MikeRapp

I think 2023 will be a return to medaling for Crown. They are just due for a good show design.

Session 44 is one of my all time favorite DCI shows.

It would go a long way to bankrupting the activity. Why do you think people buy tickets to these shows? To watch the best corps do an exhibition? Compete. That’s what you need to do. Not very long ago Boston barely made finals. They won the silver last month. They didn’t sit around and complain about their disadvantages, they competed.

True for nearly all the finalist level corps. You have to be good enough to be asked to join. But the level of ability is drastically different between the bottom four and the top four. This is really not arguable. It’s infinitely harder to make Bluecoats than Crossmen.

Sure but there is no doubt that more experienced marchers can pick things up faster and execute them cleaner. It’s not a BD thing, it’s just life. If your goal is to consistently win titles, you must recruit the most experienced marching members. Period. When an NFL team needs to win a title they go out and sign veterans. They don’t expect rookies to perform at an all-pro level. And frankly, a 21 year old is a boy; a veteran can be ten years older.

Just build around your strength and rely on that. You don’t need all the trappings.

I get the differences. Just don’t care to draw creative lines in the sand.

Dude come on. Inferno, compared to RHRN…is HIGH brow! It’s every bit as serious as Boston this year. And it was the same subject matter! As far as narration…whatever. I mean why not say shows shouldn’t have props? It’s a unique art form that is open ended. Almost every single show now as some form of narration. Including RHRN.

I will reiterate. Crown finished fourth in one of the deepest top 12s ever. We are sounding like they barely made finals. Boston won their first ever silver medal this year. In any previous season Crown would have won bronze.

That last giant toss at the end…I don’t know how many rotations that thing had but it has to be some kind of record.

Who decided the other shows aren’t also fun? I have no issues with whatever Crown does, and you may love it as the pinnacle of the activity. But to imply that Crown focuses on fun while the other corps are focusing on not fun…that’s kinda snooty Ive always thought of Crown as the marching band every high school marching band wishes it could be. Which is a great idea imo for a whole lot of reasons. But to imply that Bluecoats isn’t at least as much fun…or Phantom or SCV…hard pass. P.S. Arguably the best show Crown ever put on a field was Inferno…which is as highbrow as you can get.

I don’t think most people believe other corps don’t have their go to concepts. But they don’t win a gold medal three out of four years.

While we might all like to see corps take more risks, we don’t have to pay their bills.

Klesch has the most recognizable arranging style in all of the marching arts. BD has a very recognizable approach if you know what to listen for. These two corps, plus perhaps SCV, are the absolute gold standard of somehow having a single brass tone for their entire show, regardless of which season they are in. Phantom is pretty obvious because they have always emphasized low brass.

Makes sense, especially when you see the connection to a designer wanting to have their own identity. Sort of like coaches, who want to be known for doing things a certain way—it establishes their brand.