FlamMan

I said in a previous post that performance doesn't matter anymore. Judges have each corps slotted regardless of the quality of their performance. This has got to change.

A weekend in Indy isnt complete without steak dinner & shrimp cocktail at St. Elmos.

I miss the days when drum corps would dig into their past & play songs that they played before & were considered classics for them. The Scouts have enough of a history of great music to draw from to play songs from the 70's & 80's that many younger fans have never heard. I would love to hear the follwing: Numero Uno Anything from the 1995 show Maybe a bit of 'Guena & Castles.

Blue Devils. The more I saw it the more I disliked it.

Bloomington, Indiana already has a drum & bugle corp.

Belleville Black Knights...the best uniforms in the history of the drum and bugle corps activity.

Right. This is the problem!

Do you honestly believe that the DCI BOD isn't concerned about the booing & general angst towards the drum corps activity today? If they aren't, then they should all be replaced. This activity must make it a priority to please the fans. Period.

I was thinking the same thing. Will less & less people from the west & east coast attend finals in Indy as time goes on? Probably. Finals may turn into a regional like competition. Drum corps will become less visible in the west & east coasts with no finals event held there. In my opinion, the drum corp activity must focus on growing the number of people who are interested in attending shows & joining corps, & secure a broadcast contract with a cable network to broadcast finals in its entirety. With the number of cable TV channels today, I would think there would be at least one of them that would be interested. Or, at least make it available on PPV.

Only 15K to 20K in attendance at DCI finals??? Didn't finals in the 70's draw 40K?

The problem is that today everyone is worried about being PC & not hurting anyone's feelings, like the little leagues who don't keep score because they don't want anyone to lose..."They're all winners"!!! Society in general has become soft...a bunch of pansies.

I agree with you 100%. The booing might just be the best thing to happen to drum corp though...

Exactly right.

Yea...BD2 had a great show!

A few boos? It was probably a few thousand. As long as people pay to watch a competition, there will be booing. Boo's aside, there is more angst towards the drum corps activity & today's weird, dark, depressing show designs than ever before. This activity is just about at a crossroad where it can either save itself...or kill itself. As for "ticks"...you & I both marched in the "tick" system. Surely you don't believe that the"tick" system was totally subjective, at least not nearly as subjective as the build up system. It was a more accountable & responsible system which allowed the corp staff & members to review where the mistakes occurred in the show. This much I know...some things must change or this activity will die a slow death.

Everyone knows exactly why BD was booed...DCI exec's know why...BD's management & members know why...other corps management & members know why...& the fans know why. This will be discussed at DCI board meetings, corp design meetings, etc. DCI heard the boos loud & clear, & it might end up being the best thing to ever happen to DCI & the future of this activity. The drum corp activity has shrunk to the point that it can not afford to have it's fan base upset, unhappy & disappointed & still survive. A priority must be placed on designing fan friendly accessible shows with melodious music that is uplifting. Also, the judging system needs to be changed so that corps aren't automatically slotted regardless of the level of their performance. Back in the day, there were always numerous changes in the standings from prelims to finals. Those changes occurred because of the "tick" system. Once a tick was recorded it couldn't be erased so the execution score was less subjective. Today it doesn't matter if a corps performs a good show or bad show, they will score & place the same. Here is my idea; DCI should decide that 2011 is going to be the "year of the fan", & that there will be a 5 point caption added to the score sheets for crowd reaction, & that drum corps are going to perform shows designed for the fan, & promote this all winter. How many old fans would return & how many new fans would gain interest in drum corps? This strategy seems so obvious to me that it probably wont happen...but it needs to.

I love the neckerchiefs...but this just makes the Scouts uni scream even more for spats!

[/quote Just wait 25 years and we will be talking about how wonderful BD 2010 was! Not a chance. I cant imagine anyone cranking 2010 BD in the car like we used to do with 1976 BD. If you were trying to explain drum corp to a novice & played the 2010 BD CD for them, do you really think they would want to run out & buy tickets to a drum corp show?

I noticed that last night. Typical.

Like it or not, booing is a fans right & when fans are upset they boo. Sometime you need to hit rock bottom before things improve & maybe the drum corp activity is getting to that point where the powers that be in DCI realize that there needs to be a movement to follow what Madison did this year. Design shows with music, the fans, & standing o's as the priority, not visual, "telling a story", & to stroke the arrangers ego with how difficult his charts are. If other drum corps begin to mimic 2010 BD, this activity will be gone soon. No wonder PBS doesn't want to broadcast this boring weirdness anymore.

Thats what the fans think of BD's show.

Really? When did SCV beat BD this year?

The fans do not like BD's show. When that happens, booing happens. Remember though, the booing is directed at the highbrow self serving intellectual knuckleheads who designed this show, not the kids.

Seriously? White scarves?

No. The horns Star played were silver. Crowns horns are gold.