"No thanks, I won't be staying long..."

[Threats]

I was just thinking of corps that have attained that oh-so-mighty Top Five standing, and what happened to those corps, and I remember reading an article in DCW a long time ago regarding who had made the top five up to that point, but I can't seem to find it online anymore. I thought I'd review it since a couple of new corps have made the Top Five since that article was written.

Obviously, there are several corps that have reached Top Five status and gone on to win it all, so let's get those out of the way:

Anaheim Kingsmen (first title: 1972)

Santa Clara Vanguard (1973)

Madison Scouts (1975)

Blue Devils (1976)

Cadets (1983)

Star of Indiana (1991)

Cavaliers (1992)

Phantom Regiment (1996)

The above represent the only corps that have won DCI titles (please correct me if I got any dates or corps wrong).

Then there are corps that got into the vaunted Top Five, but never capitalized on that achievement:

Blue Stars

27th Lancers

Argonne Rebels

The Troopers

The Kilties

Muchachos

Spirit of Atlanta

Bridgemen

Suncoast Sound

Glassmen

Boston Crusaders

Bluecoats

Crown

Of the above corps, obviously 27th Lancers, Rebels, Kilties, Muchachos, Bridgement, and Suncoast are no longer active as junior corps. Unless these corps are revived at some point, I guess they are destined to go down as corps that never reached the promised land.

Of the remaining corps that are currently active:

Blue Stars: Strong candidate to return to the Top Five eventually, and it is not out of the realm of possibility that they could win a title at some point. I see they were within 3 points of the Cavaliers tonight...I think they're going to surprise some folks this year.

The Troopers: Have not been back in Finals since what....1986? That being the case, it is hard to envision Troop returning to the top five in the foreseeable future, but...it could happen.

Spirit is no longer in Atlanta, and their highest placement since returning to Finals is 10th, spending most of their time at 12th. Maybe it's just me, but this is a corps that strikes me as still in search of an identity. Until they find one, I don't see them moving up too much more.

Glassmen: The Glassmen were highly pumped up in the late 90s by their fans, who proclaimed at the time that they were the second coming of Star. Yet they never could take down the old "perennial four" of Cavies, BD, SCV, and Cadets, and have spent a lot of time in the 10-12 range. They definitely seem to have lost their momentum from a decade ago.

Boston Crusaders are in sort of the same position. They should of capitalized on their popularity and momentum, but like Glassmen they never could get past 5th place, and eventually settled into the 8-10th spots.

Bluecoats and Crown are the latest corps to crack into the top five, and they both seem to have strong programs that could climb further. And, unlike Glassmen and Boston, they have beaten some of those corps ahead of them that the others never could (i.e., both corps have beaten Cadets and Cavaliers, and Bluecoats have beaten Blue Devils). They've also climbed into the 4th spot, one higher than Gmen or BAC.

So, how will these last two fare? Will they go the way of Star...entering the top 5 after steady climbs and finally winning a title? Or will they go the way of Glassmen and BAC, and fade away after a couple of years?

I think the Bluecoats have a great show this year....interesting musically and visually, and performed very well so far. Can they keep up the momentum? Crown's show is also very good, can they continue to hold off Cadets, Cavies, and Phantom, and how will they fare against BD and SCV when they meet up?

So...to put it bluntly...do you think either Crown or Bluecoats will remain a fixture in the top five and eventually win a title, or will they go the way of the corps that failed to capitalize?

[DcFr3aK]

I know that Carolina Crown is there to stay. They have the staff and the membership to keep them there for many years to come! Donnie VanDoren, Matt and Ben Harloff, Michael Klesch, Ray Linkous and many many more, and that's just the brass staff! They also have on staff former members who have several years under those mentioned, including Evan VanDoren, Donnie's son! This is an organization that has hit the ground running, and they aren't letting off any steam!

I absolutely love this topic! Thanks for bringing it to all our attentions!

[FTNK]

Honestly, I'm more concerned about certain other corps being able to stay in the top 5/maintain their ability to challenge for a title

[vferrera]

Muchachos and Bridgemen had a hard time bouncing back from the DQ's

The others - $$$ - same as it ever was.

That's why DCI now requires WC corps to be financially stable. Was not the case in the 70s, 80s or even 90s.

[oldbandguy]

I think both corps certainly have the design team and instructional staff to be and stay top 5. They also have the membership talent. It appears that both corps have great organizational strength and are financially sound. I think it would be wonderful to see both Crown and Bluecoats in the top 3 at the end of this season.

[kdaddy]

Something I'd like to see for the heck of it (though I don't want to do it myself), a breakdown by placement of the number of different corps that have ever reached that placement. It'd be interesting to see, for example, the difference in the number of corps that have reached fifth versus sixth.

[NR_Ohiobando]

CCrown has everything it needs to stay in the top 5 for a long while. I wouldn't be surprised if they won this year. Retention is key.

Bluecoats had everything they needed, but I think too many changes in the last few years are keeping them on the fence (including the uniform). They have the potential, no doubt. Programming is "solid" but it's not anything too spectacular IMO.

Blue Stars are building and if they keep going they'll be knocking on the door very soon.

Edited July 3, 2009 by NR_Ohiobando

[ShortAndFast]

On the face of it, the odds don't look so horrible. Of 21 Top 5 corps, 8 (38%) eventually won a title. Even if we limit ourselves to "modern" DCI since the intro of build-up judging, 3 of the 8 (38%) non-champion Top 5 corps have gone on to win a title.

A good counter argument might be that all 3 won their first title between 1991 and 1996, so maybe something has fundamentally changed since then to make DCI more of a winner-takes-all competition.

I tend to be more in the first camp. I think the only barrier to becoming a champion is to reach and exceed the formidable level of excellence in design and performance that the tops corps have. Star, Cavies and Phantom brought that to the table to win their first titles. Glassmen and Boston, after cracking the Top 5, did not. Crown certainly looks like they are in the process of achieving the necessary level of excellence.

Edited July 3, 2009 by ShortAndFast

[secarizona]

Great topic. I really have nothing to add but this except that the corps that have the most class have seemed to find a way to stay or get healthy. It is tough out there. I really wish that all corps that have left us find a way to become competitive once more.

[DCImonkey]

It's impossible to say where Crown or Coats would be 10 years from now. Just think 11 years ago Bluecoats missed Finals and only 7 years ago Crown missed Finals. Also remember, 10 years ago, the Madison Scouts were a perennial Top 6 corps, and if you were to tell me then that they were going to miss Finals a few times and struggle to get into the Top 12 in the ensuing decade, I would have called you crazy!