westpaguardguy

This is the best post I have read in regards to this mundane topic. Thank you Cathy.

OOOOOO How about a colorguard cam!!!! I would love to see that!!! After watching some of the guards at the Reading home show, that would be a treat. Can someone do that?? Not sure what you would mount it on - flag pole, rifle, saber, body, head. Could provide for some interesting shots.

I made the trip from Pittsburgh to Reading on Saturday morning, expecting a beautiful day. Did not expect it to be that hot. I commend all the corps on a great show. Because of the rain/lightening fiasco, (which I have to say was handled wonderfully by the Big Sounds crew and DCA), I was under the garage-type area with the corps and other spectators. I had heard from guard members and corps members, that most did not do a full out run-thru on Saturday. Kudoos to the corps' admin and staff on not pushing their teams too far. Last time I marched was in the summer of 96 and the heat that year was insane. And I though it was cool to mingle with the corps and catch up with people I had not seen in years. Is it my imagination or does corps membership seem younger? I was rather suprised to see how young some of these groups are. I mean Bucs look like they could be a Jr corps and after seeing them on the field, I see why. And Cabs colorguard, OMG. They are chucking!!!. I thought I was watching a WGI World guard. Now Cabs guard is - from what I see on DCA site - winning colorguard. Followed by Bush, Empire and Brigs. How come Bucs is not in the hunt? I thought that Bucs are not that far off from Cabs. And the Bucs guard book is just as demanding. I understand "clean wins" but dang Bucs need to be right up there. Now I am going to have to drive up to Rochester to see what happens. Does anyone know if DCA HQ is booked? Is it the Clarion? I only need one room.

Ok I have been watching this thread since it began. And I must say that this has got to be the most ridiculous threads on DCP. Why are people debating about rifles/saber/weapons on the competive/Drum Corp field? This thread has taken so many twists and turns it is mind boggling. The one thing that is true, rifles/sabers/weapons should be performed by the talented men and women who have been trained by equally talented (or in some cases dillusional) instructors who have been hired to create visual effects supporting musical compostions while executing various marching maneuvers at sometimes break-neck speed. With this being said, evaluate what you see, take what you want from it and process it as the acheive effect.

OMG the first line of this post is a riot!!! "We had a period of time when the gays.... " I have never been refered to as "the gays". Speaking from experience, I have marched in many drum corps Jr and Sr, and being a gay man no one was ever outwardly rude. Now there may have been times when some people would say things behind my back but as far as I was concerned, if they had a problem or issue with me, they would come to me directly. I remember in my Jr corps days. The corps director stated that he did not care if you were gay, straight, bi, asexual or a unick. What you do on your own time is your business. But as long as you were within the organization, you would be treated with respect and understanding. Coming from a corps director, that meant something. The corps was very successful and the corps itself was the tightest group of people ever. Most families were not this tight. The men and women in the corps who were gay were even closer. We had a bond that far surpassed the corps bond. To this day, I still have very close friends (gay and straight) who I would do anything for because of this bond. And that was when I marched Jr corps was in the late 80's. Having marched in many Sr corps, the attitude is much the same. The only difference is, with the wide age range (from 15-60), the younger folks don't seem to mind. It is the older members that refer to the more " visually artiscally gifted" as "the gays" or "the queers". But that is something that I chalk up to the era that they grew up in. So, to get off my rhinestone covered soapbox, homosexuality in drum corps is common and will not be going away any time soon. Overall acceptance inside (and outside) the activity, will help (hopefully) the young people grow into mature and well rounded adults. Thanks for reading.

Ok so where in the #### is Medina in relationship to Rochester and the stadium? I will be going to see Championships but I want to see the Bucs rehearse. I heard it is pretty intense sort of like watching a Jr corp rehearse. And I want to see some Pittsburgh people I know that are marching with Bucs.