent for many years and corps development finally paid off, more than any of us thought it would. I know I was just hoping for 4th or 5th when we went into the season, THEN make a run at the top 3 if THAT happened. It was just so hard to crack into the DCA top 3 during that period of time, and there we were.

I really think certain folks were not ready for us, what we represented and how we did things. What's even more fascinating when you look at DCA of today, we represnted the future. A young corps, most kids in their teens and early 20's, using a heavy DCI-style influence in staff and show concept... It had to have terrified the status quo to no end. It was NOT how things were supposed to be done, and it threatened their position at the top. We talk nowadays about adapting to the activity or going under. Sky didn't really adapt. Look at what happened over the next several years to them. It's that simple. The Cabs have adapted but think extremely hard about how to do it without compromising their tradition and image. They're still in the top cluster and still have their dedicated fans. They've adapted and kept their sense of self- which they absolutely should have done.

People wonder why I take the Bucs' side and really get strident when people say stupid stuff on DCP about them. When I see those kids out there- and I know a few of them as friends- I see a lot of OUR faces, our looks in their eyes, and hear OUR voices in THEM as well. I have to say the Bucs BEHAVE much better than we did which I really respect about them... but dagnabbit- there are STILL the same kinds of reactions and stupid comments 30 years later about THEM that I know used to be made about US. I'll stick up for those kids at Bucs when stuff like that comes up until I'm dead.

"TBARDCA"... at the Meadowlands in 1982, the crowd let everyone there and out corps know they felt that "TWARDCA". I have a strong feeling that message was heard loud and clear by certain people at that show.

I'll be back later. i have crazy stuff to do before the simulcast.

This anti "The (insert name of forward thinking corps) Are Ruining DCA" rant was brought to you by the Letter G, for G Bugle, and the Letter C for Chumley Drums- the only drums anyone needs on the field. Period.

If you don't know the acronym, figure it out, It's not hard. :satisfied:

I'll get to the Post 199 visit, something I have always appreciated and think of fondly.

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