mandalorian87

Honestly, that's what concerns me. Good luck. I hope it all works out.

I like melody just fine, thanks. Thing is, if you look up and down DCI this year, you'll find lots of melodic content. Maybe not as much as you or others might want, but certainly more than we've come to expect in the past several years. It's their presentation of that melodic content that seems outdated and leaves a lot to be desired for my tastes, especially when placed in direct contrast to what's being rewarded in the activity. If this show came out 15-20 years ago, I'd probably love it. I just think there is an opportunity for a corps like them to field a more modern DCI show and still retain the qualities of melody and groove and style that fans respond to, and that can also be rewarded in the activity from a competitive standpoint. That's the balance I'd be far more interested in seeing, and for all I know, maybe that's what they are building up to. I hope it is. But this thread is all about 2011 and I can only comment on what I see and hear from them this year.

The Cadets have shown they can clean their act in the past during this last week to insane degrees. I hope they do it again because I'd love to see them win with their show. I just feel that no matter what the outcome, this is going to be one of the great photo finishes in DCI history!

Such a great year for DCI. I've enjoyed so many shows. So tough to come up with just two. I thought about expanding the best (and leaving out the worst so as not to be too critical), but decided to be disciplined and play by the rules. I really do respect ALL the corps for what they do. This has been a terrific season! Best Show Design: Cadets - They have the total package. It's vintage Cadets, yet gives us something new and fresh at the same time. This is the kind of show that speaks volumes as to why they are who they are. It's a representation of everything the Cadets have become known for: traditional yet progressive all at once. I love everything about this show! 'Nuff said. Blue Devils - For years I felt that their domination rested mostly on stellar performance. In recent years, they've pushed the boundaries of their show designs into new areas and stretched their creative wings. Couple this with that same stellar performance and you have domination on a totally higher level. I don't care what the skeptics say, this is a masterfully orchestrated and performed show, props and all. Mesmerizing (musically and visually) from first note to last. Worst Show Design: Blue Stars - I respect a corps that aims high. Sometimes, though, when you aim that high and miss, that fall to earth hurts a bit more. I find too many disconnects with this show design, too much scattered focus and incoherence. It's a shame because I think what they were aiming for was ambitious (in a good way) and could have been very special, not just with the crowds but with the judges as well. Too many design miscalculations for my tastes. Crossmen - It seems a lot of folks are happy with this show as some sort of return to the "glory days" of their past. I can respect that, but at the same time, that's the problem. Their glory days are so long ago that this show comes off to me as extremely dull, slow, and outdated. It's an imitation of a programming style that is long gone in DCI. It's no surprise they've lost competitive steam the past few weeks. I've always liked the Crossmen, but this corps seems rudderless to me.

If Cadets can maintain their grip on the GE captions as they have for Allentown, Atlanta and San Antonio, it certainly bodes well for them in Indy. They need to get rid of those single captions that drag them down, like visual performance in 5th at Allentown. With the competition this close, you gotta bring all captions up to 1st through 3rd at least if you want to come out on top.

1 - Cadets 2 - Blue Devils 3 - Cavaliers 4 - Carolina Crown 5 - Phantom Regiment 6 - Bluecoats 7 - Santa Clara Vanguard 8 - Boston Crusaders 9 - Madison Scouts 10 - Blue Knights 11 - Blue Stars 12 - Spirit of Atlanta I could see Blue Devils winning it all, Crown beating Cavaliers, and SCV beating Bluecoats. But I'll stick with this.