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I suspect that if anything changes, it's because folks are leaving for other jobs.

it's 100% a military thing, and people pretending to be all military-like when they are nothing like the military cracks me up. the things people choose to care about.

Hmmm. I think you have no idea about the man's motivations or his understanding of manhood or his responsibility. U of F spokesman said 'his first concern was for the students' safety.' This doesn't appear to be an issue of 'unit identity' or 'toughness.' It appears to be someone responsible attempting to do his job and protect his students. But neither of us were there, so...

Just want to point out that I called this very early in this thread....you people didn't disappoint....lol

I can’t see why the powers that be at BK would willingly change anything.

I'm a fifth-place kind of guy: a solid performer, gets the job done, can inspire. Probably why I love fifth place drum corps shows so much. I have for almost 50 years; including this past decade's competitive ascendent/descendent productions and shows. The best thing about fifth place -- fifteenth, twenty-fifth -- somebody loves them. The best part of being a fan: it's our prerogative to love what we do and wonder in fury or amazement how our personal favorites landed where they did. Here are some of my fifth-place favorites; each one landed right where it should have: my heart. The Kilties 1973 outing was my first time to steam at a corps' fifth-place ranking. What's not to love when you hear "Roundabout," the legendary "Eli's Comin'," and the corps' trademark "Auld Lang Syne"? I only saw the Troopers' championship runner-up show on film, so The Long Blue Line's '74 recanting of much of it would have to suffice. Fifth place. Long-form musical arrangements got a mighty good early airing with the Blue Star's wonderful 1975 show that included the symphonic "Canzona," music by "Chicago," and Billy Joel's namesake, "The Legend of Billy the Kid." "Spartacus," the first, 1981 Phantom Regiment. And not only in retrospect. Madison had quite a fifth-place run in the 80s with some of the corps' most adventurous choices: "Strawberry Soup," the "Colas Breugnon Overture," and music from the Broadway smash "Cats." (Hold that thought.) The fifth-place eighties sported such signature shows as the original "Planets" by the Cavaliers in 1985 and its seminal "Firebird" in 1988. (Not that other, strange, gasping-for-air "Firebird" from 1997.) The signature sound of Suncoast Sound was on spectacular field-wide display with its highest placement for Stan Kenton's "Adventures in Time." (And that, just a year after its sixth-place original symphonic travelogue "Florida Suite.") I have always thought that the Cadet's 1989 "Les Miz" was under-rated, but that was a tough year to stand out from the top two. The Scouts again, 1993, with the exuberant "City of Angels," an approach that I thought the corps might take for a while: musical theater (See "Cats," above). Santa Clara's undulating "La Mer" should be on everyone's best list. Vanguard's "Ballet for Martha" was a fifth-place phenomenon in 2009, as was Boston's 2000 "RED." Before I weigh in on this decade just past, I have to go ahead and put it out there: my personal favorite fifth-place show in DCI history. I watched it just a few minutes ago, as I pondered this post: "Imago" by the 2001 Glassmen. The extended solo that was woven throughout the show is pure brass hypnotism. Ahhh ... ________________________________________ So to the 2010's, and the stellar top-to-bottom fifth-place finishers. I'll top my list with: Third/Fifth: The Cavaliers' "Wrong Side of the Tracks" 2019 Second/Fifth: Santa Clara Vanguard's "Music of the Starry Night" 2012 First/Fifth: Phantom Regiment's stunningly-dramatic "Juliet" 2011 See now, don't we all love us some fifth place drum corps?

For me, the instrumentation makes the difference. I spend thousands of dollars each year going to DCI shows, and a little more on FloMarching and media. That all stops if (when) DCI adds woodwinds. Not out of spite, but simply because I am not interested in that sound.

No doubt. Though there's been some buzz (or otherwise wishful thinking) that Jay Bocook would return to Cadets. If he left BK for Cadets, I'd consider that major news for BK. Though he used to have both jobs back when Cadets were finishing in the top six - here's guessing he'd have to choose one or the other now that they competitors.

