jjeffeory

You just never know this week. Waaaaaay back in the day, in '88 Blue Devils entered finals week undefeated and untied and lo and behold ended up third at the end. This last week is when some surprises happen. Like the Ink year, where it was anyone's chance, but BD ended up with the win on finals night.

Even Houston? I was in Austin last week, and it was raining there and STILL 103 while it was raining! LOL

You can leave and return with a hand stamp. I always eat at Shapiro's Deli on E. McCarthy Street. It's SE of the stadium and within walking distance. There's Greek Islands, Iozzo's Garden of Italy, White Castle (ick), Arby's, Slippery Noodle Inn, Subway, Old Spaghetti Factory, and a few other things not too far away. Wear a hat. The food inside the venue is terrible and the lines are long. The elevator attendents range from snarky and unhelpful, to just indifferent and uncaring. Be on the lookout for self-entitled staff who think they own the joint. THEY DON'T. Be courteous, but don't expect the same in return.

...and congrats on the Cavaliers for breaking 90 too to be in that grouping with Cadets, Mandarins, and Phantom Regiment.

Congrats, Mandies! You're very awesome! We ALL love your show! Thanks for being so creative and skillful this year!

There's a whole thread on that, which doesn't explain anything, but the topic is there. It certainly is frustrating to see GE being applied differently, or at least seemingly so....

We can't argue with that logic, and I'm sure your mom would agree with you. You are perfect!

Can't wait to see the new ending! It's great that their score is keeping pace for a potential top 5 finish! Really, it goes to show how much the corps in this 5-10 range have stepped up their game this year. These guys have had more adversity than many realize this year, and I'm just glad that they're keeping their spirits high and working with what they have. It's a good show! Thanks for performing it!

Western Bands scoring translates to DCI sheets better than SCSBOA, and there's always some third circuit in SoCal that tries to lure bands from time to time. Also, the Las,Vegas and Arizona bands sometimes try to do SoCal circuits. The numbers are here. The drum talent there is undeniable at all levels. There's always a regional out West, it's either in SoCal, Flagstaff, Vegas, or southern Utah

https://www.westernbands.org/events/ Chino Hills, Ayala, Upland, Mission Viejo, Murietta, Hart https://www.scsboa.org/fall-spring-marching-band-events-2023-24/ Rancho Bernardo, Mt. Carmel, Covina, Poway, Arcadia, Etiwanda, El Dorado, Rancho Cucamonga Lots of bands not mentioned here, and there are other circuits that popup from time to time....

You've made a leap with the qualifiers. If there are 3 corps shows, then they'd probably play more material. There have been 3 corps shows in the past. I went to one in 2010 where it was Cadets - Cavaliers - Crown in Norfolk. The show was sold out. I'm not for fewer corps, but I don't agree with you that it's pointless to have a show with only 3 corps.

There are two major circuits in SoCal( Western Band and SCSBOA), and Northern California may have even more circuits. Lots of contests, and BOA sometimes has a regional in California. Lots of BD influence and SCV influence everywhere.

This is why I don't know why SoCal or even California bands do not have very good luck at BOA GN finals. They get 1 band in, mostly Ayala, but there are lots of other great bands in that state and those bands should be able to compete with Texas and Indiana bands... Texas had two bands in GN last year that weren't part of the big rotation of Texas names, yet they still made it. I don't see why California couldn't do the same, and I call it a bad year with those bands making it, and I know there are a ton of California bands and talent that could compete. YES, Pacific Crest needs to be a force.

Prayers, I've been there.

Great for you! I wouldn't call it anger, but frustration. The winning shows cause other shows to emulate them, which, if you don't like the winning shows isn't a very fun thing to see being emulated by most of the other shows. One of the things I don't personally care for is all the staging and the shimmy... Whelp, every corps does staging, and many of them are doing a hip shimmy that looks dumb and is never together. ...so for me, not anger, but frustration. Even this year, there are fewer shows to love, and one of my long-standing friends who has gone to Championships for a long time is considering not renewing his DCI finals week activities in the future. He's hoping that BD can be that one corps to get him excited by the end of the season, but he's not been excited for many years. He was, of course, reluctant to share this with me, but so many of my friends have left the activity over the years, and it's exactly because of things like this... Imagine how many more shows would be needed because of the demand if shows weren't so polarizing. I'd imagine at least a double-digit percentage increase. I mean, students are going to love whatever they're given to perform, but fans aren't... Just my opinion based on what I've seen over my time on the planet.

That's the problem. If you don't act like BD, you have no chance to win.... ....and you have no chance to win, because BD has been doing it longer than everyone else, so it's not really a fruitful task and boring. My issue is that you should be able to design any way you want, and if it's clean, it should compete. Here we have a situation where almost everyone I read from says "BD can't be beaten because they have the most experienced staff", and stuff like this. Well, congrats, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If a group of people think something is the best, then it is the best. It's all subjective, but now the activity gets pulled in the direction of what wins... People complain about "old-fashioned" shows, which get knocked because they're not modern. We see it this year, and I've been guilty of it in the past too. Everyone does the BD shimmy. Even the old-fashioned show this year... ....and people don't see this piece of psychology happening right in front of them...

Brass issues can be improved upon considerably in 12 days, but the percussion is a little more exposed and difficult to address. Either way, they're going to have a record-high placement and may earn a top 5 or top 6 placement! Totally special year! Let's have 'em make this placement or higher a routine happening! Incidentally, if you look at the Cavalier's score relative to Cadets, it's getting pretty tight if you dare to add the Cavaliers into the discussion with Cadets, Mandarins, and Phantom.

He's still a boss, so no worries!

Congrats on closing the gap more and more, Cavaliers. 5th is not out of question!

The other scores will come up, and so will Blue Stars

Congrats on your first show win of the season, Cavaliers, and still within striking distance of 5th despite all the adversity and jeers! Great show!

He was responding to another poster who poorly called out the Cavaliers for having poor medical practices and no medical team.

They started the whole Medical Health and Wellness thing that other corps now do, so..... laughable! Other corps have people out, and the Cascades sat out too. What's with these ignorant and asinine comments? It's tiresome. It's also destructive. Stop it!

Lots of missing tubas and Percussion.

Short weed run?