Cadevilina Crown

Sounds like the exact same problem that plagued Madison in the last few years before they went co-ed.

For sale: Giant pop art-style head of Richard Petty. Contact the Bluecoats.

Both of those shows have aged remarkably well and really should’ve made Finals on ambitious design concepts alone. Troopers also had a great show in 2015 that came within inches of making Finals (albeit due to the Crossmen’s massive penalty that evening).

Actually, after a quick check, it appears the correct answer is 2008. Blue Stars and Madison replaced Spirit and Colts that year. But thanks anyway!

Curious since I couldn’t find a more appropriate place to ask this, but when was the last time that we had two corps replace two of the previous year’s (in this case 2019) Finalists? Most years in which I’ve followed the activity have had either just one or none at all.

They’re all important, but here’s how I’d rank them: 1. Safety & Inclusion - This is a no-brainer at this point. If the activity remains unsafe for a variety of reasons that have reared their ugly head over the last 5 years, then it won’t be sustainable. If anything, whatever changes DCI makes within this area must be even stronger than before. Thorough background checks for everyone (especially staff/leadership), providing more opportunities to minority groups, stricter prop/tarp safety as needed, even greater emphasis on health and injury awareness, etc. 2. Financial Stability - We need to keep DCI affordable for everyone - keeping membership fees to a minimum, awarding more scholarships and discounts whenever possible, continuing to make sure we don’t have mid-season disasters like Teal Sound in 2012 (RIP), or even Surf just recently. In particular, Spirit and possibly Cascades will return to the tour in 2023 - they need all the help they can get to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Making tickets less expensive for fans would be nice too. 3. Touring Model - This is adjacent to my last point; we need a touring model that is sustainable based on travel distance, fuel cost, weather/climate. I liked a lot of what the corps did this season where they stuck mostly to their own regions of origin - if anything, DCI should stick to that model in the future. Consider more indoor shows whenever possible. If you’re not going to abandon Texas tour for the foreseeable future, consider putting start times for outdoor shows much later from now on. 4. Leadership - Dan Acheson has gone through a lot, but I can’t wait for him to retire. I think the BOD should place term limits on the ED position from now on. 5. Competition - Understandably the least important, but it’s what keeps many longtime fans like us coming back. However, I personally would love to see this aspect downscaled. Smaller panels at weekday shows, maybe even judged exhibitions for those shows with no scores released to the public. More importantly, like a previous comment said, I want to see more variation in terms of what gets rewarded outside of the top. I loved the 2021 Indy shows for this reason - the competition aspect was gone, so everyone was focused on their own goals instead of the judges’, and it ended up being very enjoyable. And I’ve liked a lot of BD shows over the years, but it gets very frustrating watching everyone else play catch-up to them every year in order to appease the judges with very limited results. Maybe something like the old Spirit of Disney award to remedy this? Again, it’s comparatively the least important item here, but it would be nice to address in the future.

Was there even a Vanguard yell in their 2017-19 shows? The last one I distinctly remember was in 2016’s closer.

I mostly dream up shows (and/or source music) in my head. Just imagining a corps performing their non-existent show in uniform at Lucas Oil gives me serotonin.

Finals cutoff is still looking really close between BK, Colts, and Crossmen (the last of which got a 77.7 tonight in Austin). Very interested to see how things will shake out between the three corps on Saturday.

And like Lin Manuel-Miranda continually failing to win an Oscar, BD continually fails to 3-peat. But in both cases, I get the feeling it'll happen eventually.

I think BD had a Harmon-muted soloist in 2018.

Wasn’t their ballad that year was the Barber Violin Concerto? I think that Russian hymn was in the movement before.

The ballad in particular is definitely one of the best of the 2000s, possibly ever. It will be hard for Boston to top that one anytime soon.

Boston’s ballads aren’t really their strong suit, in my opinion. There are a few exceptions like Time To Say Goodbye in 2000, Bring Him Home in 2011, and Wicked Game in 2017, but most of them have been pretty forgettable to me.

I feel like every year there’s at least one corps in the top 3 for which this is the case. And one of them is never the Blue Devils, who always let their shows peak at Finals, even on the years where they don’t win.