Good lord you're a drama queen, giving poppycock a run for their money

That's odd. Im very much against organized religion so I can understand the sentiment but I never felt that the show was pushing any sort of views. It wasn't really preachy, it was more whimsical

Les Miz for me. That mello solo. The flag tosses from behind the props. The drill. It all worked for me.

and BD

You are all over the road now. For one I wouldn't do it but I've seen people break between say an open space from the drum-line and the horn-line even to them. You know what they DIDN'T do? They didn't get physical or even acknowledge it happened. They try to keep their ranks close so it doesn't happen but sometimes it is unavoidable. You know why they didn't freak out and beat people up over that? Because they are professionals and not some two-bit loser with anger issues.

No it isn't especially for band. If you are the type of person that wants to get physical over someone breaking ranks in band you need to get as far away from the activity as possible and please for the love of all that is holy don't tell me you actually teach.

the kids are the future, and outside of the corps themselves, DCA is doing nothing to get them engaged. And there's not enough of them that will stick as fans once they are done to replace the aging audience base. DCI learned to stop going after the so called legacy fan, and go after the kids and their parents, and hope to retain who they can as they go along. DCA hasn't. It's that easy. At 50, I felt young in that crowd at finals last year.

This short message from Tom Jones should alter the mood around here.

they care. But DCA has no office. It's no one's full time job. There's no support staff.

Florida vs Miami. Huge rivals dating back i believe 90 years. First meeting since 2013. College football playoff hopes for both teams especially Florida. Also keep in mind there is no talks of these teams playing each other for the next several years. Bragging rights for maybe the next 6-7 years. I watched the entire game and Miami had their chances to win in the final seconds, but lost 24-20. No doubt Miami fans was crushed, upset, and p****d off. Majority (if not all) of college football games don't serve alcohol. But that doesn't mean people don't drink BEFORE they arrive at the stadium. Knowing all that..........fast forward to after the game. Florida band (victorious) walking back to the buses, female Miami fan (losing team and more than likely not alone) decides to cut through the Florida band ranks. Whether she did it on purpose or not, in your face trolling, nothing good is coming outta this situation. Best thing to do is let it go. It's possible it could have been a setup, her buddies telling her to walk through their ranks, see if someone says something, just to have a reason to start a conflict. Again who knows........but people today are crazy. Gotta be careful. I am just glad the Director wasn't seriously injured, and all the band members are safe.

That would just clog the shoulder of the road nearest the lot.

Perhaps a different approach would be helpful. Instead of trying to limit the $$ corps spend props, it could be approached by limiting the # of semis they can bring into already congested lots. Allow one semi for food truck, and one for equipment. If you can’t fit it in your equipment truck, it’s out. That would obviate the need to lease another truck, pay for driver and fuel, only to transport gargantuan building-sizes props that corps perceive will help them be more competitive. Fewer vehicles on the road brings down cost and risk substantially, and helps at some venues where the parking lots are ridiculously overcrowded. Watching the Cadets kids folding up those stairs every show wearing hard hats made me cringe...and not sure “the juice was worth the squeeze.”

