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Imagine, for a moment, that you are a kid auditioning for your favorite corps. You take look around as you stand in the horn arc, drumline or guard line and realize you’re the only kid of that ethnicity standing in that hornline; no one else there with whom to talk about your background, no one else who identifies with the struggles you’ve had to get to the point where you can actually AFFORD to march; hardly any instructors, staff members or caption heads who identify with your background. This isn’t exclusive to one demographic; in fact, this exists with many different people. THAT was what it was like for me. I truly believe those who are against diversity or who claim initiatives like DEI are “political” do not have a full understanding of the entire history of this country and why it is important for all of us to have representation in many different aspects of life. There are many historical events in this country that we HAVE to learn and other parts of this country's history that is put on the back burner. That needs to change if we are to truly have a better understanding of EVERYONE'S struggles, triumphs and successes. Kudos to corps like Bluecoats for delving deep into this and contributing to make drum corps a much better experience for EVERYONE.

Congrats brother and welcome to the Grandpa club! My granddaughter turns three this Friday. Are you going to go with traditional Grandpa, or have the grandchildren call you something else. My granddaughter calls me Pop-Pop. Makes me feel less old LMAO.

I became a grandfather a couple weeks ago, so I guess I’m officially a dino now too!

Not off topic as Crown represents the single largest DCI source of current membership of the unit!

Drilling a bit deeper, I think you may find that spreads among captions are not equally applied. Differences in Effect categories are often miniscule, and the same seems true in Music. Percussion scores often feature the widest gaps between placements. As for Visual, I'd need to do a bit more analysis. Perhaps the perception that Music has diminished in importance springs from the fact that, though the actual point allocation does not show this, Color Guard may be the real driving force behind field shows today. Program designers are often visual experts who have made their bones in WGI where sound, though essential, is cut and pasted in service of the visual effects, which appear every few seconds in a 4 to 5-minute routine. Translated to the field, this results in truncated sound bites that support rapidly occurring visual ideas but leave no space for musical development, presenting the impression that the music is a secondary consideration. Which it is in fact, the relative point allocations among captions notwithstanding. And everybody sounds good. The music is much simpler (any really challenging segments usually presented at a halt), played on superior instruments in comfortable registers for brass, percussion avoiding most rudiments (which can not be jammed into the faster tempos anyway), and all of it supported by a (usually) over-modulated pit contribution. Ergo, the real decisions do have to be made on the visual side.

It is like pulling teeth to get them to talk about their experiences. I didn’t even know my father had served in Korea until after he had passed away. I knew he’d been in (West) Germany but he never talked about Korea. I can only surmise that he saw a lot. God bless your Grandfather.

Thanks so much. Yep, if I wind up being half the man he was, I’ll have done well. He was in 3rd Army artillery and signal corps. (Prior to— and after—the war he worked for Texas Power and Light, which I think played a part in him being in the signal corps.) He never really talked about the bad stuff, including how he earned the medals, but did tell me a couple of the funny/interesting stories here and there.

Thanks! I thought about Grumps, LOL, but I think we’re going with Grandad, though it’s a little daunting to think of. That’s what I called my mom’s father and he was one of the best men I’ve ever known. (WW2 Army captain with 4 Bronze Stars, knew how to do…well, everything, worked his ranch until the day he died at 90 years old.) But I’m honored to share the name and couldn’t be more excited. I’ve also started joking with my daughter on when she’s going to start teaching her how to spin a flag! We were sooo close to her trying out for Regiment but the timing just didn’t work out. (Last summer would’ve been her rookout year.)

engagement tho isn't as cut and dried as one thinks. geography can play a part. at say Crowns home show are the fans going to be more engaged for the hometown team? Sure! Should the judges solely feed off of applause? Nope. remember bringing the house down may not be universal at every stadium. Homerism is real

My granddaughters call me Pop-Pop, too!

Same. This made it all the more difficult for me to feel safe when I wanted to address issues that came up. Representation matters beyond checking off some imaginary box labeled "diversity."

Amen! I was there, and the crowd was the proverbial Rondo quote. But they weren't top 5, and i too love this show and am looking forward to the social media barrage of videos that happens at this time of year

Spot on Jeff. Example.....1999. Finals in Madison Wisconsin. Scouts had a PHENOMENAL show that deserved and earned every applause it got. But you can tell they was feeding off homefield advantage, and they should have. They got loudest ovation of the night. So does that mean that they should have beaten BD/SCV? Or finished in front of the Cadets or Cavies? No they shouldn't have. And that's not me bashing the Scouts for all the Madison fans out there. Jesus Christ Superstar is one of my top ten favorite shows of all time.

Four Bronze Stars!!! Wow! Your Grandad was a certified BAD***!! Those are not easy to earn. Majority of people that got it, to include Silver Star recipients, normally don't talk about what they did to have earned it, and for a very good reason. Thank you for his service and sacrifice.

Thanks!

Congratulations!

I checked out the horn line camp yesterday. They sound terrific! And LOUD. And, without giving anything away as far as what they are playing - lets just say - they are putting down some SERIOUS NOTES.

Penn State

I don't know a single person (not associated with BD) who thinks they had a viable shot of winning in 2016 vs the corps who did win. No idea how that show winds up in the final 4 when 2003 Cavaliers, 1993 Star, and 2015 Crown don't.

Drum Corps has gentrified and it’s sad. Instead of being an activity any kid off the street can do it’s now something akin to grad school for music and dance majors. Good for the kids that can afford it but sad for those from low income and “at risk” kids that cant. A spending cap for costs that can be controlled should have been implemented decades ago for the greater good of the activity.

I’m sure most posters will place Crown fourth (or lower) in the predictions thread. But I’ll be honest and say last season was significantly more enjoyable for me because I tuned all that stuff out for the most part. I can only speak for myself but obsessing over scores, placements and spreads kinda kills the fun.

This classic