Wadep66

I think they will look great on the field. Bur for those who freaked out over the all maroon and all cream, get the smelling salts.

Wow that uniform is going to raise some eyebrows.

They've done much better live streaming in the past.

I really hope they tested this.

You may not be the only one, but Cadets followers all know. George wouldn't let the Cadets take the field in quarterfinals until the hash marks were re-lined on the field. He argued that without them, there was a safety issue for the Corps due to how fast their drill was in parts of the show. They were originally penalized 1 or 2 points for delaying the competition, but they were re-instated after some negotiation. Folks who dislike George Hopkins felt like he was grandstanding. Why anyone thinks delaying a group that is ready to perform is an advantage is beyond me. George refers to it as "Hashgate".

Deleted at request

Cadets is music from;. Asked to delete.

Cadets donors will find out this Sunday what their program is. Then everyone else 1/2 second later!

Too much stationary %$*) on the field. And there is way too much of it, especially 2016. If you want DCI on stage, go see Blast. Themes for the sake of having a theme. Excessive horn line body movement. Skin tight uniforms. Unless you have a body of death it isn't flattering.

Carolina Crown: Pictures at an Exhibition (some modern theme title) Agree with overture to Colas Breugnon

Jeez Louise! Leadership teams of successful organizations are often strong-willed, assertive and not afraid to challenge. It occurs in business, sports, government and....the arts. What's the big deal? Sure seems like that's all that's happened here (reading between the lines and not having first hand experience). How about more speculation about the 2017 season? That's much more entertaining and pleasant to read.

He said Bernstein. Add choir..... Please let this be Chichister Psalms!

Hmm, don't see where I imply that. However, when you look at all the movement that Bluecoats did last year and what Crown has been doing for several years, it sure appears to me that it is expected for high visual scores. It's not going away.

I see these changes to the "costume" to meet the new visual demands and expectations of body movement to get the high visual and GE scores. As much as I adore the Cadet's very traditional uniform, it does not lend itself to this type of movement. All of the body movement last season to me looked forced and awkward because shakos with long plumes and cummerbunds with a sash just don't work with dance. It literally looked at times like military servicemen caught trying to bust a move in private. I don't mean that as an insult to anyone, it just isn't elegant. I too wish that a corps could go out there and play their @@@ off and march like nobody's business but that will not win anymore by itself. The shows now that are winning are FAR more visual than the Cadets' championship shows. I'm excited about a return maroon and gold for the Cadets and wonder what the other corps will come up with as well. My 2 cents.

Tend to disagree a little. There are thousands of fans who don't hang out or post here, are way less critical of the activity and give money year round. I can vouch for how often the Cadets ask for donations. Being transparent and accessible keeps the corps in front of donors and fans in the off-season. While I think many weren't happy with the placement (no evidence, just gut feel), I doubt that the videos and info from the camp makes them less likely to donate in the future. It hasn't changed mine.

I would be happy with black and cream as long as the pants are cream. After these past two seasons I've realized that's what always set them apart for me. I'd actually prefer the stripe too but know that's probably asking for too much. With all the digital printing being done for uniforms now perhaps they can have a maroon and cream base and add something that changes (like the Cavies uni this year.). As much as I liked 1987 I do agree that Copland has been beat to death on the field. Now Bernstein however has had somewhat of a hiatus. Chichister Psalms is one I've wished for a long time they would do. You could match that music with its spirit, percussion and beautiful ballad to just about any theme or motif. But we digress. Go Cadets! Get a solid 4th and scare the bejesus out of the 3rd place corps.

And THIS is something that needs to be fixed. George H, if you are reading, please get this back on the table to address. Music should be as important as visual.

Well, I find poppycock excessively negative, but agree on this point.. Bluecoats slides are moved and used in different ways. They are intentionally there to block the view of the corps at some points. BD props are in the back and used like cadets did in 1996 (which worked well). SCV's tree is pretty far backfield and doesn't block drill/corps. I'm not knocking the Cadets and am typically their biggest cheer leader. Having said that, I think the cakes add more visual clutter than they clarify. I understand the desire to elevate the statues. You will notice there aren't nearly as many people on them now as the start of the season on the right side of the field. Could it be less visually obtrusive? I would be willing to bet (although I have no access to find out) that the judges have made similar comments based on the changes to the covering. The stage is now gone too. Bad idea? Maybe not, but didn't work how they wanted.

Huntsville is less than 1.5 hours from Nashville, which had a TOC show. Birmingham is not much further south. My point is the shows are clustered in areas during tour and if you aren't lucky enough to live within 2-3 hours of those areas you have a good bit of travel to do. Who wants to/can drive 3 hours on a work night after a show?

I think George H. is in many ways a lightening rod for anger for things the old skool folks don't like. And the Cadets get caught in the cross fire. Some of it because they do take risks and try new things. Some of it because he is vocal about making changes to the activity. And some of it I think is because it's not always well executed. Sometimes the change itself is the focus vs. making it effective. Having said that, the stage in 2008 like the door in 2005 was pretty obtrusive. As much as I like this year's show concept, I wonder if the cake props could have been made less obtrusive. Visually they really are distracting. If the Cadets were the first to use 1/2 as many field amps as Bluecoats are using, he would be raked over the coals about it. But because its Coats there are crickets chirping. As much as I like BC show, it is WAY less of a traditional DCI show than Cadet 2006. By a long shot.

This is what we in the deep deep south deal with all the time. There's a huge number of shows in the new England area compared to what we have available. Houston is the closest TOC show. Louisiana has one show with just a few of the big corps. Traveled to Austin last year for a rain out to try to see the Cadets one time live. Fail. I understand the business. Maybe one day I'll retire and just fly from one to another. Until then, I'll be in the cinema on Thursday night.

The 'roids have clearly addled his brain....

After this year, no more SLIDES on T-Bone! ENOUGH

Cadets 2001 ballad and guard work.

Anyone who has seen both shows knows that the Cadets have more to clean than BD (although BD was dirtier than I expected). The scoring jump for the Cadets last night indicates that something favorable is happening. I guess we will see Friday if there is a consistent jump in their score from the past few weeks (if the gap between them and the other top corps is smaller). At any rate, as someone posted earlier, what I want to see is that the Cadets have a show come finals that all are proud of and that is entertaining. Placement doesn't much matter to me.