wvu80

I almost hate to ask you judge watchers this, but... Can you show the gaps between the judges scores RELATIVE TO THE OTHER CORPS (above or below, your choice) and not relative to the other judge? I think this might convince me of judging bias more than a simple disagreement between judges on tenths of a point relative to each other. Does my question make sense?

If the two judges agreed, would the same people be complaining that there was "DCI politics" or "slotting?" Isn't it a healthy thing that judges disagree with one another?

I only have one thing to say about that; TELEPHOTO LENS! Seriously, get OUT of the picture, don't BECOME part of the picture. I go to shows to watch drum corps drum, not to watch photographers take pictures. +++ Seriously, I feel bad for even INFERRING that was Cadets staff. They are THE BEST, and I really should have known better.

That's because you're not a perfectionist anal retentive Type A personalty like I am.

MY HEARTFELT APOLOGIES TO CADETS STAFF FOR MY PREMATURE JUDGEMENT. I love Cadets staff members professionalism, that's why I was so surprised. I'm glad to know that wasn't any of them. Oh, Jolesch photog? Can we talk?

I really hope you're right and I assumed wrong. If so, my apology will be loud and heartfelt. I'll await confirmation of your theory before I apologize to Cadets staff, and then start my railing against the idiot photog who wears a red shirt in the field of vision of the crowd while the show is going on. Whoever they are, can we agree they need to get the heck off the field, or at the very least, try to blend in with a green shirt so they are not distracting?

From one of the twitter accounts: please look at the photo, and notice the staff member (I assume) wearing the red shirt right against the white Cadets wall on the right 28 yard line. http://yfrog.com/cc3e2tj Then please tell me why this one person is ruining a visual moment for the rest of the corps? Staff people do NOT belong on the field. I've always liked Cadets for their professionalism and for NOT doing just this sort of thing. It's ridiculous.

Terrific article, well researched, great logic in defending or explaining the results. Your "honorable mention" list was equally as good. Well done, sir.

I'm surprised how many of you are unaware that DCI has an end-of-season play-off system in which corps have to qualify for the next succeeding round by scoring points awarded by "judges." I don't believe regular season competitions have this component. Please consult dci.org for a listing of what they are now calling "finals week."

There is no other sport where the regular season means nothing. It's time to reward the regular season shows so they are not totally meaningless. Why not average the scores for San Antonio, Atlanta, Allentown, and the winners of Quarterfinals. There are your regular season champions.

I don't care who you are readin' this, that there's funny. We're glad you amuse yourself.

I think BD is peeking, at #14.

I saw Phantom vs BD at a local show in Huntington, WV that year. I loved Phantom. Great show. Tremendous. But BD blew 'em away, and was by far the better corps. Not that it matters, BD was the fan favorite that night as well. I don't think a corps that had the all-time losingest season for a champion that had only ONE win over it's chief rival makes it the "greatest ever" corps show. And I'm not a BD cheerleader or a PR hater (actually, I love both), I'm just a fan, with an opinion that represents only one person. Me.

Legend OTOE Sailor is supposed to be the new ending BD is putting in. I have a friend who knows a guy who saw John Meehan once, and that's what he thinks. I'm thinking it is the added part to their show which will get BD over the top this year.

So what makes this post any different from any other DCP topic?

Loads fast and reliable. Firefox 3.6.8 +++ Try deleting your temp files. Your browser will have Internet Temp files under Tools and Options.

I always sit on my hands when I'm confused. In fact, I'm sitting on my hands now. +++ I haven't seen it, but by your description, the new ending makes perfect sense. It's a SECOND CHANCE for people to see the ending from '09, who didn't get to see it last year! Figuring out drum corps is so easy if you just think about it.

Do you realize if THE Cadets were simply, "Cadets" they would have been listed first in front of Carolina Crown? Or conversely, if Crown was renamed to "The Carolina Crown?" I think Crown has the better design on this one. Think about it...

Homer. (wvu80) +++ Man, these threads move way too fast! I was hoping for a response of "hater" from Lord Denning, to be followed by a from me, followed by two from him! You're going to have to type faster next time, LD.

Homer.

You could also make a case for Garfield Cadets 1987, the opening horn statement in Appalachia Spring. About as good as it gets.

Agree with 84 BD Sop on 1984 BD La Fiesta. On the field or in the stands, a great moment is a great moment. In this century I'd go with Phantom Regiment in 2003 in the opener Sanctus right after the opening mello runs. That was melt your ears off loud! And 2008 Bluecoats playing Simon and Garfunkle's "the Boxer" was also a sonic shower goosebumps moment, every time, all year long.

You know, this is the way I always thought corps were supposed to experiment, which I have no problem with. Put something in, see how the scores go, take it out, again check scores. The problem Cadets had a few years ago was a blind commitment to leaving talk in, despite strong negative fan reaction. Nice to see Cadets pursue real goals to improve scores, instead of arbitrary concepts which only their staff care about.

DCI judging is a high quality extremely refined product. The quality of the judges and the judging is top notch compared to other sports I have been associated with. Until you get to the level of a major league umpire or NFL refs, I don't think you'll find better adjudicators anywhere. Their job, simply put, it to put into rank order 22 drum corps from best to worst. Within a certain level of acceptable error, they do that very well, a majority of the time. The DCP honks who cry "subjective" as a criticism simply don't understand the nature of the activity being judged, and certainly can offer no better alternatives. It's useless to argue with those people, or try persuade them. I simply ignore them.

That's more like it!