This was indeed a very bad experience. I arrived early with my mother and met with a former drum student of mine who marched Cadets a few years ago. He and I went to watch the Cadets warm up while our families went inside. We saw some of the Cadets drum line warm-up and proceeded to the gate with plenty of time to spare (I have been coming to shows in Buffalo since 2000). We got in to see Cadets, but only by resorting to what essentially amounts to line jumping. I have never seen such long lines at any DCI event, including several world championships.
However, it was when I met my mother inside that the situation really began to annoy me. My mother has an Internal heart defibrillator, which means she is not supposed to be scanned by the electronic wands that security was using. She has an internationally recognized card for this, and at airports she is given a pat down instead. My mother attempted to give this card to security and in reply the woman said, "don't worry, I am a nurse" and proceeded to screen her. I am not sure what that is supposed to mean, possibly "if something goes wrong I can resuscitate you." I was enraged by this, and would have given this woman a piece of my mind had I been present to see it.
Whether this is the fault of DCI, Ralph Wilson stadium, or the hired security firm, it was a terrible experience and likely the last dollars DCI will get from our family.
