gellio

It was a mistake. My apologies. I'll PM you. I can handle critical comments about the Scouts. I had a lot to say that was critical after 2001 Finals.

Don't be your typical self. No one said anything about Madison being ripped off or BD's performance level. He was merely stating that BD doesn't play for a long time either.

If you were "up high, like WAY up high" how could you spot bad body posture?

Money doesn't matter. If you put yourself out there in any artistic former, you run the risk of people not liking it. Believe me, I think the Cadet members can handle anything they read on here. They are big boys and girls.

Amen!

I think these four words are more fitting of the SCV organization: Champions regardless of placement!

Do you feel bad for the producers, actors, crew, etc of a movie you say sucks? Do you feel bad for everyone involved with a theater production you think sucks? Do you feel bad for the chef if you think your meal sucks? I could go on and on and on...and it's the nature of the game. Put a product out there and some are going to love it and some (like me) are going to hate it. It's the nature of the game. If you can't take the heat stay out of ####'s kitchen!

Well that's the beauty of this activity I guess. It sucks to see GH take this route just for the sake of taking it...because IN MY OPINION that's what he's doing. I feel bad for the members because the finals crowd is likely not going to react well to it. I think it's sickening to be frank.

Exactly. Gosh, I remember in 1988 when we saw the Cadets for the first and only time before Worlds how almost intimidating it was. I knew they had already lost to Star at DCI Canada, but still it was intimidating. I remember watching their performance with the rest of the corps, and we were all awe-struck. I remember asking a member who had marched years if he thought we were far behind. His reply - "Probably 5 points or so." Well they ended up beating us 89.0 to 88.9. That was when we really knew how good we were in '88. Madison and SCV are definitely my two favorite corps, but man you just had to give the Cadets the unmost respect, because what the did on the field was (and is) incredible. I am merely attacking the design, because quite frankly if everyone's polite than our disgust will not be heard. I would love to know how former Cadet members feel about this show.

Well I hope you're right. It's just way too much for me. Still, I expect the Cadets to be top 3 come finals, because they have some of the best talent in the business. I think their staff/design team has been smoking something though. I hate to be so harsh, but it angers me that GH would take his corps down such a wretched path. Those of you who like this show - watch 1998 and 2006 and tell me you think the Cadets are headed in the right direction!

What? Stop making sense <sarcasm off>! I don't think anyone has said anyone else has a perfectly designed show, but the fact of the matter this show sucks!

Well I doubt very much their placement was wrong in San Antonio. I've just always had a problem with the lower-tiered corps getting lowballed when it comes to scoring. The judges judge in boxes and should be able to provide accurate numbers (scores) and accurate places. That's why I don't buy the "to leave room above" argument. It's not far to those corps to have larger spreads than should be. You don't go from 4 points down one day to 9 the next. It's not possible. Again, 10th place I can agree with...that much of a spread, I find hard to believe. Unless of course, it was 9 points consistently.

You know, I understand where you are coming from, but this show is wretched! Absolutely wretched! And why are we shouting so loud about it? Because it isn't drum corps. It's a 3rd rate high school musical slash play slash I don't know what. If you going to try to change the activity, you run this risk. So, bravo to them for taking it, but I'm certainly going to rip it a new one in my reviews during finals week. I will balance it out with I'm sure raves about their marching technique, their colorguard, their percussion, and their hornline (which are all wonderful). But, to be frank, the design of this show just flat out sucks. And that's really unfortunate for the talent members. I admit it, I'll likely laugh (to myself) at the singing, because it isn't good, it's cheesey, and it has no place in drum corps.

I know who he is. Always chimes in. Right now, there's no way to know who is going to end up where. I still have hopes the Scouts will get this sucker of a show under control, but I had thought that process would be in full swing at this point, whereas it seems like it has yet to get under-way.

Well thank you for sharing!

This is impossible to know. Look at the Phantom Regiment. They have been at, or near, the top of this activity for 30 years now and still haven't won a solo title. We have no way to know what the future will bring. I'm certain people in '78, '79 and '80 thought Spirit of Atlanta was a future champion. I'm sure people felt that way about corps like 27th Lancers, Suncoast Sound, Bridgemen, the Blue Stars, and Troopers at different points. I think it's entirely possibly, but we have no way to know...as you know.

