willyc

You want to get goosebumps??? Sit in the stands at a performance of the JSU Southerners (about 350 strong), and let them hit you in the face with this!!!!!!

You want to get goosebumps??? Sit in the stands at a performance of the JSU Southerners (about 350 strong), and let them hit you in the face with this!!!!!!

I think you may have missed the part of my post where I said that I don't agree either, but as we stand here today - that is the rule.

With respect, the rules have changed, but the goal is to still make music, so the rules haven't fundamentally changed. In your analogy, the goal of the game is to score runs, regardless of how the ball is hit, kicked, pitched/rolled, etc. so, in my opinion, my original analogy still holds, since the actuvity hasn't been fundamentally altered (make music and entertain crowds). Only the methodology has changed.

Third thought: I obviously don't see Spirit copping out by using a bass (which rules allow) in a show with a rock-band theme - despite the fact that I don't agree with the rule that allows it. BUT The real musical cop-out would have been to synthesize a contra sound to fill a percieved lack in that section's volume.

Lights for night games? 350 pound linemen? No more leather helmets? Designated hitters? Gloves that are far more padded? A more-lively ball? Steroids (which we deplore) for a higher level of performance (which we cheer)? And so on, and so on......................... I'd hazard a guess that if these sports hadn't changed the way they have over the years, the stands wouldn't be anywhere near as full as they are today (or were before late last year, with the economy).

42 pages - in two days! Must be some kind of record. I haven't read through ALL 42 pages, so forgive me if I'm restating something. Just two thoughts: I understand the purist view of what drum corps should be - and am in favor of less amplification, vocals, synthesized music ( in fact, in favor of NO synthesized music). BUT, why not focus the criticism of this shift in rules toward the persons who floated the amendment, and who voted for these amendment to add synthesized music - rather than a corps who takes advantage of a change in the rules? Spirit didn't put forth this amendment to further their 'vision' of what direction drum corps should go. They simply took advantage of the new rule - with the notion that their show has a rock-based theme, and as such, a bass is appropriate. I'd suggest that, if some other corps had tried this, many would be giving them kudos for being innovative. Bottom line - Spirit didn't write the rule, they just used it to forward the theme of their show this year. The second thought - don't forget that Spirit has only been on the field once this season (unfortunately, rained out twice). As with every other corps, and with most other captions, one performance isn't sufficient to fine-tune the balance between captions. Most posters would be more forgiving of a 'traditional' section being under or over balanced in the first outing. Heck, some corps dont' even have the full show on for their first few performances. Whether you like the bass or not, give them some time to figure out the correct balance, and it may be a bit more palatable. Unfortunately, unless more traditional heads prevail, the rule is here to stay.

Especially this stuff! Lovingly prepared by Mark Whisenant and his crew.

Don't know if this has been posted before, but, if not it deserves notice. This weekend has become a tradition for the Spirit organization - reuniting alumni and introducing new members to the Spirit family. We welcome all Spirit alumni and family members to this celebration of the 2009 season start! Sunday May 24, 1PM CDT JSU Campus An open invitation from Mark Whisenant and the Spirit Alumni: It is with great pleasure that we announce the 2009 Family, Friends, and Alumni picnic on Sunday May 24th beginning at 1:00 pm (Central time). When Bill Campbell, Steve Brewster, Tommy Whitten and I dreamed this up in 2001, none of us imagined this would become a part of he corps history. How fortunate we are that it has. For those of you who have attended before, the plan is the same. For those who have not, this is how we do it. Friday May 22th is check in day for the beginning of all day rehearsals. It is also the day when the Spirit alumni will begin to gather to start the event. One new change for this year will be on Saturday night, when we will serve an evening meal to the entire drums corps, staff, management, and participating alumni as part of an expanded Spirit History Night. Sunday at 1pm local time, we invite all members, alumni, fans, friends, and family to be our guests for the outstanding Spirit brand barbeque. This recipe has been honed through the years, and many of our guests have been inspired to run right out and slap their mamas after indulging. So be careful. It is that darn good! Our complete meal is complimentary to you, our honored guests. This event will also be the debut of the 2009 Spirit souvenir season. The latest designs will be on display, and our guests will see them first. Following the meal, Executive Director Joel Vincent will introduce the 2009 corps to you. Please bring chairs for your group. While we will serve you a drink with your meal, a cooler with extra drinks is recommended. We are on the JSU campus, so no alcoholic beverages are allowed.

