Dale Bari

Time for my annual congrats for an amasing streak that's still going strong: This is year number 24 that the Empire Statesmen have finished in the Top 4.

OK, I'll play too: 1987 - Steel City Ambassadors 4th (out of 22) (1988-1994 MIA) 1995 - Sound Wave 15th (of 15) 1996 - Crusaders 8th (15) 1997 - Crusaders 10th (13O+3A) 1998 (Cru A Guard) 1999 - Crusaders 9th (12+4) 2000 - Crusaders 7th (11+5) 2001 - Crusaders 7th (15) 2002 - Crusaders 9th (16) 2003 - Brigadiers 2nd (17) 2004 (spectator) 2005 - Statesmen 2nd (16+10) 2006 - Statesmen 2nd (16+7) (And if I'd had my way, I'd've been in Brigs in 2004 - 2nd, making 4 second place finishes in a row.)

OK, so the logic of this escapes me. Awards for Class A were changed away from Prelims to results from Finals only. But, somehow Prelims for Open need to be taken into account for Awards at Finals? All Prelims are used for is to say which corps make up the Top 10, and to stand in for Finals in case of an emergency (a la 1987). The corps that make Finals use Prelims as a chance for their final tweaks. Using Prelims to help determine awards at Finals is like saying, "OK, now we'll use the results from Syracuse to help determine the awards at Scranton." Finals and Prelims are two different shows. Unless you're in 11th, Prelims don't mean anything vis a vis Finals. Just like West Haven has nothing to do with Finals either.

Congrats to everyone for an exciting 2010 season. Good job, Bucs, for #6 title in a row. Good job, Statesmen, for year number 23 in the Top 4. One point though: 2010: Bucs, MBI, ES, Hurcs, Cabs 2009: Bucs, MBI, ES, Hurcs, Cabs 2008: Bucs, MBI, ES, Hurcs, Cabs Can this get more repetitive?

MBI score is up on DCA website!

And yet.... Bucs' score is only 0.2 different from last year - same weekend, same venue, same performance position, same Prelims seeding position resulting.

Uh, according to what I read, Connecticut won Color Guard which DOES count in the score.

Congratulations to the Empire Statesmen for their 22nd consecutive year in the Top 4! (since 1988)

It is late, and I just saw this thread, so that's my way of saying I haven't read every post. Therefore, I apologize in advance if any of my points had been mentioned already. From my experience, the Kingston crowd has many local folks in attendance. They aren't avid followers of DCA, but they show up every year ready to cheer for what they like. Usually, they are partial to Statesmen, but they always give credit wherever it's due. And, it's always a packed house. Is $20 a lot for a DCA show? Compared to most of the shows I have paid to get in, yeah, it's on the high side. (But, nothing compared to the YEA show in Westminster, MD.) DCI Pittsburgh was asking $17 per ticket this year (for an 8 corps show headlined by Cadets & Crown). The only reason we went was because I got comp tickets. (I'm on staff with the HS where the show is held.) I was last there in 2007. We went to two shows that summer (Woodbridge, VA, was the other one), we went to two shows in 2008 (Manassas, VA, and Scranton) and two more this year (Jamestown and DCI Pittsburgh). At every one, we sat in the handicapped seating with the kids in a stroller. The Kingston show was the only one where we were charged a ticket for the stroller. So, it does seem to be more about the money there than most places we go. But, I have to say it's just about my favorite venue to watch a drum corps show. (Yes, even when the bugs attacked us in 2004.) I may have some quibbles with how shows are run, but in this day of drum corps scarcity, I give anyone willing to put on a DCA show a big ol' thumbs up. One thing I have seen lately is the Family Ticket price the Brigs have offered at the shows they are sponsoring this year. $30 gets Mom & Dad and all the kids into General Admission. I'd patronize any show within my travel radius that gave that kind of deal.

