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FINALS 01-> Cavaliers 02-> Blue Devils 03-> Cadets 04-> Madison Scouts 05-> Bluecoats 06-> Phantom Regiment 07-> Santa Clara Vanguard 08-> Carolina Crown 09-> Boston Crusaders 10-> Glassmen 11-> Blue Knights 12-> Spirit from J.S.U.

They also beat Phantom at Whitewater in 1987. They have not beaten the Cadets, Blue Devils or Santa Clara. At finals, they have never beaten Star, Cadets, Blue Devils, Santa Clara, Cavies or Phantom. I think they'll be close with Santa Clara this year, but we have no way of knowing right now where Santa Clara really stands. Phantom beat them by about the same margin that Madison beat Bluecoats, and I would venture to say Phantom is more at the level of Madison than they are at the level of the Bluecoats.

I agree completely. You could also definitely nominate Star of Indiana 1990. 1985 Phantom Regiment should be up there too. Musically, it was every bit as difficult as anything ever done. Don't remember it visually, but musically it was really something.

So many people on here do that :) No problem, but it just is cooler as one word.

SCV in 18th?

The Cadets are performing twice? Madison doesn't make it out of Quarters? Wow :)

It's BLUECOATS.. ONE WORD PEOPLE!

As it stands now. I think Santa Clara could knock Madison to 5th, but this is the way I see it now. 1. Cadets 2. Blue Devils 3. Cavaliers 4. Madison Scouts 5. Santa Clara Vanguard 6. Bluecoats 7. Phantom Regiment 8. Glassmen 9. Boston Crusaders 10. Carolina Crown 11. Seattle Cascades 12. Colts 13. Spirit JSU 14. Crossmen 15. Blue Knights 16. The Magic 17. Mandarins

80.75 Santa Clara 79.10 Phantom 73.35 Seattle 70.70 Pacific Crest 70.65 Mandarins This is the stage of the season where Phantom falls behind Santa Clara, Bluecoats and Madison, and stays there for the rest of the year. That is my prediction.

Don't you think if someone had a review it would be posted?

Good review. Thank you. However, I think your statement is a little bold for this early in the season. It looks like Bluecoats are having their best year, but it looks like Madison is having their best year since 1995, and Phantom is dead even with Bluecoats and slight behind Madison, and we have no idea how Santa Clara really is - we'll have a better gauge on that after they meet Phantom. Bluecoats may very well be top 4 quality, but I would say that Madison, Phantom, and Santa Clara are as well. We may have our best 4-7 group since the mid-80s. Bluecoats may have their best season ever and still finish 7th. It's too early to tell. Plus, you haven't see Madison, Phantom or Santa Clara, have you?

What was such a thrill about it was to be in the same league as Garfield, Santa Clara and Blue Devils. Although I've always loved Madison and wanted to always March Madison, it was those three that were at the top of the game during my years in the Jr. Scouts. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life, and something I'll never forget. I never in a million years thought it would happen, and when it did, I lost my memory. I do remember SCV playing "Music of the Night" to us and then playing our encore and singing Never Walk to the crowd. Interesting note: Reportedly, our guard staff was out in the parking lot stripping the flags off the poles when scores were being announced, and when they heard we won, they were in an utter panick trying to get all the flags back on the poles for the encore.

