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1992 was my first year on tour with a drum corps, my rookie year with Glassmen. I had tried out for Bluecoats the previous season, but I only lasted three camps before the ax fell and found me on the outside looking in. Some of my memories: My first drum corps parade in Appleton, Wisconsin, in full uniform. I didn’t know it until the end of the parade when I saw a bank sign show the temperature, but we just marched in 100 degree heat. It must have been a dry heat, I guess! Glassmen passing Bluecoats for the first time in years at the Wyandotte, Michigan show. I swear we stood 6 inches taller in retreat block that night. Wearing literal vinyl tablecloth overlays over our uniform jackets because the corps couldn’t afford new uniforms and wanted a different look. We called it the Spaceman Spiff look. Hosting Drum Corps Midwest championships for the first time in Toledo and all of us in awe of the lone contra player in the Capitolaires as they came off the retreat field. She could play! Spending a rainy free day in a Niagara Falls (US side) mall, followed up by the worst tour day of my rookie season when the entire corps was made to do “Dan Acheson push-ups”, basically planks we held until he said otherwise. Dan had caught the whiff of alcohol on some members’ breath as we boarded our buses after the free day and he was not amused. There’s that one day each season I marched when I wanted to go home. That day in Bellevue, Ohio, was it. Preview of Champions in Nashville, Tennessee. The lower deck went wild for us at Prelims. The upper deck did not. It turns out rehearsing facing the wall of the high school you’re staying at distorts your understanding of how you project your sound. Breaking 80 for the first time in the corps’ history at DCI South in Jackson, Mississippi. We would make DCI Finals for the first time there next season. My first birthday show on August 4th at Kings High School near Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the worst performance I had all season. At one point, I ended up five yards away from my actual set, and then panicked while the corps was in a hold (visual silence, as Tom Acheson liked to call it). It didn’t help that multiple vets felt it was their duty to remind me not to do that after the show. Coming up .1 short of 12th place at Quarterfinals. Brass was 10th, percussion was 19th. Coming up .1 short of 12th place AGAIN at Semifinals. Bluecoats (11th), Freelancers (12th), and us (13th) each dropped a single tenth from our QF score. Brass was again 10th, percussion was 17th, only because there were no more corps to place under that night. Watching my first ever live DCI Finals from the stands. Yeah, I was disappointed I wasn’t on the field as well, but I love drum corps and will never turn down a chance to see it in person. The day after Finals, one of the contras stole a Sidewalk Closed sign from outside of our host school. He smuggled it onto our bus, and then we put it in my car as I drove him home to Shaker Heights before heading home myself in Richfield. I wonder what his parents thought when they saw it? Winning Most Improved Brass (for the first time) completely unexpectedly. Thank you, Sandra Clark, for taking time during move-ins to work with me and make me a better player. You were a great friend and mentor and the world is a sadder place without you in it.

Today I hopped a fence and rescued a baby bunny from our neighbor’s English Cream Lab, so there is a bit of good news. And I am encouraged that I can still hop a fence!

My wife and I are both in the "vulnerable" (over 60) category. I have no problem with your plan "B" ,presuming its 100% voluntary. We both work in "essential" fields,in fact ,my wife is a nurse. We have both been going to work every day since this pandemic started. We have no intention of being "isolated","for our own protection". We wash our hands,she always has,socially distance,where we can,and wear a face covering ,where required. As soon as things like restaurants start opening back up,we'll be there. This seems to be the feeling of most of our friends. I have no problem if any person,regardless of age, wants to isolate themselves till they get the "all clear". Unfortunately,this may be a long way off,if ever. Please don't try to tell me I have to live my life,sitting at home,watching Law and Order reruns, until someone tells me its O.k. to come out.

So yesterday, the assisted living facility where my mother lives and my step-father lived had a virtual, GoToMeet.me memorial service for all who have passed away from the virus at the facility. The service was for 11 people, including my step-dad. It was a Judeo-Christian service, although the three officiants were all Jewish (two rabbis and a cantor). Still, despite the lack of a Christian minister, there was a nod to the Christian faith with quotes from 1Corinthians 15 and a singing of verse 5 of Amazing Grace, but a good deal of the service was in Hebrew, and the words of comfort were based on Psalm 23 (which is ecumenical enough). All in all, it was a rather surreal experience, and later in the day, on my patio, I poured one out for my step-dad.

I like the way your sentences practiced social distancing.

1980 should have been 27th BD Spirit Bridgemen

Nobody's happy about this. Nobody. But just as in other times of crisis, a lot of people recognize the importance of pulling together and doing our parts to get through this. There is a little quibbling about the best way to achieve it. That's all. Well, also some people have others dear to them who have died or are very ill (and with this disease, you can't visit your relatives in the hospital). They're hurting and they deserve sympathy. And kittens.

I am very biased, of course, but 27th Lancers’ medal should have been gold.