Dude, that's not how any of this works. A couple of points: FloMarching cannot be compared with the size and strength of mega companies like YouTube, Netflix, etc. We're talking about massive, high powered servers that would shred what FloSports has in less than a second. That's how YouTube and Netflix videos look so good. As a television production professional with over 20 years of experience working at the network level (Fox, CBS, ABC) I can testify to the fact that there is NOTHING wrong with the actual production from Flo. If you think this stuff is easy, you go try to do it. What everyone is upset about is the transmission of the signal into your device, not the actual production (these are two completely different things). I bet you probably noticed that on finals night the signal was kinda crappy... we'll that's what happens when your bandwidth starts to get maxed. This is probably an issue that is going to cost more money to fix, and as with any business, Flo has to weigh the cost of adding additional servers to cover the needed bandwidth vs other business priorities. So what would I do if i were DCI? For starters, nothing drastic. I would re-up my contract with Flo and continue to work with them to make the experience better. There is no quick fix, and nothing that can bedone to make everyone happy. Trying to go to a major broadcast network or inline outlet would be incredibly expensive and not be beneficial to DCI or its sponsors from a financial perspective. Add to that you have one of the most recognized broadcast professionals in the industry in Tom Blair guiding the production and broadcast strategy, so it's not like DCI doesn't know what they're doing. The broadcast is in good hands.

Some of you guys think DCI is much larger than it actually is. From someone that has worked in network television and now works on the digital side, there just isn't a large enough audience to appeal to a digital provider to make it worth their effort. In fact there is potential for financial risk involved with pursuing something like this. These kinds of deals are all about relevant market share, something which DCI still does not have. Believe it or not, Flo is probably the best venue to host DCI broadcasts, and the most well suited to do so at the economic level that DCI can participate. And for those that forget, DCI has tried the main stream broadcast game before in its ESPN broadcasts about 13 years ago, and they absolutely flopped (not to mention cost DCI a ton of money). The experiment was a tremendous flop, with DCI paying an extraordinary amount of money for a small audience. They just didn't get the ROI they were looking to get. Let's not forget the monkey in the room... licensing fees for music. Adding television broadcasting to the licensing agreements would be even more expensive. So the big question is, knowing the hurdles that DCI would face (mostly financial) is it worth to invest the money that would be needed just to purchase a couple of hours of broadcast time. The answer is most definitely no.

I think most people could have told you this was going to happen about 2 minutes into their premiere in Detroit. This is not shocking nor is it news......

I predict people will leave, change jobs or just retire

I think Poppycock has left us until spring. Now I’ll just slink back into my corner and watch.

The high school was a nice home for us for a while with Westshoremen Alumni. I even learned how to properly play a triangle there. And the Brewhouse Grille... terrific spot for a craft brew!

That was my thought but didn’t think it was because staff members were unhappy. Also, I’m skeptical about the op really knowing what’s going on.

more like massive

I'll predict that you will see little, if any, changes at Bluecoats.

It is. You must also think it would be okay to cut through a line of the Commondant's Own while they're going from point A to point B. You know, I have even less respect for you now. I'll consider your comments 'fighting words'. You're a bully looking for a fight. I won't put up with the likes of you anymore. the line's been drawn, pal.

Did you read what I stated earlier about being physically assaulted? For the 10th time in this thread. If someone tries to break rank ask them to wait or go around. If they refuse it is NOT WORTH IT TO INITIATE A PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION OVER IT. IT'S JUST BAND. If you are being assaulted you have every right to defend yourself. I have not seen an affidavit posted on this incident anywhere.

All of my posts had to do with rank breakers and not being physically assaulted. Again please read with comprehension before responding. Defending oneself from assault is very different than initiating a physical confrontation because someone that is uninformed attempts to break ranks. Try to separate those two. Sounds like you have band PTSD....seek professional help now.

