Aging Relic

"Personally, I don't care if it was BD or Our Lady of Perpetual Motion, rules is rules. If you're not sure about a definition, just ask for a clarification. Or is there such a thing within DCI? A rules arbiter to handle such requests? IMO, it's not worth losing position (and possibly credibility) over a "loophole"." I wasn't there and I know not the circumstances under which this occurred. Fortunately for me, my team wasn't on the losing end, though my team has lost some close ones over the years under a system I think is ridiculous. (quarters and semis that don't matter on finals night) I don't know that I would classify a lack of clarity as a loophole either. And, "loophole" is a word that I would consider to be pejorative. I wholeheartedly agree though, that based on what I have read, there was a lack of clarity with regard to what is and isn't legal. This thread or rather the main question behind the thread, could have, and probably should have been in the form of a letter, addressed to the DCI BOD so the issue could be clarified, or dealt with in some manner, at the Winter meetings. "We never really talked about the Blue Devils cheating scandal of 2007 and I’d be curious to know what others think." Please take note of my post count. I don't usually hang here. But I heard about this quoted statement and decided I wanted to see what was going on. It's not even stated as a possible question but rather as a fact. Were I a moderator of this forum, the thread would have been stopped with that first post, regardless of what corps was the subject of the post. That it has gone on for 89 pages I think peculiar given the remedy I listed above. It's the start of a new season, so IMHO, those who have an issue with this topic should either act in way that will get to the heart of the problem, or get over it. Personally, I think the whole electronics issue is something that should never have happened, and were I in a position to do so would make every effort to get rid of anything that uses ac power. But I'm not going to start a discussion on the issue. With regard to Scerpella's comments, I'm not wanting to insult anybody, but rather point out that as shown above, there is or was probably a better and more constructive way to SOLVE the problem. AR

As a very proud former BD member/instructor/arranger, I think it's great to see so many people with their knickers in a twist. It is an indicator that the current BDs are still doing it right if they can get so many people to argue over a topic such as this. Back when I attended critiques, I used to love overhearing the staff members of competitor corps going on and on and on in the effort to diminish our accomplishments. But let's face it, the rules were poorly written. Were I a staff member today I too would exploit any lack in clarification to gain any advantage. That isn't cheating and it isn't a scandal. Besides that, if there was a question, it should have been asked before the end of last season in a real setting, not in some forum where there is no accountability, AND 9 months after the fact. Face the fact that the BDs just did it better. It is part of the job description to be creative which means taking risks. It is part of the job description of the DCI BOD to have vetted this issue before hand in the effort to discover any unintended consequences of the rules, or the LANGUAGE of the rules. It doesn't sound as if that happened. But this thread is over the top with the use of words like "cheating" and "Scandal". Sour grapes is all it is. AR

tgk2779, First of all, as a former BD member, I would like to express my condolences to you and the whole 27 family. I know how hard it is to lose people who have played such a grand part in the scripts of our lives. I too can relate directly to your story regarding the "age out" plaque. It was BD tradition to receive a plaque with the eagle from the front of our shako. You and I aged out the same year and as such, our final performances were both on the same field. Anyway, I had worn my shako for 9 years and the eagle was heavily worn. I was VERY disappointed on the night of our banquet, to receive a plaque with a brand new, pristine eagle. I no longer even have the plaque since it really didn't have any meaning to me. Again, I am sorry about your collective loss. AR

Having finally been successful with the nomination of Rick Odello, I would be happy to relate the mistakes I believe I made and what was done to fix them. Just ask or better yet, e-mail me through the BD website. I would be the first to admit that luck is probably a component. The best though, would be to get into contact with Dave Kampschroer and get his definitive rules for HOF induction. I read and re-read the rules as posted at the DCI web site. I also researched the Tom Float nomination and as it turned out drew very wrong conclusions that were detrimental to the candidate. AR