I admit, I was surprised the brassline took 10th place. Again, wasn't there, didn't see it on Season Pass, haven't talked to anyone. Still, I was surprised.

Well I can only go by the reviews in the review section, because I haven't talked to anyone. The consensus seems to be that they deserved 10th, and I don't think any of those reviewers have bias against them. I think the problem this year is they bit off more than they could chew. It's like the over-compensated for the fact that they had shows (the last two years) that peaked early. Adding some difficulty would have been nice, but a couple of my friends said that the design is great, but it's almost as if it was designed to be extremely difficult for the sake of being extremely difficult. And with that being the case it is bringing down their scores across the board. And the guard - who knows what is going on there? It's interesting and I'm very excited to see everyone (except THE CORPS THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED). <**> I think we have some really great competition and I hope the Scouts get their poop in a group quick, because there are some good units behind them. I really thought they were going to clean this sucker up and make a run at 4th, but I'm not thinking so now. It would have begun to happen already and 10th place is a sure sign it isn't going to happen.

I don't think anything is fishy at all. You can't compare Phantom and Madison over one night and know what the deal is. Was Madison's score lowballed? I'd like to think so! Was Phantom's score inflated? It's doubtful. We see this all the time and I think, quite frankly, that it's ######## that the lower corps seem to get lowballed score wise. I mean, there is no logical reason for it. When Madison performed, the judges knew Cavies and BD were going to score in the lower 90's. The judges also knew that Phantom, Cadets, and Blue were going to score in the upper 80s/lower 90s. That argument that they lowball the lower corps to leave room is kakaboody ########! If Corps A deserves 10th place and a score of 85, they should get it. It's incompotence....and quite frankly DCI is getting boring and I'm a firm believer in slotting. That being said, I rarely ever disagree with finals placements, but the fun of a corps coming from behind (ala Star '90, Cadets '92, SCV '97) has been sucked right out of this activity. I still think SCV has the show to knock off a couple corps above them...but will that happen? It's doubtful. I do question the huge drop and the spread between Madison and BK/Boston/and company, but maybe that had a really bad show finals night - the reviews in the review section seem to concur with that theory. I just hate how the lower corps are always lowballed. I mean in 1988 12 points separated the top 12. Now, it seems like the judges have to make it 20. I know it was about 13 Saturday night, but I feel the 10th - 12th corps were probably lowballed score wise. I mean Madison beat Boston by 1.5 a few nights ago and now they are 3-4 behind. Doesn't make sense to me, unless they had a really bad show. Then again, we never see Cavies, BD, or Cadets experience such drastic drops in score. Why? Because they carry the names Cavies, BD and CAdets. Don't get me wrong - I still think these are the three far and out best corps in the activity, but surely even they have off nights.

I don't think anyone got screwed. Rules are rules, and according to DCI it was the directors themselves who decided that the higher SA score would count. Personally, I think this averaging is stupid. IMO, they should have taken the top 8 from San Antonio to Cookeville and the top 8 from San Antonio should get the bye into the next evening show. Sure, it sucks for Boston, but those are the rules. If anyone was really kissing Madison's ##### they wouldn't have finished 10th in San Antonio. For Boston, I think hey they get more practice time because they won't be at Cookville...but it really sucks for them that they have to perform in the afternoon this weekend. Personally, I think ALL corps should do the afternoon show at these big competitions and the top 12 should advance to the evening. It levels the playing field more.

As someone who marched in '89, get '87 - top to bottom it's much more entertaining.

Star's 1992 DM Bobby Hullet!

You're right. I think Spirit will be 12th...

Well....I think you are incorrect. It will be a 2-3 man race depending on what the Cadets do! Phantom will likely finish 4th, but Blueocats will be way too close for comfort, and don't be surprised in SCV surprises people. I saw Battle Creek on the web and at a high angle you can see the visual package - and it's subpar! Not as good as the last two years - Regiment I'm talking about.

We go through this every single year on here, and in the end two of the three (at minimum) (Cadets, Cavies and BD) finish in the top 3, if not 1-2!