Granny Smith

Bwah hah hah! YES I DO! I want there to be people disemboweled! I want the judges to tear their little green polos off their chests and cover themselves in ashes as they wield a sword and slice up these tarps while screaming, "DEATH TO PROPS AND DESIGNERS WHO USE THEM!"

Good grief. Can we also ditch the "hate" word? I'm wondering if you're part of the millennials who respond to everyone who disagrees as a hater.

So they can record on CDs now!? That's amazing!

No. It's scoring the show. It's scoring the General Effect. Since the members likely had no say in all the tarps, etc. then if the judges criticized the cheese at the end then it would be a strike against the designers. They would then have the choice to ditch it or keep it. If they kept it then THEY would actually be the ones "punishing" the kids. Fortunately last night was prelims and it's not too late.

This needs to be a standalone thread.

Yell into their little tape recorders that all that crap at the end of the show needs to go and then drop their GE score.

For those of you following this thread I'd welcome your opinion: As I watched the show last night I honestly felt (and I realize I'm a bit biased) that the Troopers simply sounded bigger and more mature than both the Colts or the Crossmen.

Do we really have to add disclaimers to all of our posts? Can we settle it once and for all that every one of us loves all the kids and appreciate their hard work and everyone should get a trophy? You'll notice I put the word punish in quotes because it was for lack of a better word. AND...it's not to punish the kids. In fact, it's to "punish" the design staff so the kids hard work can be magnified instead of a bunch of visual garbage.

Perhaps they need some tarps and a giant american flag.

I'm just getting started.

Oh Mr. zigzigZag, this made me laugh out loud. What a perfect description! Maybe tonight they'll have a big foam eagle on sticks that they will fly across the field at the end with the same eagle "screeches." At this point, let's go all out Design team! Heck, maybe they can borrow Regiment's big witch from last year...put a beard and top hat on it and stroll it across the field. Now we're talkin'! I'm getting more excited than ever to see what they'll come up with.

Exactly. Which is why I hate it that the judges didn't "punish" them for this.

The two Americana shows received two different reactions last night. The Troopers received a standing O at their company front which lasted till the end of the show. The Cadets received nothing until the very end and in my opinion it was tepid. The design staff pulled out all the stops with this laughable attempt to woo people to their feet and I actually think it was counter productive. Yuck! BTW: I resent the label of being a cynic. A critic...maybe...but I'm not cynical and neither are a number of other people who think the end of the Cadets show is filled with tripe.

Not true. I've spoken to directors FIRST 1st hand (so take that) that have kept things in because of the expense. It is true that corps have removed such props, but I also know of cases where they haven't. Now . . . IF these tarps had dropped the Cadets down to third or fourth and there was a direct correlation, I think MAYBE that would embolden Hopkins to ditch them. BUT, they didn't, in which case I suspect they will stay through finals . . . sad to say.

As a matter of curiosity . . . how can the judges tell who is clean and who isn't in that echo chamber?

I know for a fact that money is a contributing factor. Often donors pay for those kind of things . . . and they are expensive! When that kind of money is used there is a level of commitment. To use them for a show or two and ditch them is problematic which is why I said it would require George to have some big stones to get rid of them and which is why I doubted he would do it.

What the #%&$! happened last night!? Yes...I'm admittedly a Trooper fan, but I consider myself to be fairly objective. The Troopers' show should be seriously challenging the Crossmen--although they may be getting the same "sentimental bump" the Troopers received in 2009 and I can live with that--but to have the Colts pass them up left me stunned. I'm doing my best to act like an adult in the stands and set a good example to my grandchildren, but I may come unhinged tonight if the judges don't get it right.

In an effort to be helpful to the OP: We walked in last night with all of our bags. Contents included Pop Tarts, a bag of clementines, smoked roasted almonds, Pringles, Capri Suns (for the grand kids; although they can be useful for mixed drinks) and a couple other things. Don't judge me. After dropping $55+ per ticket plus hotel and travel charges I didn't have the discretionary funds to pay for stadium food. I'm on a fixed income after all. I would however recommend taking a light jacket or sweater in with you--it was chilly inside

Quibble? I don't think I've seen anything as dreadful in drum corps as I did last night at the end of this show. I can't believe it didn't tank their score (relatively speaking). As for removing these things if they receive negative feedback: ain't gonna happen. They've spent way too much money to ditch all these graphics. I'll be very pleasantly surprised if Mr. Hopkins has the fortitude and objectivity to recognize what this does to the show and remove it all. P.S. You've got to hand it to George for distracting the conversation away from the narration to something else. Well played Mr. Hopkins.

Sitting in the stadium, I literally had to bow my head because I was laughing out loud at the end of the Cadets show and didn't want anyone to see me. That was one of the worst things I've seen in drum corps. The Cadets are usually such a class act and to force that mess on the fans was scraping the bottom of the barrel for a fan reaction. Pathetic! Mr. Hopkins, if you're reading this...it's not too late! Get rid of it all.

I got a full body pat down when I came in tonight. Not bad, but TSA is better at them.

The question was . . . which show this year creates the most visceral response for you. Perhaps none of them move you like a show in a previous year, but that's not the question. This is the kind of thing you shouldn't think about too much. If you're trying that hard then you're missing the point. Carolina Crown's show this year is the one I get the most "lost" in. I enjoy it from beginning to end and really at no point am I analyzing or critiquing it.

Sheesh. Why not throw in Pioneer for good measure?

Visceral: relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect. This is a question that requires you to "let go" a little and not overthink the mechanics of what we are seeing this year. When you watch the shows this year which one moves you the most viscerally? I'm not asking which show you think is the most refined or technically the best as it relates to general effect. I'm just wondering which show stirs your emotions the most? Don't feel compelled to give a reason because often these kind of emotions aren't easily explained. P.S. I know that viscerality isn't a word, but it sounded kind of fun.

I'm coming in just a wee bit late, but this is really all I have to say (despite all the nay sayers and critics): I love the Scouts' show this year. I realize they are scoring as well as they'd like, but I'm really enjoying what they've put on the field this year. I'm thoroughly entertained.