My family and I attended the Jamestown DCA show put on by this crew. I LOVE the family ticket plan. That is a great way to attract more folks to the show. And, I second the notion to get your ticket pre-sale. BTW, the show was great despite the rain. Best wishes to the all my former corps and the rest of the competitors at the CNS DCA show.

Earlier in my career, I might have said Allentown, but lately I find myself thinking about perfoming at Dietz Stadium in Kingston, NY. The turf is great, the stands are close to the field (even with the track), the crowd is always very receptive, and the area where the buses are parked lets the corps all get friendly. As from the fan's perspective, I enjoy that place too.

What distinctions are those? Why do corps deserve that distinction? (IOW, why are people rightly riled when someone calls corps "band"?) That can be considered a technical statement. You, like many others here (MikeD comes to mind) believe that drum corps has always been a subset of marching band. However, like many legal decisions, there is what is allowed and then there is what's right, and they are not necessarily congruent. If in light of those distinctions solicited above, how does one square these two concepts: Corps are distinct from band. Corps are the same as band.Either they're distinct or they aren't. (distinct: –adjective 1. distinguished as not being the same; not identical; separate (sometimes fol. by from): His private and public lives are distinct. 2. different in nature or quality; dissimilar (sometimes fol. by from): Gold is distinct from iron. 3. clear to the senses or intellect; plain; unmistakable: The ship appeared as a distinct silhouette. 4. distinguishing or perceiving clearly: distinct vision. 5. unquestionably exceptional or notable: a distinct honor.) For corps and band to be the same, they have to have a common beginning. Otherwise they are simply different orgs that happen to look the same.

Yeah, well, I was looking at the early season scores myself then, HOPING that was the case. I was pretty happy to beat them in E Prov (the first time I'd ever beaten the Cabs in 10 DCA seasons) but the small margin was a little scary. Then, I will never forget standing at the gate in West Haven, watching them perform right before us and saying to myself and everyone else around me in Red & Black, "Uh Oh!"

Yes, well, I've been busy with the twins and moving (back to Pittsburgh area) and work (or rather lack thereof). The particular problem with 2003 was we maxed that show out. As much as I enjoyed performing it, the closer was not up the quality of the rest of the program, esp "Tommy", we had no real special "Wow" moment, and the Cabs had a great total package. I think we succumbed to the confluence of a lot of small factors (like having too big of a brass line, too many people who needed to be carried along, a general upsurge in the overall competition, etc). At that point the whole "Anybody but Brigs" sentiment coalesced around a hot competitor (Cabs) to take us down. The track record of the Bucs over the last few seasons makes me wonder if any of those factors are in play this season. My sinking suspicion is: No. No matter how strong the "Anybody but Bucs" sentiment is, who is the one hot competitor to pace the Buccaneers? I wish the Cabs a great season, but in 2003 they started out right alongside the Brigs. Trying to make up a 4 point deficit is not a good start. We'll see how Hurcs and Statesmen get out of the gate. MBI seems to be coming out strong, but using the Midwest scores (even if on DCA sheets) is too suspect to divine anything useful. And, they are not going to see Bucs till Prelims. MBI'll have to have a huge lead already built up by then to be a legitimate contender for the crown. And Bucs already starting at a 76+ isn't a good sign for that scenario either. If I had any real money to bet, it would be on Bucs for another wire-to-wire season. I'd love to be proven wrong, but that's a chance I'll take.

And, if I note properly, Bucs will not see Hurricanes until Cabs' Grand Prix (7/11), Statesmen until Scranton (8/1), and MBI until Prelims. Bucs vs Cabs happens 4 times before Finals (and 1 is already done). Bucs vs Hurcs happens 2 times. Bucs vs ES happens 2 times. Bucs vs MBI happens not at all. So, there are exactly 8 chances for a 2nd-5th corps from 2008 to topple Bucs prior to Finals, and 1 chance is already used up. (BTW, does anyone honestly think that if it hasn't happened before Prelims that it could happen afterward?)