I'm really not trying to highjack this thread, but I'd honestly be interested in what people think about the high early season scores that PC and Academy started with and what happened when they moved east. I really don't think they suddenly started performing so much worse than when they were out on the coast. I don't pose this question with anything other than curiosity as my motivation. Not sure how BD and SCV fared in the move east, but I do know that this happened to PC and Academy.

One word............................................................................ ................................................................................. ..........togas!

Am I missing something about the scores listed in the DCP scores - percussion caption? Don't see either Spirit, Colts, Troopers or PC in the unweighted score section (scores from last night). Makes the weighted score section look rather out of whack.

Congrats to Spirit's Brass Ensemble for their strong first-place finish

If it's the picture I think you were looking at, look on the right shoulder..........................a delta - Spirit.

Extremely happy for the Crown crew!!! Congratulations, and keep up the momentum.

Dude, I don't know how you got your hackles up over my comments. I didn't say anything derogatory about the Colts, and my comments, IN NO WAY, belittled the Colts as ambassadors for drum corps. My point is simply that there are a number of corps that do an excellent job with this. One way to determine how good a corps does with this is to look at the schools that will have drum corps back after a visit - and specifically ask to have the same corps back year after year. Spirit does a great job at this, as you say the Colts do - I phrase it this way because I don't have personal experience with the Colts as guests, but I take your word. You are proud of your corps, and I'm proud of mine. We both believe they do an excellent job of making friends for drum corps. I'm not sure why you can't leave it at that.

Although BozzlyB isn't listening to me, I agree with his assessment of the relative placement between the Blue Stars and the Colts. AND I can appreciate hype when it's straight-forward and not disguised in some attempt at being unbiased. So, go for it - hype the Blue Stars, Colts, Crossmen, Madison, (insert your corps name here) all you want. Just be honest about it.

I'm not sure I would characterize them as "all over the map". They were doing very well until the Milton show. Their score dropped, and stayed down for the Valdosta show. However, they are still currently in twelfth place, and are still strong contenders for a finalist position. If the drop holds for a few more shows, then I see them fighting to stay in for Saturday night, along with two or three other corps. At this point, the Blue Stars may have pulled themselves up just a notch above the rest of what was generally considered their 'group' for this year. They seem like they might have set a pace that may be hard for the corps below them to beat. The Colts do have two or three nights off prior to San Antonio, so they may be able to work on whatever the judges say they need to address.

A "two-fer".....................Today is my lucky day!!

Well, since I haven't put my hands over my ears, as it relates to dciguy01, I'll also post. If you want to get really anal there wasn't a post for 7/9 (Columbia rain-out, where no scores were posted) although there was another contest in Boise as well as no post for 7/10 So, continue to post the daily scores if you like - just be consistent if your purpose is information, not hype.

I may get overly sensitive when this occurs, but it's good to see that I'm not the only one who sees the hypocrisy in the effort. I don't think that dciguy01 hates Spirit, just that he's a major-league Colts honk, and won't cop to it. I agree that looking at this, on a daily basis, is interesting - if not always instructional.

Wow! If I knew you could do this, I could have saved myself a lot of aggravation a long time ago. BTW, I'm devastated.

My comments have nothing to do with the Colts organization or their members or staff. I wish them a strong finish - as long as it doesn't preclude Spirit's finishing in the top 12. My comments are directed at the 'convenient' omission of the 'standings' on the day that the Colts placed 13th. I will, however, dispute the fact that the Colts pull of the ambassadorship thing better than other corps. Many corps are equally effective ambassadors. You speak about midwestern heritage, but don't forget southern hospitality.

You probably couldn't give an unbiased opinion in any event.

What a coincidence!! Colts are back in the top twelve and the "standings" start again. Crank up the propaganda machine!! Didn't even wait until the next day.