Full agreement on all of these points. However the list I could make of changes to the Top 3 would be it's own thread, so I will exhibit some rare self-control and (mostly) only focus on corps 4th and below that should have gotten medals. 1994 Cavaliers, bronze - Here's a weird one: Phantom was better visually but Cavaliers were better musically. I love Phantom's super-original show (the only DCI show ever to not have any color) but the Cavies had a great show too, and got hosed by the effect judges. 1995 Blue Devils, gold - I know what I just said, but this is still the most egregious screw job I've seen in DCI 1995 Madison Scouts, bronze - Should have taken Musical Effect by at least half a point over every other corps that year. Apologies if any of them are reading this, but 1995 Finals judges: you were on crack. 1999 Cadets, bronze - they were flat out better than the Cavaliers in every area except percussion performance. 2007 Phantom Regiment, bronze - The exact reverse of 1994. As sloppy as Phantom was visually, they were that much better musically than the Cavaliers. Cavaliers should have been 7th musically at Finals. But, it's DCI. Visual accomplishment is always credited better than Musical accomplishment. 2015 Cadets, bronze - Yeah, I know, I'm a Shostakovich homer. Maybe I'm being sentimental because this was the last great Cadets show. 2016 Carolina Crown, gold - *whispers* Relentless was the best show of 2016, sorry not sorry 2019 Carolina Crown, bronze - come on, now. Doesn't music matter AT ALL any more? 5th highest music score OF THE DECADE (and arguably should have been higher).

No offense taken whatsoever. I know I'm in the minority opinion.

Yes, it was at Parma. SCV lit that place on fire that night. The 1988 Phantom of the Opera show was such a breath-taking show. I loved when SCV did their Russian shows in 86 and 87, but 1988 was even more theatrical. It loosely walks you through the story without trying to literally tell the story, and the sound of their brass line on the final push (what I used to refer to as a lush winter-green organ sound) put chills through my body.

Oh my old Bichon ... She drove me crazy ... I miss her.

Spirit was strong at finals, but the only time they placed ahead of Bridgemen In 1980 was at prelims. I believe they placed behind Phantom and Madison most of the season too. I watched finals in the comfort of my home on PBS. I did feel that 27th should have won that night but neither 27th or BD had their best show at finals. I had seen Blue Devils at CYO Nationals about a week earlier which some believed was BD’s best show of the season. Lots of folks thought 27th’s best show was at DCI East. That being said, I watched finals with some astute friends, including one who rarely gets a prediction wrong And was sure it would have been the Bridgemen’s night. As I look back now, if Spirit was within a point of first place after everything that happened that season with Jim Ott’s tragic death, you have to wonder what would have happened if things had been different.

Neighbor needs a Bichon. They think the bunny or squirrel or chipmunk is playing when they chase them. Never wants to catch just run right behind. Of course bunny gets a headache trying to jump thru the chain link fence. Had a real small one got caught between the links years back. Stupid dog just sat there whining whole time I was getting it out because the bunny was in trouble. (Save bunny first or shoot dog first). Sound of something hitting chain link fence when you leave dog out at 4am is great for blood pressure 😫

That was at Byers Field in Parma, right? My first introduction to drum and bugle corps was, I think, in the winter of 1987-88 when our director welcomed a couple representatives of the Bluecoats to do a recruiting pitch. I loved marching band, but it wasn't a very effective presentation: people pay to play weird two-valved "bugles" all summer? I know nobody from our school ever tried out for Bluecoats or any corps until a few years after I graduated in 1990. I think what was presented just seemed out of reach to many of us. For some like myself it was partly financial concerns. But also i think some people remembered how two of our best players from the year before were now at Ohio State and had tried out for the marching band there and been nowhere near good enough. If they weren't good enough for that group, how could any of us hope to be good enough for a group where you had to pay (what sounded at the time like) hefty fees to participate? And then next year, when we arrived one morning during our three-week band "camp" (which was just daily rehearsal at the school), we found buses in the parking lot and a bunch of people sleeping on our gym floor. We were told that they were the Garfield Cadets, and after they woke up, they practiced all day long, seemingly without a break, in one of our fields. We learned that they had a performance that night in Parma (just one suburb away), and a few of the others went to see the show, and the next day all they could talk about was Santa Clara Vanguard and the Phantom of the Opera. Funny to learn that more than 30 years ago, friends of mine were watching the same show you were. And when the Garfield Cadets showed up again at our gym floor the next year, in 1989, I watched a bit of their rehearsal during our lunch break. I specifically remember our director telling us during our afternoon rehearsal that if he ever yelled at us the way Cadets' instructors were yelling at them, he'd be fired the same day. And this time I joined the group attending that night's show, which was again in Parma. And it was awesome! And what a shame I hadn't gone to see this show a year earlier.

People forget that there was only a 12 pt spread from 1st to 12th place. It stood as the most competitive finals in DCI history until the 2000's. I'm not going to go look it up ... They also forget how close this fight was for finals: 12 Sky Ryders 86.6 13 Dutch Boy 86.4 14 Crossmen 85.6 15 Freelancers 85.2

Dundalk and catonsville also canceled pretty sure the others will be canceled

OUCH! Taking away Bridgemen's only medal ... and giving Spirit (what would be) their only medal? That's a tough call. I agree that 27th had an argument.

Just thinking of any wild pitches... “nah I ain’t getting it... ump give me a new ball..”

I should probably make that my signature.

That’s horrible. Ugh. So sorry to hear that.

