Gantang

Your first sentence doesn't apply to me.

Your assertion that people are attacking the members is inaccurate and doesn't need to be addressed. Moving on. Using your logic, no one should be able to critique the performance of anyone in any position lest the critiquer is willing to assume the role. We vote out bad politicians who have volunteered for the job. The current BOD and leadership in Madison volunteered for the job when they applied for a role within the organization. They put themselves in charge of an 80-year-old youth group that has thousands of former members who expect a certain level of excellence across the entire MS spectrum. Just because someone is saying the show design is poor doesn't imply that they think they could do a better job. However, it is incumbent upon the leadership to hire the best designers available and either oversee the design process or trust that the person or people they hired will put a competitive product before the members. There are people who believe, perhaps incorrectly, that the philosophy of "scores don't matter" has been put on steroids as a way to justify being closer in scores to the Pioneer than SCV. Just as sports' fans call for coaches to be fired, drum corps fans also have a particular passion about the way the corps they love or marched with, is run. This IS the forum for such talk. It's what social media is for. If everyone only posting positive and glowing tripe it would be disingenuous and useless. Some of the posters here are from a generation where they were taught to tell the truth, not something that sounds like the truth. If the Madison management team is spending time reading this they can take it or leave it. It's my understanding from earlier Pages in this thread that a FB Alumni Page was archived in part because current leadership didn't like some of the content. Well, MS leadership can't shut DCP Pages down, and those who would have kept their thoughts in the family were kinda forced to shut up or post here. If YOU OR I don't like what is being posted, we can simply stop reading. Don't scold the messengers, they are exercising a right and opinion.

Their season is over. They merely have two performances remaining that virtually no one will see.

Probably around 2:00! ;) Actually, it's 5:13 pm

Someone compliments her playing abilities and you find that sexist? Then they add that the Scouts should go full coed to draw more talented members. Do you find that sexist, too? Please explain how you came to such a conclusion.

On the Scouts' FB Page, there is a fundraising ask that states, "HELP OUR CORPS TO THE GREATEST FINISH EVER!" How could they possibly be so obtuse as to use that wording while they are looking at the reality of finishing 18th and losing to two Open Class corps? I guess money is the measuring stick, not placement.

Do you think S.S. would still be telling the men that? Does the current leadership subscribe to that theory? If you take away the Meghan generated souvie sales, do you think the crowd is so enamored with Madison that sales are strong? How many talented performers will flock to Madison's auditions if they lose to SCVC this week? These are all the things that pop into my head when I hear the tired "scores don't matter" mantra. Thank you for using sarcasm to point out the flaw in that philosophy!

Is Madison not clean? Does the show lack difficult content? Are the members not talented enough to improve their performance levels or is the product they've been given subpar and they have already perfected what they've been given? Corps are climbing or pulling away and Madison scores look like the Corps is treading water.

The wealthy won't invest money in a dying product. Nostalgia for one's youth isn't enough for some people to donate money to a cause they no longer respect, appreciate, or doubt a viable future.

80 + 1 = 18 This year's formula was created by the current leadership and they should be held accountable by the BOD.

Standing Os are now reserved for equipment tosses. It's a WGI activity now.

I apologize, cixelsyd, I was still thinking only 17 moved on. I forgot that it's like the NHL and everyone is included!

I always wonder about the "moves"...does that mean corps ahead of the corps making a move are just sleeping all day rather than learning re-writes and cleaning? The wheels have fallen off the Scouts' bus. Quarters may be their only Indy performance. They are barely breaking 80, and 13 points separate them from SCV...and Cascades on the other end.

He wrote, "their soloists", which implies the entire uniform choice made by management. I seem to have read a few reviews where people of both genders have said Madison's uniform (costume) is hideous. If one is always looking for something to be offended by they will inevitably find something regardless of the intended meaning.

