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No one is mentioning how close Bluecoats came to winning th Silver tonight. Wow.

Remarkable accomplishment with that Brass trophy, Cadets. What an insane book.

Congratulations BD - FANTASTIC finish this year. Your show grew so much the last 3 weeks! Well deserved win! Congratulations Crown - FANTASTIC year, your show grew and grew, crowd LOVED you and a wonderful season!

UNBELIEVABLE NIGHT!! Congrats BD for #17! Crown, your show may not have taken home the gold, but it was absolutely fantastic! Great job again Bluecoats for overtaking Cadets. FANTASTIC JOB CADETS FOR TAKING THE OTT!!!! See you guys next year.

I normally just skip past these kind of posts, but this one is just horse****. In the first 3.5 minutes of Crowns show, they scatter into their opening set, with about 20 brass stopping and playing little clips, then they prance and dance while playing their brass impact, (is this playing on the move to you?). Then they scatter again and sit as the enter banner is unfurled, then they finally do some "marching" during the drum break when they don't play a note. So, if you equate moving and playing with GE and difficulty, a corps who doesn't do that for the first 4th of their show probably should not be Championship worthy in your mind. As far as DCI re evaluating scoring systems, perhaps when a corps doesn't have the highest visual scores, or the highest brass score, or the highest guard score, and barely a top 5 drum line, and they still come in 1st, maybe that is worth re evaluating?

I'm extremely ###### I had to cancel my trip to finals AFTER I ALREADY MADE THE TRIP!!! But anyway, I couldn't me any prouder of Cadets this year. I remember when we came in 4th in 1999, I was down in the dumps for a few months. This year, THESE Cadets need to hold their heads up high and hopefully go back next year (if you haven't aged out) and bring us more of what makes you so great. Congrats on winning the Ott. That COMPLETELY made my day. This was a tough book and you played the SHIZNIT out of it. Can't wait to see what you bring us next year. And to those who love reading my posts, I appreciate it. But I think it is time I take a little hiatus from this site. I'll most likely be back next summer but I am not so sure I'll be posting in the off-season. We will see. WHAT A FANTASTIC SEASON!!!!!

Can I just thank you all here for keeping me entertained, informed and engaged in this first year as a corps mom. While she was gone we managed to redo her room and spend copious hours watching DCI. Your input while watching was well worth the money spent on the web site and the free information here. Hope she does it again next year but after she gets home and sleeps for a week ( her words) maybe she will know.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the 2015 Drum Corps International World Class Championships Finals competition! I am your host, Kevin Gamin, and I will be providing you LIVE From the Stands! coverage of tonight's event. I am high above it all, literally, in the press box, and have an incredible view of the field. Dan Potter is warming up the crowd and giving the Finals lineup as I type this and we are minutes away from the Vanguard Cadets performing in exhibition as the 2015 Open Class champions. Are you ready for some drum corps?!?!?!?

Unless one is a die hard placement freak, I'd recommend to the rest of us to simply enjoy all these Corps tonite in the Finals for the wonderful Corps that they all are. There is lots of variety, diversity in each of their shows this season and all of them bring to the table some interesting and intriguing things. Let the judges figure out how to evaluate them with the sheets they've been given. Either way, no matter what the judges verdict is, its not in their domain to determine what we like.

Congrats BD on the win. Congrats Crown on the silver. Congrats Bluecoats on the bronze. Congrats Cadets on the Ott. Great corps top to botton in finals.

Congratulations to all the drum corps!!! This has been an exciting season. Heart-broken a bit for Carolina Crown as I really thought they had the title, but a BIG congrats to the premiere organization in DCI, the Blue Devils!! In some ways I am happy for BD, who on so many occasions has dominated a season only to lose to a fan favorite by the slimmest of margins (1988, 2008 especially come to mind). This year they come from behind and win, with a young corps. They are the premiere organization that all the other corps are trying to emulate, and that's a good thing. DCI is healthy with a corps like BD leading the way. Congrats to the Bluecoats on 3rd place and the Bronze medal. Very nice and well deserved. I still say that Bloo has the most modern show I have seen yet. I do think it will be studied and emulated in some way or another by many over the next few years. Congrats to the Cadets on that high brass trophy. Well deserved. You had a beastly brass and percussion line all year. I really thought they had the Sanford locked up, too, but performance is a day to day thing and I hear the snares had an off night. fabulous show this year from a musical perspective, and that drill was the most demanding on the field. That may have cost them, and perhaps going black and their guard as well. Whatever it was they just couldn't get the GE to pop. But this is a show to listen to in the car or when jogging. :) And many congrats to SCV, BK, Phantom, Madison, Cavies, Boston, Blue Stars, and Crossmen on their amazing finals performances.

