Senagod

Same theater also showed a lot of love for Crown.

Did George make the right call? Yes and no. They definitely needed hash marks. However, I think it could have been handled differently than it was. Is DCI right to give out the penalty? Abso-freaking-lutely. Rules are rules, and I'm sure George knows what they are. A lot of people at the theater I was at (King of Prussia) booed every time George's face showed up on the broadcast. I didn't like the fact that people at the stadium booed when they came back on the field (some in the theater as well). That's just not right. You can hate on George all you want, but it's not the members' fault that he ordered them off the field. They didn't deserve that.

The weather was dry and quite nice!

OMG that stadium is sweet!

Love the Comfort Suites. I'll miss them this November when we're not there for ACCs. You can rarely go wrong with a Hampton Inn. I like them because there's free breakfast and every single hotel in the chain gets a 3-diamond rating from AAA. I like Microtel. Days Inn can be very inconsistent. I've had good and bad experiences with them. If you've got some money or somebody else is paying for it, Crown Plaza hotels are sweet! Loved the one in Rochester. Priceline can be very good if you know what you're doing. A few years ago I got a room at a relatively high-class hotel in Morristown, New Jersey through Priceline, and I never would have been able to stay there without using that service.

Finally, a reason for my husband to attend ACC's this year! :P

Oh, the memories I had forgotten about or blacked out came rushing back when I took a look at that! Thankfully I didn't do a lot of posting on there, just reading.

That's good to hear. And just like Barb is being strong, I know that you can be strong. And if you should ever doubt yourself, just look at this thread and all of the people in the drum corps community that believe in you and Barb. Keeping you both in my thoughts.

Wow...I can't believe I've been on here for 5 years. Where did the time go? Thanks, George!

Seeing this post reminded me of my mom. In 2003, Bucs were in Lewisburg when the monsoon came and rained the whole thing out. She was so mad that she couldn't get her money back. After that, she swore that she was never buying tickets in advance ever again and would wait until the day of the show to get seats.

It really does depend on where you live and what time school ends. In New Jersey (which is where I think Up Front is from), most schools don't end until the last week of June. In southeast PA it's the middle of June. The high school I work at in Philadelphia ended on June 19th (nothing like being in a school in June with no air conditioning). I grew up in north-central PA and we were done by the first week of June.

I know! It could only be from "Stuart", a song by Chester County's finest, the Dead Milkmen. Did you a get a letter in the mail a few days later from Pueblo, Colorado? Watching Mork and Mindy on Channel 57...

Fran, You and Barb are in my thoughts. Stay strong for her.

Bridgemen are going on first tonight. Since Bucs didn't get judged, where should they have gone on?

I know what you're talking about. It was the "I Dream in Color" show. Think that was 2003 and they were still in open class then. It's the one where the boy comes out at the end and chucks a five (I think) on gun. Loved that show.

Very true. There's an indoor guard show in my area where their ad book alone made the show profitable. The first year they held the show, there was about a foot of snow due to arrive that evening. They moved the show to the morning, and while a bunch of units pulled out because of the time change and the impending weather, they still held the show just to get the ad book out there.

It's been a while since I've been in the stadium, so I can't help you on whether your seats are any good. Really, unless your seats are super low where you might miss some drill, there's not really a "bad" seat in Allentown because it's so steep. Some things to know about the Allentown stadium: 1. Parking will be tough. You'll probably end up parking in the park that's near the stadium and walking to the stadium. It sits right in town and there's no dedicated parking lot for the stadium. Some lots will be available for a fee, or you can try your luck with street parking. Personally, I think parking in the park is the best way to go because it's free. 2. The stadium area is very hilly. There's one entrance for spectators on the back sideline or the bottom of the hill. Then you'll have to walk up the hill to get to your seats. There's 2 entrances at the top of the hill. Almost all of your concessions and the souvenier booths will be at the top of the hill. 3. For the smokers, all you have to do is hold on to your ticket stub or get stamped (I can't remember which right now) and you'll be allowed to leave the stadium to smoke. Really, all you have to do is step outside the ticket gates and you'll be OK to light up. My advice is pick one of the entrances at the top of the hill to go out and smoke. You'll have an easier time getting back in to see a corps. I personally have never seen any cops busting anybody for smoking as long as you're outside of the stadium. You're going to have a great time. I love Allentown for drum corps. The atmosphere can't be beat. It will be a party all weekend in the lots and in the park.

I think it works for the most part. There's a lot of intangibles. Staff is a big one. Also, if we're talking about independent groups that aren't world class, there's the age-out factor. If you have a lot of them the one year you make finals and then you get promoted, you could be hurting. And sometimes you could have that one great year that's out of character. I've been happy with the promotion system after 2002. I don't think that all of the A class finalists in 2002 should have been promoted. And to whoever listed the guards in world finals that were the result of promotions, I know Black Watch was promoted under the old system, where anybody who popped a 95 or higher got put into world.

I'm happy that the South Brunswick (or Mid-Atlantic or whatever you want to call it) regional is back in mid-March where it belongs. Maybe more of the PA guards will attend that haven't in the past. Now, if they could just move it back to Norristown...no offense intended to South Brunswick. It's a great facility, but I'm being selfish here and Norristown is a lot closer to me. I'm interested in the Pittsburgh regional. I don't ever remember a regional being in Pittsburgh before. And it's so early! I'm envisioning snow.

Back when I worked full-time, a new guy came into our department. Months later, I wore my Bucs sweatshirt to work and he flipped out. Turns out he had marched Bucs as well. His last year was '99, my first year was 2000. We had a great time swapping stories and confusing our co-workers. The assistant manager at my husband's second job marched Crossmen. He found that out when making conversation about me.

I know exactly where you're coming from. My husband doesn't have any experience in this activity, and he could never understand why I marched. He expressed amazement that I would come home from a weekend of drum corps, complain about everything, and want to do it all over again and pay for the privilege. He prefers what I do now greatly because I get paid for it and he understands money. Oddly enough, my mother never had a problem with drum corps, but thought indoor guard was a complete waste of time. Still don't understand why.

Unless things have changed, I think you were looking at the arena where the minor league hockey team plays. I've never been in it, so I have no clue if it's big enough for us or what other activities they have in that arena.

They did do the same thing with IA in 2002. Classics was 10th that year and got promoted. I like the idea of a 3-year waiting period for promotion. Sometimes a guard can have a "hot year", and I don't think promoting somebody on the basis of one year's performance is the best thing. I think showing a proven track record of success is a better test of whether or not somebody should be promoted.

Joe, you deserve this! :angel:

May Ray's son RIP.