Love all the memories. I remember before the season started, there was a lot of talk about Phantom being the corps to beat in the Midwest, and having a shot at the title. They jumped from 10th to 5th (almost 3rd) the year before, and were doing another Tchaikovsky show. We, however, were in rough shape before the season started. Coming into Whitewater, we had just beaten Cavies the weekend before, and thought it was going to be us or Phantom who walked away with 1st place. I still remember being shocked when Phantom was announced in 5th, Star in 4th, Cavies in 3rd, I thought, "Oh my God, the Bluecoats are going to win". Nope, Bluecoats second. The next night Phantom closed the gap in Rockford, and then everything was upside down in Normal with us and Phantom tieing for first, Star in 3rd, Cavies 4th, and Bluecoats 5th. We played a joint encore with Phantom that night and I thought their show sounded fierce. Off to Europe we went. We heard all along that we'd be giving up 1-2 places come finals because we were going to be in Europe. What people didn't realize is we practiced just as much over there as we would have over here. Travel distances were shorter and we didn't have things every day. I got sick on the flight over and then really sick on the flight back. The Germans of Bad-Munder were crazy, the Dutch were fun, and those English were great. Everyone loved us because we were at a level never before seen in Europe. Back to the States we come - first show Rosemont. This would tell us exactly how much being gone hurt us. Answer - not much! We narrowly lost to Phantom and topped Cavies. On to DeKalb, where we were shocked ####-less when we landed in 4th. It just proved the Midwest corps were going to be duking it out to Kansas City. Drums on Parade (the next show) Star pounded us, but we beat Cavies. First showdown in Iowa with Blue Devils and they top us by nearly 6 points. I thought that night I had witnessed the 1988 Champion. They were amazing. DCI Midwest was on the horizon and we heard VK topped Phantom - shock strikes, where would that leave us. Prelims come and go and we beat Phantom and I am HAPPY. Finals, again 3rd place. A short time later we see Garfield for the first and only time and they beat us by 1 tenth - pretty good! A short time later we see SCV and the show is rained out. We go into their housing and play our shows for each other, then play May You Never Walk Alone together. As a Jr. Scout, I learned to love and admire SCV for the sheer magnificance of what they did on the field. That night, and the rest of the summer, I learned to love and admire SCV for their class and dignity. Since 1988, I have loved this corps as much as the one I marched with. The week before finals, at our last show, we come within 4 tenths of SCV and are hyped. Everything is starting to fall into place as if there's some cosmic force that wanted us to win Finals. During finals week, the staff tells us that the judges wanted to judge us with the tick system to see how many mistakes they find. We have a great week of finals rehearsals and were set to go. No Quarters that year, so top 12 starts in Semis. We didn't know what to expect. BD was undefeated, and SCV only lost to BD. Aside from that, everyone was all over the place. Sitting in the stands for the finals order draw, I was thrilled to learn we had made the top 5 and beat both Star and Phantom. Finals night is here and nerves are high. We deliver a good performance, although not as good as Semi's. On to the field we go for retreat..scores are starting to be announced, and it went something like this in my head: Announcer: In 7th place, with a score of 92.8, nine-two point eight......Star of Indiana! My head: YES! Announcer: In 6th place, with a score of 93.6, nine-three point six....Phantom Regiment! My head: #### YES!!!!!!! Announcer: In 5th place, with a score of 95.1, nine-five point one.....the Cavaliers! My head: Yes, tops in the midwest. Announcer: In 4th place, with a score of 96.1, nine-six point one.....the Garfield Cadets! My head: Oh.....my......God! Announcer: In 3rd place, with a score of 96.3, nine-six point three....the Blue Devils! My head: NO ####### WAY!!!! Announcer: In 2nd place, with a score of 96.9, nine-six point nine....the Santa Clara Vanguard! That's the last thing I remember...the rest of the night is all fuzzy and blank. It was a great year. In 1989 we fell big time, but it was an honor to be on the field when Santa Clara was crowned. In recap, I thought us, BD, and SCV gave three of the most exciting performances ever finals night. Cavies, I thought, were the cream of the crop, for the first time, in visual design and visual/musical integration. They haven't looked back since. You could see the giant that was growing in Bloomington, and Phantom had one of the most beautiful shows of the year! Can't wait for 1989.

I think "Oh my God, the baby's burning" is great because it was a statement to the fact that DCI's baby had grown up into a powerhouse championship caliber corps. babies is the plural of baby by the way. It's "baby's burning", not "babies burning!"

Ok, the time has come to throw you under the bus. No, you weren't there in 1986. The performance order of Semifinals, for the corps that placed around you was: 13. Les Eclipses 14. Sky Ryders 17. Phantom Regiment 18. Troopers 20. Velvet Knights 23. 27th Lancers You were on after everyone one of those corps, and therefore no one in 27 saw any of these corps perform during semifinals. Furthermore, you were likely not even at the stadium until the time VK went on, so in all likelihood not many of your staff saw these other corps. they were all on earlier than you and they all (minus Eclipses) beat you. You had the performance order advantage also. So, you have no basis to claim you were screwed. Sorry, you don't have the knowledge to make such a claim either, unless you are indeed a wonder judge. I am attacking you because people like you #### me off. In a way I understand because we all have been there, but in a way I don't understand because it's called growing and learning to accept things. ####, I remember leaving the field in 1989 thinking finals should have went: 1. Santa Clara 2. Cavies 3. Cadets 4. Madison 5. Phantom 6. Blue Devils 7. Star Of course, I didn't see myself perform (unlike you, I cannot do that) and I did not see Star (on right after us) or Santa Clara (lining up for retreat). Now, when I watch the DVD's I chuckle at myself, because not only do I think we definitely deserved 7th place, I wonder how we ever beat Star in Quarterfinals and how we beat Star in Visual Performance. For years I believed that the Scouts were being screwed and Santa Clara was being screwed (any time they didn't win). I've grown and I've realized that I'm not qualified to judge. Neither are you or those countless other people you claim support your 1986 theory.

