Tenoris4Jazz

From a brass perspective, yes, but their visual numbers in both GE and performance were really low for a contending corps. Let's face it though, when Madison got hot in August, no one was going to beat them.

Ah, 1983. Cadets and Devils wound up tied for 2nd behind Vanguard after semis. Cadets won their first title having to go on 3rd from last Saturday night. They had been undefeated all summer though, so it was more a surprise being where they were Friday than where they ended up Saturday.

Now go back to 1980 and do the same thing, except tell me that the 2nd and 3rd place corps will have been long gone for 20+ years...

Look at it this way... those last 25 members would have been cut if not for roster increases. In professional sports, the last guys to get cut are either the overachievers who just don't have the talent, or the physically talented who just don't have the mental makeup to succeed. You put those two groups together and you have a perfect recipe for conflict. The first group hates the second for wasting their talent and the second group hates the first for being "go-getters" and reminding them just how lazy they might be.

Boston hasn't beaten Academy in three weeks. (Ignore the Quincy scores, partial panels don't count in August) Boston outscored Madison at Allentown, albeit on a different day and by 0.05 pts. They are trending upward, but even at the split performance in Allentown, they didn't show they should be any kind of a favorite over Madison come Thursday. Boston will be in high gear going on after Troopers, but then Academy will set the bar right after them. I think Madison is in a horrible spot, not only following Academy's better show, but following all the crowd momentum for getting Academy into Finals. Scouts would be much better served by going on after Boston and before Academy.

You saw that list and THIS is the one that stood out?

Single most impossible finishing order I can imagine. Bloo could forget their ramps and still not finish 5th. Cadets horns and percussion playing a standstill is better than 7th. Academy falling 10 places? Somebody needs to up their medication...

So, we're not going to reward those groups that came out of the gate better prepared? All these corps know ahead of time that ALL the regionals factor into the order of performance in Indy. You can't just toss out the scores from the first one because things have changed. Last I checked, the first 1/4 of the season counted in the standings for MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL.

I'll admit, prior to 2015 I didn't care for show themes and titles. I wanted to hear kicka$$ music and see awesome, high level marching and drill. Crown's show last year and virtually everyone this year has converted me. If you don't have a strong theme, that's okay by me, but when you tell a story like Crown or Academy, I'm all in!

Sorry, but I strongly disagree with this take. What you just described was 3 of my last 4 employers, all of whom were Fortune 500 companies and the leaders in their industries. When people started violating their "roles" in the organization, sales went south, morale took a nosedive and profits dried up. Marching a corps is very much a lesson in real life.

I think we can all agree that this season for Academy is a success. It will be crushingly disappointing if they miss finals (although I don't see how at this point), but the achievements this group have made are beyond question. When every single drum corps fan is passionately cheering you on and willing you to the finish line, you cannot have any thought that the season was not a complete success. Taking the field Saturday night at LOS is their championship, and I dare say it might be the biggest standing ovation of the night.

I think there's one commonality to the experience of any MM in any corps: what is the #1 objective of the organization? Is it to educate, have fun, add maturity, learn life skills, or is it to compete and win, crush the competition, pad your resume so you can get the better job? If the goal of a corps is to finish with a number beside its name on the score sheet... stay away. I watch a lot of sports and I used to chat with fans of various teams. The one thing that kept coming up was how did we measure a team's success. Some folks just counted championships, others were overjoyed at the first winning season in years. Certain Alabama fans were the toughest to talk with, because they considered any season that didn't end in a national title a failure. If your only definition of success is winning the championship, then only one team in every sport is successful every season. That's a horrible way to determine the success of any venture.

Yeah, and a week out from finals in '08 Phantom was slotted in 3rd too... how'd that work out?

So it IS Boston and Madison fighting for that last spot. Next week is going to be extreme!!

We've had these discussions over the last year. Too much money to be made reselling horns to high schools and it would require all these horn players to learn a new horn. Not worth it.

Imagine Crown, Bloo, BD or Cadets on those G bugles... dayum.

Nope, they'll be back for Friday night!!!

Years ago I sat in front of a mom who was attending her first DCI show at the Ga. Dome. Her daughter was in the guard for Spirit that year. After the last show was over, I asked her "What do you think?" I still die laughing recalling her answer... "How the f*** do you figure out who's better? I thought the last 4 groups all should win!"

I have to say whoever is directing these stream broadcasts has done a great job over the summer of figuring out when to use what close up camera and where to aim. 1000% better tonight than SA.

I guess it was the violinist I remember seeing the ad for then. It just struck me as an out of place thing for Cadets to have to be doing so late in the game.

Both the trumpet soloist and Adonis were brought on late. Hoppy had to advertise on FB for them.

An interview with Adonis... and that turned out pretty cool. How'd you like to age out like that?

I still have a hard time putting them in front of SCV, because music is such a strength of both units and Vanguards visuals are so much better.

Let me make sure I've got my Depends on... listening to this horn opening makes me lose control of my systems!

If you can't critique the show politely... stay quiet.