I was not going to say anything, this being the encouragement thread. But since it is your thread... good point. And a big part of what you call "plan B" is sustainable precautions. Less handshaking, more handwashing. Covering nose and mouth. Maintaining space between people. Curbside commerce, etc.

I’ve noticed some under the nose versions. But I am noticing fewer mask wearers when I’ve gone to a grocery store and the pharmacy. Employees are getting better At these laces but many people are not. And many people don’t get the one way aisle concept. It’s not that hard.

Here is a look at scores from August to the end of the 1988 season -- with some comments by me after some of the show scores. --------------- Monday, August 1 --------------- Cleveland, OH DCI 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 90.5 2 Garfield Cadets 89.6 3 Bluecoats 81.2 4 Troopers 66.9 5 Blue Knights 66.6 6 Colts 61.3 7 Limited Edition 43.3 * I was at this show and SCV just totally blew my mind. AWESOME in every aspect! Fort Wayne, IN DCI 1 Phantom Regiment 87.8 2 Madison Scouts 87.1 3 Sky Ryders 73.6 4 Freelancers 71.2 5 Marauders 63.1 6 Spartans, WA 55.4 7 Glassmen 51.1 8 Mandarins 39.9 Indianapolis, IN DCI 1 Blue Devils 92.8 2 Velvet Knights 87.7 3 Spirit of Atlanta 84.9 4 Crossmen 76.4 5 Florida Wave 71.3 6 Quad City Knights 60.3 Montreal, QUE DCI 1 Star of Indiana 89.7 2 Cavaliers 88.4 3 Suncoast Sound 82.5 4 Dutch Boy 80.0 5 Boston Crusaders 70.8 6 Ventures 64.9 7 Beatrix' 47.3 8 Transit 46.6 -------------- Tuesday, August 2 -------------- Cincinnati, OH DCI 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 91.3 2 Phantom Regiment 89.6 3 Madison Scouts 88.2 4 Velvet Knights 87.6 5 Spirit of Atlanta 83.8 6 Sky Ryders 76.1 7 Freelancers 73.8 8 Florida Wave 68.4 9 Glassmen 51.7 10 Limited Edition 45.9 * Phantom was still hanging around...not too far off of SCV Rome, NY DCI 1 Star of Indiana 87.8 2 Cavaliers 87.6 3 Suncoast Sound 82.9 4 Dutch Boy 80.2 5 Boston Crusaders 67.0 6 Ventures 63.0 7 Beatrix' 40.8 ------------- Wednesday, August 3 ------------- Evansville, IN DCI 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 92.1 2 Velvet Knights 88.4 3 Spirit of Atlanta 86.2 4 Crossmen 78.4 5 Marauders 64.3 6 Quad City Knights 58.0 Morgantown, WV DCI 1 Garfield Cadets 89.0 2 Madison Scouts 88.9 3 Bluecoats 83.8 4 Colts 66.4 5 Troopers 65.8 * I attended this show with my girlfriend from Pittsburgh. She looked at me after Madison finished and was in love with their show. Cadets beat them by .1 but I knew at that moment Madison was going to wave bye bye to the Cadets. And Cadets would finish 4th. Pittsfield, MA DCI 1 Star of Indiana 89.3 2 Cavaliers 88.7 3 Dutch Boy 79.8 4 Boston Crusaders 69.2 5 Blue Knights 67.6 6 Ventures 64.2 7 Beatrix' 46.9 -------------- Thursday, August 4 -------------- Lynn, MA DCI 1 Star of Indiana 89.5 2 Cavaliers 88.8 3 Dutch Boy 80.9 4 Boston Crusaders 72.5 5 Blue Knights 69.9 6 Beatrix' 49.1 Sevierville, TN DCI 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 91.6 2 Madison Scouts 90.2 3 Spirit of Atlanta 85.2 4 Crossmen 78.6 5 Freelancers 76.4 6 Sky Ryders 74.6 7 Florida Wave 68.0 8 Quad City Knights 54.5 *Madison not too far behind West Chester, PA DCI 1 Blue Devils 93.7 2 Garfield Cadets 91.9 3 Bluecoats 85.4 4 Troopers 72.8 5 Colts 66.9 6 Spartans, WA 62.3 --------------- Friday, August 5 --------------- Garfield, NJ DCI 1 Garfield Cadets 92.4 2 Phantom Regiment 89.1 3 Bluecoats 85.0 4 Colts 73.6 5 Troopers 69.0 6 Spartans, WA 54.2 -------------- Saturday, August 6 -------------- Allentown, PA DCI DCI East Prelims 1 Blue Devils 93.4 2 Star of Indiana 91.1 3 Garfield Cadets 90.7 4 Cavaliers 90.5 5 Phantom Regiment 88.9 6 Bluecoats 85.9 7 Dutch Boy 79.3 8 Troopers 71.9 9 Boston Crusaders 71.4 10 Blue