biggs

Woodwinds. If a single woodwind is allowed to march a corps, I will discontinue my fanship.

Man, this started out as a "Kyle Trader is an awesome guy", then turned into a Bb vs. G battle. I believe we already have that topic open, and I believe it comes up in conversation at least once a week. GETTING BACK ON TOPIC.... Kyle Trader is a really cool guy. He definitely bleeds Trooper Blue and Gold. He will be a great drum major for the Troopers. I've already told him that I'll make fun of him while he does the traditional sloooooow drum major walk. DM's definitely where he belongs. Go Troop!

And that Rockies game was the first (and only to my knowledge) 1-0 game in Coors Field history! Brett Montgomery said it best, we saw the most boring baseball game in history! The 2006 BK Winter Brass got to play America the Beautiful at the Home Opener that year! It was great, because we knew for a fact that we played to the largest crowd the Rockies would see that year. Everything after opening day is a down hill slope....

In the grand scheme of things, when we look back on the 2007 season from 20 years from now, will we remember the Hopkins scandal? Will we remember the 15 minutes it took to allow the safety and performance standards of the Cadets? Short answer: No. Long(er) answer: No, it was a relatively meaningless event. Sure, it'll come up in conversation, but it won't be remembered past next year. What should be (and will be) remembered is the excellent drum corps show the Cadets will put out on the field tonight and tomorrow night, and how they did it with class, and didn't buckle under the pressure of this one time event. Semi-finals begins in less than 3 hours. Put this controversy to bed once and for all, and begin new memories, and enjoy today for what it's worth.

*insert beating-dead-horse-emoticon here*

I can't seem to find the emoticon for "beating a dead horse"

Man, I just walk in the door, and there's already a 22 page/226 post thread about Mr. Hopkins. You guys are quick! ;)

It's because the hash marks were repainted. ....oooor because they are on fire this year! I like that answer better. :)

<**> A penalty is a penalty is a penalty. If you feel you don't deserve it, find out what happened, fix it, don't let it happen again, do better next time. The Cadets have a strong enough show this year that a penalty one night shouldn't affect them, and they'll come out screaming tomorrow.

BK added their "shako dance" while we were avoiding the rain in Salem VA. You should have seen the first time the corps tried it. You would have laughed your behindus off! It has improved infinitely since then, and is so much fun to watch! I can't wait to see what is essentially their final product tonight in the theaters! As for 6th place, I'd think that'd be pushing it, but as always, I would never say no to it! :)

I believe a baseball theme has already been tried once, as demonstrated by the 2005 Cavaliers

1. Blue Devils 2. Cadets 3. Cavaliers 4. Bluecoats 5. Carolina Crown 6. Santa Clara Vanguard 7. Phantom Regiment 8. Blue Knights 9. Boston Crusaders 10. Glassmen 11. Colts 12. Blue Stars ---------------------- 13. Spirit 14. Academy 15. Crossmen 16. Madison Scouts 17. Troopers ---------------------- 18. Pacific Crest 19. Cascades 20. Southwind 21. Mandarins 22. Pioneer Biggs has spoken.

No need to sleep if you follow drum corps this closely! BK might have had a point increase from their show in Denver, but I don't recall a point increase from Indy, seeing as how they weren't there. I know what you mean though. But even since then, they've gone up nearly 4 points in the span of the last five days, when full points are difficult to come by. Breaking 90 a week before finals seems out of reach most other years, but with BK's steady climb these past two weeks, I wouldn't count them out. Is it possible we may see some upsets before too long?

I think it's fair to say that Blue Knights had slipped a little at the evening show at San Antonio (81.3, 9th). But since then, they have gained some serious momentum, and are now comfortably sitting in 8th place, with an 89.45 in last night's show! In only a week and a half, BK has gained 8.15 points, narrowing the season-long huge gap between 7th and 8th place. Now only 1.55 out of 7th place, they're looking to make some huge surprises! Do corps like Phantom Regiment or Santa Clara Vanguard need to up their A-game a little? Or is it BK's time to show who's turn it finally is?

1. Cavaliers 2. Blue Devils 3. Bluecoats 4. Phantom Regiment 5. Cadets 6. Blue Knights 7. Santa Clara Vanguard 8. Carolina Crown 9. Academy 10. Boston Crusaders 11. Glassmen 12. Colts

Because we'd all know who'd come out on top. '89 Vanguard, with '96 Phantom in a close second....

1999 Blue Knights

America would win every gold medal. U-S-A!! U-S-A!!!

For clarification sake, I decided to take pictures of BK's style. Forgive my pasty white legs, giant calfs, and tiny ankles.... Here, as some of you have called, is our "knee pop", or Prep step. We use this to initiate time, almost like a visual breath. Here would be the first step. Pushing from the back leg, we then pass on a "coupee", or however you ballet people call it, with the toe pointed and the foot at a 90 degree angle. Keeping the toe pointed in a "tondue", we reach as far as we need to for our next step. And on the next step, we flip our foot and step. Complex? Yes. Hard to do the first time? Yes. Looks awesome? You better believe it! They teach this to us from day one, and keep making us practice it until Finals day. I'm not sure if I've ever seen somebody ride a bicycle with their toes pointed at a 90 degree angle, but I'm sure it'd be hilarious to watch.

The Blue Knights marching style is not a bicycle step. If you break down the step, you'll notice that we push from the back foot, and point our foot at a 90 degree angle at the pass, keep it pointed until we flip our foot on the next step. A little more complicated than "left, then right, then left again", but it does make our style unique to others, and when done correctly, does look a lot more fluid. As for the dancing/visual program, I've always believed it adds a lot more to the show as if you're watching an opera or a ballet. I don't think that any of you can say with confidence that you'd rather watch a show where the horns do nothing but hold the horn up for 11 minutes straight over a tuba line twinkling their toes. Some of you say that BK's shows are boring and hard to watch. When was the last time you went to an opera, or a ballet? You can go to as many rock concerts and hear the same song that your favorite radio station has already played 150 times today, then go to a ballet and wonder why you aren't connecting. Almost like going to a drum corps show, hearing "Simple Gifts", "Take 5", or "Cool", then watching a Blue Knights show. You may not like it, you may not understand it, but don't you think that drum corps would be an excruciatingly boring activity if everybody did the same thing as everyone else?

Yes, Maynard Ferguson did do a version of "Chameleon". A better version IMO. And it's hard to tell in this video, but the floor design is like a graffiti covered wall with "What Is Hip" written in bright colors.

What is hip? Tell me tell me, if you think you know.

2003- 7th place 2004- 6th place 2005- 5th place 2006- 4th place 2007- ..... The math does itself.

Round 9? Hmm....this must mean I'm voting for Crown for the 9th time.

Blue Knights Winter Brass Ensemble 2005