I was with the Cavaliers at their buses when Phantom came back and the Cavies did indeed applaud them as they went by! As the mom of a Cavalier I was sooo proud of the whole group.
My fave is in the Cavaliers fourth movement when the snares are hitting their sticks on the sides of the drum, the brass joins in, starting slowly and speeding up the tempo as they go. Don't know why, I just really like that part.
Call me a synic (sp) and I'm really NOT taking anything away from any corps. efforts, but I believe there is a lot of political stuff going on and marketing would fit right into that.