Knights 69.8 11 Colts 68.4 12 Glassmen 57.4 13 Spartans, WA 57.2 14 Beatrix' 49.7 Birmingham, AL DCI DCI South Prelims 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 92.2 2 Madison Scouts 90.8 3 Velvet Knights 87.8 4 Spirit of Atlanta 86.7 5 Suncoast Sound 84.5 6 Crossmen 79.7 7 Freelancers 77.5 8 Sky Ryders 77.3 9 Florida Wave 75.7 10 Marauders 70.9 11 Quad City Knights 60.6 12 British Crusaders 59.3 Allentown, PA DCI DCI East 1 Blue Devils 93.7 2 Star of Indiana 91.5 3 Garfield Cadets 90.9 4 Cavaliers 90.8 5 Phantom Regiment 89.6 6 Bluecoats 85.4 7 Dutch Boy 80.9 8 Troopers 71.9 9 Blue Knights 71.1 10 Boston Crusaders 69.3 Birmingham, Al DCI DCI South 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 92.2 2 Madison Scouts 90.4 3 Velvet Knights 88.8 4 Spirit of Atlanta 87.7 5 Suncoast Sound 84.8 6 Crossmen 79.9 7 Freelancers 77.8 8 Sky Ryders 76.8 9 Florida Wave 74.4 10 Marauders 67.1 --------------- Monday, August 8 --------------- Jonesboro, AR DCI 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 91.9 2 Spirit of Atlanta 85.8 3 Crossmen 77.0 4 Florida Wave 75.0 5 Marauders 67.8 6 Black Gold 51.3 Vincent, OH DCI 1 Blue Devils 93.8 2 Cavaliers 92.1 3 Bluecoats 86.7 4 Boston Crusaders 73.1 5 Spartans, WA 65.0 6 Glassmen 58.4 7 Limited Edition 52.3 *Cavaliers not that far behind BD Winston-Salem, NC DCI 1 Star of Indiana 90.4 2 Garfield Cadets 89.5 3 Phantom Regiment 89.3 4 Dutch Boy 80.1 5 Colts 70.7 6 Quad City Knights 64.1 -------------- Tuesday, August 9 -------------- Charlotte, NC DCI 1 Garfield Cadets 92.3 2 Phantom Regiment 90.4 3 Suncoast Sound 85.0 4 Dutch Boy 82.6 5 Blue Knights 70.7 6 Colts 69.8 Columbus, OH DCI 1 Blue Devils 94.2 2 Cavaliers 93.2 3 Bluecoats 87.2 4 Boston Crusaders 77.6 5 Troopers 74.7 6 Spartans, WA 62.6 7 Limited Edition 54.5 8 Beatrix' 49.9 *Cavaliers handing in there with BD ------------- Wednesday, August 10 ------------- Bloomington, IN DCI 1 Blue Devils 95.2 2 Cavaliers 93.3 3 Star of Indiana 92.4 4 Bluecoats 87.6 5 Troopers 75.9 6 Quad City Knights 62.5 7 Beatrix' 51.0 Houston, TX DCI 1 Madison Scouts 92.5 2 Velvet Knights 89.5 3 Sky Ryders 83.1 4 Freelancers 79.9 5 Black Gold 58.5 6 British Crusaders 57.3 Springfield, MO DCI 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 91.8 2 Spirit of Atlanta 86.7 3 Crossmen 76.9 4 Florida Wave 75.2 5 Marauders 67.6 6 Railmen 48.7 ------------- Thursday, August 11 ------------- Dallas, TX DCI 1 Madison Scouts 92.9 2 Velvet Knights 91.0 3 Spirit of Atlanta 90.1 4 Sky Ryders 84.3 5 Freelancers 84.1 6 Florida Wave 79.1 7 British Crusaders 58.5 8 Black Gold 57.5 Huntington, WV DCI 1 Garfield Cadets 94.5 2 Phantom Regiment 92.8 3 Suncoast Sound 87.3 4 Dutch Boy 84.4 5 Blue Knights 73.7 6 Colts 72.8 -------------- Friday, August 12 -------------- Dayton, OH DCI 1 Star of Indiana 92.9 2 Garfield Cadets 92.4 3 Phantom Regiment 91.8 4 Suncoast Sound 84.9 5 Dutch Boy 84.1 6 Spartans, WA 63.5 7 Glassmen 59.6 8 Beatrix' 55.9 *Top 3 very close Des Plaines, IL DCI 1 Blue Devils 94.5 2 Cavaliers 92.8 3 Bluecoats 87.1 4 Boston Crusaders 76.1 5 Troopers 75.7 6 Quad City Knights 66.3 7 Blue Eagles 52.2 Great Bend, KS DCI 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 94.8 2 Spirit of Atlanta 90.3 3 Crossmen 78.1 ^ Florida Wave 78.1 5 Marauders 72.0 Wichita Falls, TX DCI 1 Madison Scouts 94.4 2 Velvet Knights 93.0 3 Freelancers 86.1 4 Sky Ryders 84.9 5 British Crusaders 58.4 6 Black Gold 56.6 ------------- Saturday, August 13 ------------- Marion, OH DCI US Open Prelims 1 Garfield Cadets 93.2 2 Phantom Regiment 92.8 3 Star of Indiana 92.3 4 Dutch Boy 84.6 5 Blue Knights 76.4 6 Colts 75.3 7 Spartans, WA 63.2 8 Glassmen 62.3 9 Beatrix' 59.2 10 Oakland Crusaders 51.4 11 Calgary Cavaliers 25.1 Marion, OH DCI US Open 1 Star of Indiana 94.3 2 