Chief Guns

Mandarins took over a full point out of the gap to Phantom in a span of four days. Great job Mandarins!

Mandarins took a big chunk out of the gap to Phantom. July 29th, the gap was 3.1 After Allentown, its 2.0 And they got the gap to Crown under two points. And Crown was on freaking fire tonight. Love Crown this year! Way to go Mandarins! Fight all the way to the end!

Yea I am already planning to fight the person who will be cutting onions in our section.

So happy the Mandarins gave my boy an amazing show to age out to. Next week in Indy is going to be bittersweet.

As a current third year Mandarins Dad, I would highly recommend you spend some time at a Mandarins rehearsal etc, if the opportunity ever presents itself. Because if you think the Mandarins don't have a culture and/or a strong one, you are mistaken. The culture that J.W. Koester has built there is absolutely astonishing, and among a number of things, it shows in their recruitment which has grown significantly each year, and most importantly, it shows in their retention numbers as they are now a destination and no longer a feeder. And that speaks directly to the culture he has put in place.

The Mandarins haven't earned the benefit of doubt yet. They are the new kids on the block when you look at the top seven. But honestly, a lot of us (generally speaking) have recency bias. We forget it wasn't too long ago that corps like BAC, Bloo, and Crown were scratching, clawing, earning their way into the top 12, then the 6-7, top five, before finally medaling. They had to learn to crawl, walk, run. If you really look at it, the Mandarins aren't doing too much that is different from those legendary corps as they continue their ascension to the top of DCI. Going to be exciting to follow the Mandarins path over the next 10-15 years.

Exactly. Pulse Percussion has won three of the last four championships and numerous other titles over the years. You can't talk Indoor Percussion without without mentioning the Pulse crew.

I wouldn't consider the Pulse Percussion Staff as no names. They are well known. And the improvement they have made on the Mandarins drumline is absolutely incredible.

Great score tonight! Keep pushing Mandarins!

I say go for it! Seahawks fans ripped off Texas A&M and their "12th Man" so they don't have a leg to stand on anyway.

Facts to everything you said about Mt. Sac. Mad props to everyone who wears corps jackets in the middle of summer LMAO. At the Santa Clarita show (nearly 100 degrees), I swear I saw some dude wearing an Impulse corps jacket spontaneously combust while walking and talking with people near the souvie booths.

I would be lying if I said I loved every single show every year. But regardless of how I feel about the production, it's more important to me to make sure that the kids are celebrated for their hard work. At the end of the day, they are just doing what the adults in the room are telling them to do when it comes to what goes on the field. I appreciate the fact that they choose to spend their summer rehearsing and performing in 100-degree weather to entertain idiots like me. Lord knows they could be doing other things with their summers, for better...............and worse.

Mandarins are officially on watch for two scoring records as we wind down the 2025 season. Would be awesome if they could take down both records by next Saturday. They have some work to do, but they have a shot at both. Highest scoring Mandarins show of all time, 2023 Sinnerman.....93.775 Highest scoring 7th place show of all time, 2007 Bluecoats......94.050

And that's where we are different respectfully. I give standing ovations to every corps regardless of how I feel about the show. I choose to celebrate the kids, because I know whether they are 1st or 25th, they are working their butts off to be the best they can be. The kids didn't write or design the show. And I want them to know their hard work is appreciated. Right or wrong, that's what I choose to do.

Fair enough, and I respect your opinion.

I watched thousands lose their ****, throwing babies, tossing middle school kids and anything else they could launch at the ending of VK in 1992. Because of that wild crowd response, should VK have medaled top three in 1992?

Yes. Fastest to 90 in corps history.

Congrats on making history tonight Mandarins! Well deserved!

Here is a scoring question I have. Let's say there is a corps that finishes 26th in quarters and does not make semi's (top 25). But their drumline is NEXT LEVEL ELITE, and every competition to include regionals, drums took first place in that caption. At Quarterfinals drums take first, but again the corps finishes 26th as a whole. Is that respective corps percussion section not eligible to win the Sanford since they don't have a three night average, even though they are clearly the best percussion section in DCI?

But did your co-worker send the same seven-page email the following year offering her thoughts? Or did she at the very least move on with life. Because unless I am having deja vu, I swear this is at least the third time the OP has started this exact topic over the last couple years, word for word, including how he defeated the DCI overlords with master use of "Whom" regarding Audience Engagement. It's starting to become an annual event in looking for this thread to pop up.

Wait until some computer whiz kid hacks the voting so his big brother's corps can win.

Lord knows I love me some Academy! But when it came to "OVER AMPLIFY" a couple of weeks ago in Pasadena, if I was an Audiologist, I would have been going up and down the rows and sections at the Rose Bowl passing out my business card after Academy performed lol. Skip to 0:22 to see what Academy and their speakers did to us in attendance that evening LMAO.

If the Mandarins crack 90 tonight, it would be the fastest the corps has ever achieved that feat. Hoping we witness history tonight. LFG MANDARINS!