En929 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 (edited) I’ve been seeing a lot posts here on Drum Corps Planet and other drum corps sites, and a lot of people seem to wish ill-will on Hopkins and I think that’s just wrong. I definitely do NOT! I think he’s an excellent corps director (I actually met him); I think he’s very passionate about the activity, his group, and does care about the kids and about winning (there’s nothing wrong with wanting to win and be the best: I mean, who DOESN’T want to win and why not try to win if one has the capacity)?? Ok, let’s look; I myself like old school drum corps. I will always love the old drum corps style of the 80s more than what I see now and I too don’t like too much amplification (but the Cavalier’s Samurai show is an exception, they made it work, they sounded good and that’s actually one of my favorite shows – And I actually thought they won that year). Now sure, Hopkins made proposals in DCI that people don’t like that are manifests today but 1) I think he’s just trying to invoke more possibilities IN CASE there are corps that want to do different things or do things we haven’t seen before 2) why not blame the corps that are actually implementing those new proposals because after all, they don’t have to implement the new things. If the corps want to, they can just keep everything old school but corps are not choosing to do so 3) why not also blame the people who votes to pass those proposals and thus have them pass. Hence, it’s not just Hopkins. I think it’s the voting party inside DCI that votes in the new changes (for whatever reason); rule changes that some of us on here don’t like. Edited January 26, 2013 by En929 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayareafan Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I really hate to see people trying to denigrate any corps director. From what I can see George has always had the best of intentions for his corps and for the activity. Whether or not the specific policies he's promoted at DCI have been the best ones is certainly a matter of debate. But his intentions are good as are the intentions of most corps directors. It doesn't look to me like George's views have changed much at all over the years. I agree with his philosophy of teaching each corps member to compete with themselves - to be the best they can possibly be - and then let the competitive results fall where they may. It's an excellent teaching philosophy and we should really hope that every corps director follows a similar philosophy. Look guys, we're all fans of certain corps generally based on the kind of shows we like and other factors. And then there are other corps we may not like so much. I'm not a particularly big Cadets fan. But they are phenomenal on and off the field and they have excellent leadership. People that get on these forums and try to denigrate leaders like George Hopkins are being petty and are demonstrating that they themselves have nowhere near the personal character of the leaders they choose to denigrate. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
En929 Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I really hate to see people trying to denigrate any corps director. From what I can see George has always had the best of intentions for his corps and for the activity. Whether or not the specific policies he's promoted at DCI have been the best ones is certainly a matter of debate. But his intentions are good as are the intentions of most corps directors. It doesn't look to me like George's views have changed much at all over the years. I agree with his philosophy of teaching each corps member to compete with themselves - to be the best they can possibly be - and then let the competitive results fall where they may. It's an excellent teaching philosophy and we should really hope that every corps director follows a similar philosophy. Look guys, we're all fans of certain corps generally based on the kind of shows we like and other factors. And then there are other corps we may not like so much. I'm not a particularly big Cadets fan. But they are phenomenal on and off the field and they have excellent leadership. People that get on these forums and try to denigrate leaders like George Hopkins are being petty and are demonstrating that they themselves have nowhere near the personal character of the leaders they choose to denigrate. I totally agree with everything said here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Blasphemy! Edit....I really wish people would stop sanctifying George. All that Jeff indicated was that if you read his blog, you'll see that George cares about winning. I really wish people stop making him the scapegoat for everything that is EVIL in drum corps too. Sure, he may care about winning, but that's not the ONLY thing he cares about. And people who watch Cadets shows want them to produce competitive shows, so let's stop coming on DCP acting all sanctimonious. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 (edited) I don't mind poking Hop when he deserves it. Unfortunately, "deserve" is relative. This thread does feel pretty caustic towards a guy who's been around long enough to have "old videos". I disagree with his vision of the activity and the methods he's employed to attempt to gain it, but I don't doubt his care for his kids nor the positive impact on them by performing his shows. And he's certainly not evil. As I said earlier, he's on a long and distinguished list of highly-accomplished leaders of this activity. Edited January 27, 2013 by garfield 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I’ve been seeing a lot posts here on Drum Corps Planet and other drum corps sites, and a lot of people seem to wish ill-will on Hopkins and I think that’s just wrong. I definitely do NOT! I think he’s an excellent corps director (I actually met him); I think he’s very passionate about the activity, his group, and does care about the kids and about winning (there’s nothing wrong with wanting to win and be the best: I mean, who DOESN’T want to win and why not try to win if one has the capacity)?? Ok, let’s look; I myself like old school drum corps. I will always love the old drum corps style of the 80s more than what I see now and I too don’t like too much amplification (but the Cavalier’s Samurai show is an exception, they made it work, they sounded good and that’s actually one of my favorite shows – And I actually thought they won that year). Now sure, Hopkins made proposals in DCI that people don’t like that are manifests today but 1) I think he’s just trying to invoke more possibilities IN CASE there are corps that want to do different things or do things we haven’t seen before 2) why not blame the corps that are actually implementing those new proposals because after all, they don’t have to implement the new things. If the corps want to, they can just keep everything old school but corps are not choosing to do so 3) why not also blame the people who votes to pass those proposals and thus have them pass. Hence, it’s not just Hopkins. I think it’s the voting party inside DCI that votes in the new changes (for whatever reason); rule changes that some of us on here don’t like. As regards the points I have bolded: many people here have said the same thing you have, that a majority of the corps directors, not just George Hopkins (or "the 7"), are responsible for incorporating the more expensive elements that Hopkins was among the first to propose. On the other hand, once the changes are allowed, it's not so easy to not use them! A bigger corps is likelier to get a higher score than a lower corps, and it seems an amplified pit is likelier to get a higher score (or maybe a higher caliber musician) than an unamplified one, so even if you voted against increasing the membership size or allowing amplification, now you have to find the money to pay for those things. However, most of the ire directed at George Hopkins lately on DCP derives not (or not directly) from those changes but from his apparent position as co-leader and spokesman for "the 7", whose proposed changes are seen by very many people as harmful to the other corps, and whose latest proposal is couched in terms that many believe to be extortionaate. Rather than re-hash all that here, I simply recommend reading the letter from the Troopers that was copied to the "G7 update" thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Blasphemy! Edit....I really wish people would stop sanctifying George. All that Jeff indicated was that if you read his blog, you'll see that George cares about winning. yeah, I wasn't attacking George or anything...but how many times has he ranted on his blog about panels, or certain sheets not being judged the right way etc...hell yeah he cares about winning. it's good for his corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Thabks for your input but The point is he doesn't JUST care about winning. Clearly that must be obvious to you. Charles, Thank you for adding words to my post. I am replying to HIS words on the videos. Ya know, where he says he doesn't care about winning. He does. His blog shows it. that is all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) yeah, I wasn't attacking George or anything...but how many times has he ranted on his blog about panels, or certain sheets not being judged the right way etc...hell yeah he cares about winning. it's good for his corps. Caring about something and making it the primary focus of the experience are two different things. Not to mention that half of what you wrote is not about 'winning' or 'placements', it is about being evaluated properly (at least how he saw it). Edited January 28, 2013 by MikeD 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) Charles, Thank you for adding words to my post. I am replying to HIS words on the videos. Ya know, where he says he doesn't care about winning. He does. His blog shows it. that is all. Your telling a half truth. Your telling part of the story to make a point to refute mine. You can say he cares about winning but he cares about alot of other things aswell... being judged properly, the educational experience, the fans experience, the show etc. I'm not going to let you get away with that. Sorry, Jeffrey... That is all. Edited January 28, 2013 by charlie1223 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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