anniem

I think they should break ties with that silly mallot and gong stunt they perform during INT. Make the drum major of each tied corp twirl in a cirlce ten times then drunk-run to the mallot, fight over it and the DM who hits the gong WINS!

Each judge works independently. No one judge was responsible for creating the tie situation. When all of the scores are tallied from each individual judge and the result is a tie do you propose a tie breaker? What kind of tie breaker would be fair? Do the judges watch a video of all the tied corps then vote for an order of placement? That would not seem fair as the judges original impression of the shows would seem to be the most fair.

I agree. Its only bad when we can already assume who is a lock at every position. When scores are tight like they are in several so-called "tiers" this year there is more to look forward to for the next show.

So is the conspiracy laid out in advance of the season or does the conspiracy only happen on the spur of the moment? Which judge gets to decide?

I'm trying to imagine how scores were announced tonight at the show. What a challenge for the announcer to decide how to phrase it.

Can somebody wake me up when caps are posted? Pretty please?

Right, so Cavaliers were well rested and CC was tired. We can argue that point anyway to suit our own need to justify scores. Just sayin...

Doesn't each judge only judge his own caption and then the scores are all added together for the total so that you can't really blame the judges for the final score outcome? Wouldn't it be likely that some corps are high in some caps and others high in different caps and the final numbers just happened to come out the same?

Meeeeeeeee tooooooooooooo!

Wouldn't that be too big of an "inside joke" to make it work for the audience? I'm sure that if other corps got to sit and watch each others' shows more that would be fun for them but for audience members that haven't marched it might be a miss.

I agree that some corps probably work smarter rather than harder. How much of that has to do with the fact that some corps have few inexperienced rookies and some still have newbie 14 yr olds in their ranks? How many "brand new to drum corp" members do the big names have compared to those still trying to get there? BD and Cavalier members always look like mostly 19-21 yr olds to me while Crown still has a younger membership. BDs guard always looks like college dance majors. Wowza! Does Crown's difficulty breaking into Big 3 status have to do with the experience level of membership that requires working harder rather than smarter at times? Until recently Crown was more of a "gateway" corp than the Big 3 with some members leaving to go to a higher ranked corp. I can't imagine BD, Cavaliers, and HNC losing too many of their members to other corps unless it would be to go to one of the other Big Three (although I understand CC does have a couple of former Big 3 members this year). When Crown shows up at camp are they teaching things that BD, Cavaliers and HNC review and move on from much more quickly? When coming down the homestretch at the end of the season does Crown have more tired/injured kids from working harder than smarter than the Big Three? Does Crown have an uphill battle in comparison to the Big Three because regardless of staff experience and quality of show design they are only now beginning to get the experience level to knock on the doors of the heavy hitters? How well would "smarter not harder" work with a less experienced membership? I know people are questioning Phantom's issues this year but I wonder if they also have a larger than usual number of inexperienced members and outright rookies because of last year's success. How many kids aged themselves out early due to winning last year? Could that be as much their problem as the staff and show development issues people have suggested this season?

"How do you feel about the role of comedy in drum corps?" I like it in tiny doses. I like the little "hits" that make me sit up and take notice. I like the "wait for it" aspect when I know its coming because I've seen a show before. I never got tired of Crown's slow motion photo finish in Triple Crown. I like the bit of humor in Cavaliers show because it shows they don't take themselves too seriously. I like the apple bite in Boston's show. I wouldn't want any corps to turn their show into comedic takes on their theme. I don't know that comedy affects judging one way or another but I think there is something heartwarming about 20,000 people chuckling at the same time over a tiny moment.

I don't know anything about old time drum corp so I can't compare old to new. I've only been a fan this decade. I have LOVED the 2009 season of drum corp! I took newbies to Bristol and they were blown away by both Crown and HNC and that was before either of their shows had evolved into what they are now. My family has all been entertained by Boston's show too (and not for the sexy guard, lol). I loved seeing SCV and BD for the first time this year in San Antonio. Gorgeous. And I don't know how HNC could possibly BE any louder than they are now. I can't wait until Indy when I'll get to camp out in the stadium and get a look at all corps in all classes! I'll be taking newbies to Crown's rehearsals during finals week and I know they will be impressed and entertained. Will they want to go to finals as a result? Highly unlikely. Drum corp IS a niche event but so are all activites. I go to the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400 every year simply because I live nearby but I bet most Indy natives have never been to either event. I about took a nap in the middle when Montoya was running away with the race. (Hmmm...is there a parallel to drum corp there?) BTW, LOTS of empty seats at the Brickyard yesterday thanks to the economy and last year's tire debaucle. I bet there won't be many empty seats for World Class Finals August 8th.

I thought the same from where I sat in San Antonio.

Seems a brass judge judged music ensemble and a guard person judged vis ensemble. Might that contribute to what some of us see as some inconsisitencies?

After watching both corps all summer I had the same thought. HNC biggest strength is drill, CC their music... and now this? After last night's scores? As to brass, CC had trumpet issues in the ballad tonight so that score may very well be right on. Congrats to Cadets. Keeping it exciting HNC and CC.

Dang. Give the cook a judge's scorecard and let him mail it in. Didn't even see the show and was fairly accurate. Not sure what that is saying about scores...

So def. gonna be CG...

Thank God. YAY! I mean that he hit it. Not the bronchitis part.

Oh, now I get it. You posted this in the wrong thread earlier and I was scratching my head...

Might not be the hardest. Might not be the easiest either. Probably not really a productive argument from various honks, alums and fans though. No one's mind will change. Why dirtiest? Maybe CC has made the most recent changes of the top 5? I know others have made changes too but maybe others have been in the works longer. Or maybe some corps have yet to introduce their big changes.

Those are last nite's scores

Killing time waiting for scores maybe?

I do too.

Foot okay, constant coughing and drymouth bad.