Clean Rehearsals And Performance - you got that right!

they'll lose NEXT year but the thing is - someone needs to BEAT THEM Cadets could have - with a better design wrapped around magnificent brass and percussion Crown could have - with a better drum line Coats could have - with more caption strength - they have the balance of BD - just a tick or two behind in each caption So everyone roll up your sleeves and improve your weakness. Because BD frankly has NONE

Madison Scouts. And I guess you'll keep criticizing until Crown. Just like last night. Sigh.

They must be doing something right to be in the top 12.....just sayin'. At this point in the game it is sad to hear these types of comments. These musical athletes have worked so hard for so long. We should sit back and watch the talent and beauty in all of the performances. One might not be a favorite of yours, please just keep it to yourself.

I believe that Carolina Crown will be out for blood after getting the DCI-politics-shaft in the oboe competition. BD has a large oboe-shaped target on their back.

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

It's nice to see fans of Blue Devils and Crown being so nice on here tonight. Hope is stays that way.

How do you judge this? How do you put down on paper that any one of these last 5 corps don't deserve 1st? These corps have just provided us with the best season of drum corps. I can walk away now and care less about placements. Well done to everyone this season.

Not a knock on their members after you pretty much said they look like ####. Yeah ok..

No excuses for your comments. NO EXCUSES.

RANT TIME! I'm definitely not the first one to defend BD. However, comments this year are really pissing me off. I have differing levels enjoyment for the top 4, but I have the equal amount of respect for each of them. I didn't like this show til seeing it in its final form at Prelims, but I still had a massive amount of respect for it. People who are saying this show doesn't have as much or any difficulty compared to their peers are full of complete ####. I watched it on the high cam after watching it only in multi all year expecting 8:00+ minutes of scatters and body movement. Is there a lot? Yes. That's just part of their visual style nowadays. But it's not NEARLY as much as 2009 - 2013. The last minute or so is FLYING. Cadets aren't the only one with a hard show this year. I don't understand where people are coming from. Crown has a TON of body movement this year and more scatter than usual. I don't say that as a bad thing, I think the way they do it is just as effective as BD, but you don't hear everyone crying about them when they do it. Bluecoats have some too. I guess some people are just blinded by their affiliation and enjoyment of their favorite corps and can't fathom how BD does so well. They have A LOT of difficulty musically and visually, maybe not in the conventional 1980s and 1990s marching really fast at 226bpm fashion (no offense Cadets), but I finally see the ensemble, simultaneous responsibility, and staging INSANITY people are talking about. I don't think it's lined up completely this year, doesn't seem as polished as say 2014, 2010, ect, but for how hard what they are doing is, it's pretty #### good. You don't have to have the hardest show to win, it needs to be smart, and that's what Blue Devils have found a PERFECT balance of these days. The shows are insanely hard, but they don't cross the line of being uncleanable, which some corps do. Sincerely, a Bluecoats fan, and someone who usually wants someone else to win. If they win tonight, I'm totally behind it. Just like I'd be behind anyone. There's no conspiracy going on. First Blue Devils show I can say that I really enjoy.

Well I can see this thread is still a judging conspiracy cesspool this morning.

The reason Crown lost was because they had a weakness in percussion that never was corrected. It is not a conspiracy. Guard has gone back and forth all season. Like someone else said, you cannot have a glaring weakness and expect to win Finals (beat BD) unless BD happens to have an off night. The crowd is going to go crazy for any corps Crown, Bloo, SCV or even Cadets if there is a chance they will beat the Blue Devils. I get it! People get tired of the same corps winning. I liked this years BD show, however I loved last years BD show, but at Finals BD did not have the fans vote (as far as crowd response goes), Bluecoats did. I really do not think it matters what product BD puts on the field next year, the crowds once they leave CA for tour will be hoping someone else wins. It is human nature, and the people who decide to march with the Blue Devils know what they are getting themselves into. I should not have said Crown lost, they won the Silver Medal.