Garfield Cadets 93.8 3 Phantom Regiment 93.3 4 Dutch Boy 86.0 5 Blue Knights 80.0 6 Colts 78.5 7 Glassmen 65.6 8 Spartans, WA 65.2 9 Beatrix' 59.6 10 Oakland Crusaders 44.4 *Star still in the mix with Cadets Saint Louis, MO DCI DCI Mid-America 1 Blue Devils 93.5 2 Cavaliers 93.1 3 Bluecoats 88.4 4 Suncoast Sound 87.4 5 Boston Crusaders 77.5 6 Troopers 77.3 7 Quad City Knights 68.4 *Cavaliers only .4 off of BD **BD had seemed to stagnate by this point. They hit a 95.2 on August 10 and then never scored above a 94.8 the rest of the regular season until Semis and Finals. Tulsa, OK DCI 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 94.3 2 Madison Scouts 93.9 3 Velvet Knights 89.6 4 Spirit of Atlanta 89.4 5 Sky Ryders 84.1 6 British Crusaders 61.0 7 Black Gold 60.1 *Madison only .4 off of SCV -------------- Sunday, August 14 -------------- Joplin, MO DCI 1 Madison Scouts 92.7 2 Spirit of Atlanta 89.7 3 Suncoast Sound 87.8 4 Freelancers 82.6 5 Marauders 75.5 6 British Crusaders 62.9 7 Black Gold 59.1 Toledo, OH DCI 1 Garfield Cadets 94.8 2 Phantom Regiment 94.5 3 Dutch Boy 87.9 4 Colts 80.2 5 Blue Knights 80.1 6 Glassmen 72.4 7 Spartans, WA 72.1 8 Beatrix' 65.2 -------------- Monday, August 15 -------------- Omaha, NE DCI 1 Spirit of Atlanta 92.6 2 Suncoast Sound 89.8 3 Bluecoats 89.3 4 Troopers 79.0 5 Boston Crusaders 78.7 6 Quad City Knights 71.4 7 Railmen 58.6 Wichita, KS DCI 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 94.2 2 Cavaliers 93.6 3 Crossmen 85.2 4 Sky Ryders 82.6 5 Florida Wave 80.0 6 British Crusaders 61.6 *Cavaliers were really close to SCV this night ------------- Thursday, August 18 ------------- Kansas City, MO DCI Open Prelims 1 Dutch Boy 87.9 ^ Crossmen 87.9 3 Freelancers 85.7 4 Florida Wave 82.3 5 Boston Crusaders 81.6 6 Troopers 80.2 7 Marauders 79.3 8 Blue Knights 78.5 9 Colts 77.5 10 L'Insolite 71.2 11 Quad City Knights 70.0 12 Glassmen 69.1 13 Spartans, WA 68.7 ^ Ventures 68.7 15 Northern Aurora 66.6 16 British Crusaders 64.4 17 Black Gold 61.3 18 Kiwanis Kavaliers 58.7 19 Mandarins 53.7 20 Phantom Reg Cadets 51.7 -------------- Friday, August 19 -------------- Kansas City, MO DCI Semi Finals 1 Madison Scouts 97.8 2 Blue Devils 96.6 3 Santa Clara Vanguard 96.3 4 Cavaliers 95.6 5 Garfield Cadets 94.8 6 Phantom Regiment 93.6 7 Star of Indiana 93.1 8 Velvet Knights 91.9 ^ Spirit of Atlanta 91.9 10 Suncoast Sound 90.5 11 Bluecoats 88.6 12 Sky Ryders 86.6 13 Dutch Boy 86.4 14 Crossmen 85.6 15 Freelancers 85.2 16 Florida Wave 82.0 17 Blue Knights 78.6 18 Colts 78.5 19 Troopers 77.8 20 Boston Crusaders 77.6 21 Marauders 76.2 22 L'Insolite 71.2 23 Quad City Knights 69.7 24 Ventures 67.9 25 Glassmen 67.5 26 Spartans, WA 65.9 *Of note, the fans would not see these scores since they were withheld until after Finals. So nobody knew who won Semifinals. I think Steve Rodinaro did as he kind of called it before the show on PBS. ------------- Saturday, August 20 ------------- Kansas City, MO DCI DCI World Championship 1 Madison Scouts 97.1 2 Santa Clara Vanguard 96.9 3 Blue Devils 96.3 4 Garfield Cadets 96.1 5 Cavaliers 95.1 6 Phantom Regiment 93.5 7 Star of Indiana 92.8 8 Velvet Knights 90.6 9 Spirit of Atlanta 89.3 10 Suncoast Sound 89.1 11 Bluecoats 86.7 12 Sky Ryders 85.1 I can argue that SCV likely should have won Finals. Top to bottom I felt they had the best overall show. Madison was great though, and clean, and the GE of that closer was awesome. BD in 3rd seemed right to me. Cadets in 4th also correct. Cavaliers really pulled away late over Phantom and Star. The top 8 corps were frankly stellar, and that includes Velvet Knights. Just check out how good VK's scores were coming down the stretch in 1988. Top to bottom one of their best competitive shows. All in all, a fantastic Finals for DCI in 1988.