Another tough one. Given it's basically the same 3 corps (and one Cavies show) I feel comfortable ranking these. 10. Cavaliers Men are from Mars- total miss for me and I am still bitter it passed the jagged line 9. SCV Les Miz- I am just not a musical person, espicially this musical...blah. SCV did a nice job though 8. Crown Second Chance- the weakest of the 4 Crown shows here. Great musically. Just hard to latch to and some dull moments GAP 7. Cadets Power of 10- the Cadets had their act together and at the beginning of the season I thought they might have another championship run with this show. 2015 was such a strong year and this show got the shot straw. 6. 2016 SCV Force of Nature- Absolutely beautiful eloquently performed show. Underscored and underrated 5. Crown Beneath the Surface- Somewhat sterile but absolutely beautiful brass and they moved a lot. Percussion issues fixed. Should have grabbed 3rd. 4. SCV 2014- I think this is the best of the 4th place shows but not necessarily my favorite The opening with the trombones and the percussion is just OMG. 3. Cadets 12.25- bizarre choice after a championship but still a fun, great, clean, easy to follow show. It was fun to see all the Christmas shapes on the field. 2. Crown Beast- this show finished appropriately but it doesn't get enough credit. I personally felt the beast looming the whole time. Loved the ballad and the feature (THATs how you celebrate women), and the closer. I was into this show the whole time. 1. Rach Star- Personal preference and I don't need to explain. Really though 1-7 on my list were close.

Hey Spatzzz, I asked a very simple question. Although mini lectures from anonymous message board posters on what it means to be a “man” are always welcome, if you must know, the biggest threat to rank breakers in our corps came from our (all female) color guard. gregorangecounty

This is just stupid. This type of attitude is dumb.

I kept thinking the same thing all the time. Now I wonder if other people look at my Avatar and think "His location is at Cincinnati Tradition, he must be an MM in that corps"

Going to the next level (9th-7th) I would hope and think would be within reach. Keep the dark and mysterious music coming. Close that gap in drums. Use the finishes the last two years to grow and build on and you'll be just fine.

I'm not talking about this particular incident. I don't for one moment think that this director instigated a physical altercation and was I'm sure just gently requesting that they go around or wait and was at that time assaulted. I am more pointing out that the general public doesn't know about breaking rank nor do they care. I would tell my students to ask people to wait or go around but if they insist on breaking rank to just let go. It isn't worth getting in a physical altercation over. My guess is the "old-timers" here will regale us with stories of how they beat the tar out of people for attempting to break rank. Do that today and you very well could find yourself shot....this isn't 1950.

Could be a long wait for the scores Sunday. I'll make sure I have access to some caffeine. LOL.

The logistical hurdles that a food company would need to jump through to schedule food deliveries for 22 separate contracts across the country in different locations would be a complete nightmare and would most likely drive the costs up to no better than what the corps already get now. I think the person's heart is in the right place by bringing these things up but again I think people close to the activity over-value it's scale and value to other businesses.

This is the dumbest thing I think you've said in this entire thread. How in the world does hiring them internally make this any better and it would cost DCI a ton in overheard. You would need to pay full-time salaries, benefits etc. and that isn't cheap. Contracting this out is cheaper for DCI than it would be to take it in house. Also as has been stated over and over and over again and you just want to ignore DCI does not have a large enough audience to make this worthwhile for most and that includes any ad revenue on Twitch. Add to that Twitch has a stated policy on streaming licensed music which I posted and you just want to ignore and your idea just plain will not work.

Agreed. There's just something about the glow and flash from the lights that's still cool after all these years.

Gotta agree with the onionhead. SOS is what made me a BAC fan after nearly 50 years. Bloo and Cavaliers were fabulous also.

Seriously Only Show Stands Out Superior, So ..................ssssssssssssssss SOS

Bluecoats 2017 for me just slaps. I still can't get enough of it. Most seem split on the ballad, but even that I like about this show. Bloo 2013 has to be second for me, with Cavies 2019 and Crown 2014 being a tie for my third favorites.

A ha! While CT's most recent score is 70.40, their best score was two days earlier at Peckville: 74.95 (about two points behind Fusion and one point ahead of Hucs). That explains it.

the slow death of a great voice with added visual importance

Meanwhile, back at the staff change discussion...

Mine? The moment my daughter walked on the field in semifinals, looked up into the stands and recognized that her brother was in the stadium. Connor had never seen her march corps in all of her 4 years ... and he flew from Boston to see her age-out and surprised her that night in the stadium. As you can see, she was quite surprised ... and it really made a great ending to her four year career.