I'm a huge Bluecoats fan. But I have to step over here to say some positive things. I've been in the trenches result wise before, it doesn't last forever. Cadets, by my own personal account and MANY others said they have the most difficult show on the field this year and performed it with AMAZING levels tonight. They were fantastic. OTT BRASS TROPHY! They sounded AMAZING tonight! First win there since 2005 right? That closer and the crowd reaction they got tonight are the two best things that happened to them this year. They brought the house down with a show that not many others would dare even attempt to put on paper. That's something to be proud of paired with the crowd reaction and the Ott win. I think most people would argue this was the best 4th place show EVER, and DEFINITELY the BEST 4th Place corps EVER. It was an amazing season, and Cadets competitivity was part of what made it so fun. They have nothing to be ashamed up, congratulations on a FANTASTIC 2015 season Cadets! Their best closer ever? Sincerely too. The Cadets crowd on here, or at least the ones I respect, have been AWESOME since day one this season. Regardless of what happened. That's something not every fan base can say. I have the utmost respect for some of you guys. Tekk, you're up on the top of that last. Sad to see you go if you really are. I love reading your posts. Decide who's worth reading and it makes it easier on here. Also..........I tried quitting after San Antonio and I was seduced back on by demons. IT AIN'T EASY! See ya next year Cadets!

And now comes the time where a bunch of people are going to come on here and say they have had it with DCI and they are done forever cause BD won.........only to see them pop back up in June excited for a new season lol.

Crowd did not boo when Crown was announced second. Loud sighs and awws but I heard no booing sitting on the 50. Congrats BD and Crown, both champions to me.

Sour grapes.

Crown was robbed all around tonight.

22,085 paid attendance!

Cadets pulling off yet another closer with music and drill no other corps would even attempt. Love it.

Let's not pretend to know what 149 people are thinking.

Let's focus on the positive. That sucks. But they're killing it otherwise!

Congrats Mark Arnold and BK, two years in a row is no fluke!

What an amazing first half!

Phantom knows how to bring it on finals night no matter the show! Congrats on a great season Phantom! You guys may not have been given the best vehicle, but you helped maintain Phantom's beautiful traditions and brought elegance and grace to the field.

For once, let's talk about someone other than the top corps. We'll get there soon.

Only one corps has performed and I'm already depressed. I love and hate finals.

Sorry if I'm getting a little post happy here... If BD and Crown tie for 1st tonight, does that mean the winning show is entitled "Inkferno"?

This has been an incredible season folks. Really sad it has to come to an end. :(

I judge the success of a BD show by how much I'll be listening to it in the future. This show will be on my aural radar for some time, even though it probably won't win. I listen to more BD shows that lost than won, so after today the numbers are meaningless. For me, this show is a home run. I'd like to see them win, but throwing a hissy fit if they don't isn't in my wheelhouse. The funny thing about this site is that the adults (in age only, of course) are the ones who generally complain the most.

The Troopers are not in because they didn't execute a finals-worthy show well enough. Would this be a discussion without the X-Men penalty?

I don't think George knows what the other judges are giving both the Troopers and Crossmen. He only accounts for at most 10% of their score. Blaming one judge is a little ridiculous.

My thoughts, too. Here we have Cadets winning brass and percussion, yet they can't even finish top 3. They got crushed in visual proficiency (5th in achievement). Not sure I'm buying that number. And their music analysis number should have been higher. Having said that, I just feel the demand is almost TOO high that in the end you just can't get it perfectly clean. The Shostakovitch symphony also presents a problem for them because it lacks the emotional connection that we see if Crown's music, or even BD and Bloo, but it certainly has the technical demand. That coupled with a guard book that wasn't well integrated led to some bad GE numbers. When the Cadets have been at their best in years past, they were still top 3 in brass and percussion, but they had that world class guard under April, and they'd beat you in GE. So odd for me to see them struggle with guard and GE. Big picture, they were truly fantastic this year, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this show. Congrats, Cadets!!! Go for it tonight!

Oh look ma, another BD hater.

It's incredibly frustrating that in a musical activity you can win all the musics but finish 4th. It's time the sheets were revised to restore balance to the Force. Mike

I cannot believe Crown did not win guard.

Bravo BD. Phenomenal performance.

Cadets:

That is what he said. That is what drumcorpsfever said...