Unfortunately 300k/day isn’t nearly enough to shorten the time for a full reopening. That would take nearly 4 years for the US population to be tested. The initial guidelines are better at stemming the tide. If the entire country were all drum corps mm’s or former mm’s we would have unified discipline to maintain 6’ and wear a mask.

1988 was a very solid year for DCI. Right up there with 90, 92, and 95. I rank 92 highest, and after that I might go 90, 95, 88. Solid years. Of the top tier corps all the shows were really good. Phantom Regiment and Santa Clara, IMO, had the two most beautiful shows with Romeo and Juliet and Phantom of the Opera. Even just listing to the audio of these two shows makes for a nice drum corps listening experience. The Blue Devils were undefeated for the entire season until semifinals, but as good as they were I didn't get the sense that they were unbeatable that year. I love the show top to bottom, but visual design was an issue. Still a fun show with Barbara Streisand's "Happy Days are Here Again." So many great solos, and the brass was killer good. It took me a while to grab onto Cadets. Tough show. They had done Copland before, but pulling off Copland's 3rd Symphony is a difficult task. The show definitely took time to hit, but their Finals performance is stellar. They were only 1 point off of Madison at Finals. The Cavaliers 1988 show is still one of my favs. I think after Phantom Regiment and SCV they were my 3rd favorite show of that summer. Firebird was done well and I loved their closer. When it comes to Madison, I love the show -- even the more nuanced and contemporary "Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra." Obviously the closer is what most remember. That version of Malagena is likely the quintessential version that many of us think of when hearing someone else try to perform the tune. Their ending rocked the house. Of course, there are plenty of stories and arguments over "when did Madison hit their peak?" When did they assert themselves into the front-runner spot. It may be that they just kept plugging away until the last day and the judges rewarded them in the end. To be fair, Madison started the season very strong. I saw them live in Whitewater, WI early that season and they took first place easily. I really felt at that point they had a top 5 show. Now, did I think they would be top 3 or first place? Probably not...not without seeing BD, SCV, Cadets. But it was clear to me they had top 5 potential. So it was not like they were in 9th place and came from no where. Below are the early scores from Madison's brief contests before they traveled to Europe. Menasha, WI DCM 1 Madison Scouts 69.2 2 Cavaliers 67.0 3 Phantom Reg Cadets 37.0 4 Quad City Knights 34.1 5 Guardsmen 32.6 6 Blue Stars 28.6 7 Northmen 26.5 8 Madison Jr Scouts 25.2 --------------- Sunday, June 12 --------------- Janesville, WI DCM 1 Madison Scouts 68.2 2 Cavaliers 66.4 3 Quad City Knights 30.8 4 Guardsmen 28.6 5 Northmen 25.9 6 Madison Jr Scouts 21.3 --------------- Friday, June 17 --------------- Whitewater, WI DCM 1 Madison Scouts 69.4 2 Bluecoats 65.5 3 Cavaliers 64.8 4 Star of Indiana 64.2 5 Phantom Regiment 63.6 6 Sky Ryders 58.9 7 Minnesota Brass 39.2 8 Emerald Knights 33.8 9 Northern Aurora 32.6 One thing to note about Phantom's placement of 5th at this show was that they seemed barely ready to march the visual package. They were seriously sloppy. If you take a look at scores, Phantom would quickly move upward (minus Scouts who were in Europe). Star of Indiana also had some early and mid-season success. Bluecoats were awesome in 1988, but the show was not designed to stay in contention with the top 6. They were much cleaner early season. One the other corps got cleaner that changed things.

How do you know that it's not a giant North Korean Killer-Murder-Robber-Procrastination kitty? Do you even have proof that such a creature does not exist? I want to see stats so that I can argue about them until every single person on this thread rolls their eyes and falls into a statistical coma.

No disagreement here. Your concern is valid. However, I can offer some encouragement. First, speaking for myself... from the beginning, I have always said that this virus situation is serious. I have also said not to panic. Both under- and over-reaction need to be avoided. When you look past media (social or traditional) and observe real-life response, it is encouraging to see that panic has been avoided (or at least, limited to the toilet paper aisles). This is good! Regarding "serious" - again, I think there is much to be encouraged about when you look past what media (social or traditional) harps on, and make unfiltered observations of how people are behaving. I have to admit, though, that I am not quite as encouraged as I was a month ago. I see "seriousness" as a two-faceted issue. Public behavior is the key, of course - but the public take their cues from the policymakers (be they politicians, health experts, store owners, etc.). The guidance needs to make sense. Policies need to be based on science and conditions on the ground, not other agendas. The actions of policymakers need to match their words. If policymakers are not serious with their policies, their messages lose credibility among the people. IMO, there has been enough of that to cause people to push back against policies where the punishment does not fit the crime, so to speak. Occasionally, this pushback manifests in ways that are unwise and concerning. I used to say we were 99+% voluntarily executing policy guidance, but in light of all that has transpired, I have to revise that down to 98+%. Still, it is encouraging to see us headed toward a better informed, and sustainable, set of precautions for life going forward. Me too. But... ... that is not the answer. This thread is for both people who need encouragement, and people who can provide encouragement. Some of us fall into both categories over time (myself included). We are still at our peak need for encouragement, IMO. Therefore, we need to maintain social encouragement measures while we flatten THAT curve. Shutting down thread after thread punishes everyone for the actions of a few. That is not the appropriate response.