Bluecoats, Devils, and Phantom have not changed the music they play, nor has Crown. Madison was indeed associated with the styles you listed and they don't need to rehash old charts to maintain their musical identity. They don't even have to play full charts, which I don't think is allowed in this era of DCI. They do need to produce the Madison sound and have something on their uniform that you can look at and immediately recognize is "Madison". They could have modernized along with everyone else and still stayed true to what "old" fans loved about Scouts. Sadly, they have lost their identity and are flailing like a drowning man trying to find it. 2018 ain't it...

Oh, my...

More people throughout the world (interweb) will learn about drum corps than have ever before. Hopkins has finally brought DCI and YEA to the masses...too bad it was like this. Google searches for stories about Dr. Nassar will be linked to this story since Nassar stories are already being linked to some of these.

Across the activity, the Depends are being pulled on! To quote one former Cadets design guy, "STRAP IN FOLKS!". This will be on an interesting and sad ride.

No one in their right mind would take over Hopkin's role (or the role of anyone with such total control in any organization ) with YEA without having a complete financial audit completed by an independent CPA firm. It sounds like the YEA Board was a rubber stamp and protector for Hopkins and if he was corrupt regarding his kids, he may be corrupt in other areas, too. I AM NOT ACCUSING FINANCIAL MISDEEDS...I'm just lending advice.

I think it's funny one of my colleagues the other day said that his students have NEVER known Crossmen as a Finalist corps and they can barely recall a time when Blue Stars were not in Finals. Oh how the times they keep on changing! Wow, that can make a guy feel old...

Not at all!! But 9th to 1st is a big jump. Like the poster who mentioned drum corps before BD, SCV, etc., I have entrenched ideas of the top corps, but I would be happy to see Coats, Crown, or BAC win someday. If Madison wins next year, that would be historical and incredible. I just don't see it happening. Top 5 is absolutely within reach.

Congratulations to all the 2012 DCI competing corps. Last night was an amazing show! Before Crown came on, people sitting around us were talking about how Crown was a "perennial fan favorite" and "always in the hunt". This contrasted with what they said about Madison, which was more along the lines of ""new to Finals". NEW FAN ALERT!!!! Lost on them was the historical greatness of Madison, and I couldn't stop thinking about how they could have been clueless about the past. I looked, and now I get it. Here are the placements of CC and MS since 2000. MS: 10, 11, 14, 8, 8, 6, 9, 15, 12, 15, 10, 10, 9 CC: 11, 10, 16, 10, 7, 7, 8, 6, 4, 2, 4, 4, 2 Fans who have only been around for half a decade or less haven't seen what old school fans have seen from Madison. What they have seen is a consistent progression by Crown. The question is, what does Madison need to do to return to pushing the elite corps, and can they. As Madison prepares for the 75th Anniversary show, I hope they can figure out how to move up the ranks. I also hope DCI can crown a first time champion in 2013...no pun intended!

The uni looks bad, which is my opinion. It may be that they chose a uniform that looks good (to them) in natural light rather than just under the lights. It's very possible that they anticipate going on early again and they want a good effect from a daylight friendly uni.

Wow, I agree. I'm kind of disappointed. Sadly, it looks like a bad band uniform. Is it possible that it's not the final version? I do like the FDL, but the fade doesn't look masculine. I'll keep an open mind until we see the whole corps. Is it a Cesario design?

$100,000 (I'll go with what Jeff states) of that went to his separation agreement and his unqualified retirement plan, which he set up. And as an aside, he didn't raise any of that money, it was left to the corps by estates. Look at how much money fundraising brought in after 1988 and you may be stunned. The Boards had a culture of not raising money because they had the funds in reserve, but when expenses began to pile up, and Scott got his cut, the pot started to dwindle. Changing a culture is nearly impossible....Andy Davis tried. Under the MDBCA structure, with SW and CS, it didn't matter who was losing money, it all came from the same account. Refer to their books and minutes for more details.