Thank you, that was well said. I can't believe people would think a judge could be that evil to rob a corps of hardworking people of a place, etc. It does take away the achievement from the corps that won or made finals. Everyone works very hard during the summer, and the overall bottom line here is that NO ONE is qualified to judge all captions. We all have our opinions, but I know I know #### about percussion. I honestly can't tell the difference between a 1st place line and a 10th place line, and I don't pretend to.

So now we can judge Troopers finals performance against 27th's semifinals performance (that's the one where you were both on the field and in the stands at the same time). You are just running in circles to prove your point, aren't you? And girl, don't make me throw you under the bus. You have constantly gripped about 1980 too.

Not only can you judge four captions at once, you can be in two places at one time? Wow, to watch your show from the stands while marching it must have been a total rush! I always wanted to do that. Please tell me what it was like. I am sorry, but I just get sick and tired of your constant #####ing about getting screwed. It's not fair to the corps you competed against. You didn't work any harder than anyone else on the field those nights. Troopers deserved their finalist spot and the books will always have them as a finalist.

You are rich!

He is correct on the overall brass numbers. You guys got a 9.9 for 1st in field, but landed in 3rd overall based on the ensemble mark.

You guys did rock in 1986 and had a fantastic hornline. It's my favorite show from 1986 (after SCV). I was hoping Suncoast would be a future contender after that season. Of all the corps that have come and gone, they (and Star) are the ones I miss most.

Were you there? I mean, did you see the performances LIVE that you claim you should have beaten? What makes you qualified to judge brass, percussion, visual, and GE? Wow, you should be inducted into the DCI Hall of Fame for your top notch judging skills, for they must be the most impressive I've ever seen. I am sorry, but I get so ####### tired of people #####ing about scores all the ####### time when when push comes to shove they don't know #### about judging. You got 13th place. The judges felt you deserved 13th place and were not out to punish you. Focus on the joy 2-7 brought to the activity. Don't bring bitterness into the picture. It was 20 years ago - move on!

While finals that year is one of my saddest memories, because of the 2-7 banner and knowing what that meant, I disagree with you. I am not qualified to judge and neither are you, or nearly anyone else on here for that matter. However, there's no way I would have placed anyone outside the top 10 in the top 10. As rough as Phantom was that year, they were definitely better than any show beneath them. Were you guys put in 11th place, 12th place, or 13th place, I wouldn't have argued. It's really such a shame that the cards didn't fall differently, but I doubt DCI was out to bring down 2-7!

1985 is still my favorite year ever. I think it's the most entertaining year DCI has ever seen top to bottom. Some of my favorite, and not so favorite memories were: Favorites: 1). Madison utterly kicking the #### out of Phantom the first time they met. 2). Cavies beating Phantom. It was truly shocking. 3). Phantom - to be frank, they totally sucked in the beginning of the year. They were just terrible. Who wouldn't be with that demanding show. But, by the time finals came around they rocked. I absolutely love this show. It is still my favorite Phantom show ever. What they did with that show during the course of the season was amazing. My hat is off to them! It is one of the most under-rated shows IMO. 4). Madison beating Garfield at DCI Midwest Finals. Not so favorites: 1). Madison or Santa Clara not winning Finals. 6 tenths separated 1st from 4th in Semis and I waas really hoping one of them would pull it off. I was crushed when it didn't happen. That year, I fell in love with Santa Clara after watching their practices during finals week. They were so professional, determined, and classy. Garfield was definitely the best corps finals night, but I still wish my two favorites would have been 1-2.

Sean shared that story with us in Jr. Scouts. Too funny.