I’m encouraged that my BMI is well below Kim Jong Un’s.

Light people can also have a high BMI. 😉 Do you know how tall Jong-un is? After all, BMI is only a ratio not another way of saying heavy. 😷

IMO certainly in that era, anyway.

Instead of shutting this thread down, how about one of you who just can’t stop themselves from injecting your political views start a different thread and have at it.

Encouraging news: today Admiral Brett Giroir, the Assistant Secretary for Health, said that by September, the U.S. ought to be able to test 50 million people per month. We've recently reached the point where we're testing about 300,000 per day, so this would be more than five times better than our best numbers so far, and while I wish we could do it sooner, it still would be a huge step to making it possible for the country to safely open up.

No one is happy about our shared situation. But I do not think we are witnessing an overreaction to our predicament. I am more concerned that people aren’t taking this pandemic seriously enough. Please feel free to disagree. But this thread is supposed to be about encouragement, and every few days it digresses to political talking points. I, for one, am tired of this cycle. I again urge the mods to close it down.

Medals!? We didn't get no stink'in medals. WTH! No beef with any of the placements except to say I believe we would have placed higher than 3rd in 1974 had our corps been larger. So odd to see 2-7 finished in the top three only once during the DCI era. Best corps to have never won DCI. I liked the Tic system way better. Kept the Broadway people in check.

I'll have to look up that show. Every now and again, I'll hear or see a recording of a less-familiar show and will be shocked by how low it placed. Jersey Surf did a West Side Story show in 2002. I've never seen it, but it sounds tremendous on the CD, and deserving of a higher position.

I first heard of drum corps in the late 1980s, saw my first show in 1989, saw one show a year into the early 1990s, and then didn't get back to another show until the end of the decade (but not really becoming a serious fan for another ten years or so). In 2000 or so, I bought the Brass Roots VHS. That was a historical retrospective DCI put out to mark its 25th anniversary, much of it consisting of a roundtable discussion with a few interspersed short clips, but concluding with a lengthy montage of excerpts from every championship show through 1996. Including Phantom's slow opener, which was an absolute stunner. My funds were limited, but I knew I had to buy the video of the full show.

this i believe

There was no looking back for Regiment after Allentown. I must say finals was surreal. I was working souvies and when the scores were announced, the souvie staff from Blue Devils were the first to congratulate us. With champagne. They were gracious co-winners. I swear we sold out of everything on that trailer!

A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom. It appears that corps have never played anything by Little Richard, who died today at the age of 87.

So you see, Ghost....you indeed are the ONLY ONE who seems to be #####ing about these vids. STFU now.

Cadets. Copland's Third Symphony. So well done. Just so well done. I had not listened to his Third Symphony before Cadets performed it. I had listened to Fanfare for the Common Man however. I moved to Montreal in '85. Our Metro has three notes that play at the start of every train leaving the station. They are the same three notes at the beginning of Fanfare. Every time I take the Metro I think of Copland.

'88 Phantom. Beautiful drill, wonderful music. They won best guard that year. Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet. I think the program was a bit ahead of it's time. Still, a beautiful show.

Between those two viewings, we completely revamped the closer, based on Amy Grant's Christmas album rendition of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and a call back to our opening number. We called our closer "the cigarette" because Mighty Fortress before it was so powerful, it was the definite climax of the show. The revamp came in Ypslianti, MI, at the Preview of Champions. We learned the whole new closer the day before Prelims of that weekend, which was amazing for our corps at the time. '95 has so many great memories.

Hard to believe we improved almost 30 points over the season (88.3 at Finals). This was our home show as well as our season opener and, unfortunately, it wasn't a good run. It didn't help that the DM started counting us off without calling us to attention at the start of the show, so there was a lot of panicked bringing horns up to play from parade rest. That had an obvious effect on the performance.

Can't argue with everyone's recording opinions - the '95 (and other IBM years) shows are awful next to the ones before and after. The pit is massively overbalanced and the whole thing sounds like it wasn't processed at all - just "here, have some noise." Yikes. I think '95 was another one of those years where the 1st-12th group was incredibly strong. Sure didn't feel like a 15 point spread. The Cavaliers, of course, won title #2 on the backs of GE and Visual. Their drill was magnificent, and closer to the 2000-2006 Cavaliers than the '92 one. Lots of big drill moves to jump around for, and their battery was a behemoth. I don't have a lot to add to everyone else's thoughts - it was just #### good drum corps. Cadets had a healthy spread over BD, and I felt it was really more of a pick 'em. Cadets felt stronger in GE and percussion, BD felt stronger in brass and visual. (I have no idea what the actual caption scores were - just my impression.) The Cadets were a ton of fun in '95, even with extra helpings of cheese thrown on, and the John Williams tunes kept everything bright and fast, which to me is Quintessential Cadets. Blue Devils kind of made my head explode in '95, as both musically and visually they decided to discard everything they'd done for decades in one fell swoop. Looking back on it as an adult, it kind of had to happen to stay competitive - judges just weren't going to crown old-school jazz shows - but to young me it felt like a bit of a betrayal. Musically, they were ok, though it sure as heck didn't feel like an undefeated show coming in . Visually, if there was a story, it's definitely a head scratcher as to what was going on out there. All in all, in historical context, it was more of a transition year than a statement year. And they turned out okay. Madison did what they did. It wasn't a revolutionary design, and the charts, while slightly torquing up the difficulty, didn't set minds alight. They just did what they do, but they probably did it better than they've ever done before or since. (Yeah, counting the two title shows as well.) I have a handwritten copy of the snare chart to La Danza Pasillo, and you can pry that from my cold hands. I'm very much of the opinion that audience reaction should count in GE - if you're not playing to the audience in front of you, why bother? - and I haven't heard a convincing argument yet why Madison shouldn't have been first in that caption. My *only* gripe - I don't like Concerto de Aranjuez as a song. That's... about it. Phantom's dark pivot was awesome, as were their charts in '95. Purple was a great choice to accompany the silver and black, and it looked great on Rich Stadium's bright turf. (Probably my second favorite TV backdrop from those years. Camp Randall was first - the colors always popped there.) The show has a weird double ending where it feels like you're done at about 9 minutes in, right before the closer, then it picks up again. From a pacing standpoint, either the back of the show got really twisted throughout the summer, or someone on the programming team needed a talking to. Drum feature was cool for it's literal bells and whistles, but I kind of hoped they'd be a little more aggressive throughout. Santa Clara's show was a bit of a mess. The front half was pretty neat in twisting Nutracker stuff, and it actually made sense. The back half of the show turned into a standard Nutcracker show and dropped the pretense. They didn't mesh very well. I think this one sounded better on paper than it did on the field. Bluecoats absolutely deserved their jump to 7th, and I'd have had them in 6th. This was their first real show that communicated a visual theme and story, and they hit a home run. The music was engaging and more sophisticated, the program rode all of the peaks and valleys, and that drum line was rock solid. It felt like this was they year they adapted to the 90's, and we're all glad they did! Glassmen, to me, also hit programming paydirt after their incoherent '94 show. Bach just lends itself to good brass arrangements, and Glassmen brought the hornline to do it justice. Beautiful guard (and I'm not a guard guy) and good drill program helped a lot too. Drumline was all right, if they didn't set the world on fire. Colts and Glassmen always seemed to be Finals partners during these years. This was really the first Colts show that grabbed me long-term. It was also really the first time I'd really listened to any Sondheim. As such, it has a lot of flow, but not much extended development or repetition to latch on to. There was a very stream of consciousness sort of pacing to it, and that made it memorable. Crossmen ... well, I liked the music. Both School for Scandal and Sym. for Brass and Percussion were memorable, exciting charts, and the drumline brought the heat in the closer quite nicely. It just wasn't The Crossmen, you know? Overall, though, I think I had less of a problem with it than most, because the did managed to shoehorn the battery in so nicely. Carolina Crown made their first Finals with Stephen Melillo and the largest 90's shoulder pads known to man. I'm automatically predisposed to any show that courageously includes Enya, and Stormworks was pretty cool. Can't argue with the placement - it felt about right. Magic of Orlando dropped the Cirque stuff while... not dropping the Cirque stuff. The Robert W. Smith charts were really cool, though, evoking the same feelings while putting it in a more drum-corps-ey setting. Much more complex music than '93 and '94, and they were growing up nicely - though at the time we didn't understand it. They got kind of fairly / kind of unfairly labeled as the "weird" corps. With the advantage of hindsight, they were merely ahead of their time. Other notable shows - Blue Knights zagged right off the cliff, though they recovered fairly quickly. VK dropped most of the pretense and put on a drummer's delight. Troopers felt a more distant 14th than they did the year before. Pioneer jumped onto a looot of people's radar (in a good way) with a Totally Irish show that worked. All in all, like I said a very strong 1-12 lineup. Most of the shows were just fun, while still growing up on a showmanship and sophistication level. Mike

So much good music played in '95. Too bad the finals recordings sound like they were done with a Ronco Mr. Microphone. That was the year IBM did them I think.

90% is an impressive number! It's early and things sometimes come up. I hope that those who have already committed to Cadets 2021 are able to follow through and march. Wishing them the best. A couple of questions if I may, George...... Will they be doing these virtual camps all summer at certain intervals or is this a "one & done"? And was there any kind of update about the "divorce" with YEA and that whole thing? I haven't been following that stuff very closely. Thanks!! And best of luck to the Cadets and all the corps as they navigate unchartered territory.

I’m thinking testing for those that would be in contact with people who would be in danger if they caught coronavirus. That includes Meals On Wheels, visiting angels, home nursing, home therapy, in office doctor and therapy, etc, etc. Also members of family who live with and provide care to the person in danger Wife and her mother had issues and might be surprised how much in home care and services there are. And hope we don’t get too set on age as a determination. Wife caught pneumonia from a bad flu 2 years back and passed at age 56.