ccklinefelter

I think for some judges (and spectators), GE comes more from how the show makes you feel, as opposed to how it all connects. Downside Up won GE because the judges "felt" more than the other shows. My guess about Crown's show is right on with what someone said before, maybe the show is less of a story and more about the nature of the beast itself.

Yeah it really is. This year is so competitive, with Bloo bouncing back from their off year, and BAC still growing. Still hoping for Crown to beat Bloo at least once this year

I personally think SCV is gonna win, although at heart I'm a Carolina Crown fan. Also this is my first year going to finals with 3 of my buddies, driving 12 hours in a day to get there!

When/where is the Indiana State Fair? May be a good place to go during our 2 days of downtime

I'm getting in Wednesday night too! Probably going to see the lot one of the days before finals

Anyone on here attending finals this season? I'm taking a road trip from CT with some friends, gonna be there a couple days prior.

Again sorry for the harsh statement

Fair enough, when I said "sucks", I didn't mean in general, I mean relative to the level of the corps other captions, and relative to the other corps guards around it. They always seem to be behind Bloo AND BAC in guard, consistently. Sorry for the confusion haha

Ok, first opinions on the corps this season, then drama. A lot of corps seem to have some sort of Achilles' Heel, where they are great all around but the one section is always below the standard. For Crown, this was previously percussion, and now it's swapped to guard it seems. One of my friends from high school (was in the guard of my marching band) went to CC and I still find it hard to see anything medal-worthy in that section. As for the the rest of the show, they could get the highest overall music score out of any corps this season. Their visual could definitely be cleaned a whole lot, and they need to fill in the dead space in the second movement. If these two things are fixed, that would probably raise their GE score enough to be on par with Bloo. The worst I see them doing is 5th, and as of right now I like them as 4th. A LOT of people are saying "layering layering layering", but that means pretty much nothing in the bigger picture. Every corps is layering, to one degree or another, and if not layering, cleaning. Try to be a little more specific about what they are/could/will be doing. Also I'm really tired of people fighting over petty little things on this thread. There will undoubtedly be some negative things to say, but that just helps the discussion progress. If you get angry any time someone "trash talks" CC, just ignore them, and we can talk about what really matters, which is how much we love Crown and what they do.

Another good site for tracking scores throughout the season is dciscores.com You can't find any of the score sheets there, but it gives you a good visual for the score trends throughout the season. It also works for Open Class too.

After seeing their lot video from FloMarching (you all know the one by now), they sounded more full than most brass sections at finals, and this was the end of MAY. I cannot wait to see what they bring Lucas Oil Stadium. However, I did see Boston's preview, just the music and no drill, they might be my favorite show this year, closing with a chilling rendition of Amazing Grace. WOW Also, once all the parts are filled out, I think they can be serious contenders for the GE caption (which as we all know is a big indicator of who will win). Can't wait to go see finals LIVE this season.

Yoooooooo that would be amazing!! Also I've noticed that this spring Crown has really been getting public about everything, and likely gaining a lot of fans in the process. Think this would be to their benefit, or not?

Personally Crown is my favorite! But that's just me, a brass guy. Although, now that their percussion situation is much better, their music and GE could be really good. They just need to get their guard in line and they could have a second gold medal. With regards to the uniforms, I find that usually the uniforms work well with the overall mood of the show, once it gets put on the field. The orange guard costumes from T/LT made the show feel completely different than if they would've been red or green or gray or something. Once the show is revealed, the uniforms might be a little cooler.

Here's my opinion for finals results based off of staff changes and trends from the past few years: 1) Santa Clara Vanguard: Still a great corps like last year, probably even better with the addition of a visual god on their staff, plus they will be hungry after last year. 2) Blue Devils: There's little doubt that they will drop from the top 2 for the first time in a decade. I thought they might last year after 2 seasons in a row below 98, but then Metamorph happened. Plus they've got all the same staff from last year, so they will be a fierce competitor. 3) Carolina Crown: Front runners to win best brass, and serious contender overall now that their percussion situation is better. If they can bring their guard and GE up they could be a gold medalist. However, I feel more confident in SCV this season. 4) Cavaliers: They are out of a 5 year slump, and with the addition of Kevin LaBoeuf in brass, their music will be very good this year. While I don't think it will be good enough to medal, definitely still a possibility. 5) Boston Crusaders: After having a season to acclimate to their new staff, they should be at least as good as last year, if not better. I've seen predictions for them anywhere between 2-9 for finals, but I'm confident in their consistency. 6) Bluecoats: They are the biggest wildcard of the season, I think. That's not just because of the secrecy surrounding their show every year. While they have a very strong visual tech, there's no way of telling if they will rebound (like Crown '13-'15, 1-5-2) or if they've hit a wall. I think they could be anywhere between 3-6, but based on the other corps and how they could perform, 6 is where I place Bloo. We'll see how early in the season my predictions fall off the cliff

Question for everyone: who do we think is the biggest wildcard, the corps to watch throughout the season? I'm thinking Bluecoats, and not because they won't reveal their show yet. They dropped really bad last year, so I see two possible outcomes. 1) They make a rebound like Crown '13-'15 did (1st, 5th, 2nd) with the additions to their visual team. Bloo is still very good and with a jazz show, they're going to be doing something a lot different than everyone else, as usual. 2) They've hit a wall. Maybe they won't come back up to the skill level they were at in 2016. Cavies and BAC got good last year, and are going to be fighting to push Bloo out of medal contention. There's also this whole confusion where people have no idea where Boston is going to fall. I've heard everything from 2-9, what's the deal?

Good uniforms or bad uniforms makes very little difference. Unless it's Bloo '16, it means practically nothing. There WAS a time in which corps used the same uniform every single year, and it affected no scores. Ugly uniforms or not, Crown is still gonna be a front runner for best brass :)

I understand this is less of a ballad, more of a free-form cadenza, but the mello solo at the end of Madison Scouts '88 (Malaguena) gives me chills every time.

Wish I could've helped but I live in CT. Also It's a little late now.

SCV got 3rd last year, behind BD then Crown. Also I looooooved BAC last year, but if you heard the FloMarching lot video for Crown, you'd be on my boat buddy :)

I respectfully disagree with some of these claims. I do think that SCV will take the gold, but I don't think BD will drop so quickly with all the same staff from Metamorph still there. I think Cavies will get no higher than 3, but most likely 4 again. Crown I think could be a gold contender, but I do see it as unlikely. Bloo around 5 sounds about right, but I don't think BAC getting 6 was a fluke, and another year to acclimate to this better staff means they will remain top 6 I think. However, it's always impossible to really tell until July.

Definitely, Crown is a front runner to 3peat, but BD is always on their heels, Bloo could be really good again this year in brass, and Cavies with Kevin LaBoeuf as their caption head.

Here's what I think, based on staff changes and trends from the past few years: 1) Santa Clara Vanguard 2) Blue Devils 3) Carolina Crown 4) Cavaliers 5) Boston Crusaders 6) Bluecoats Bluecoats are a huge wildcard this year, I think they could end up anywhere between 3 and 6, based on how the other corps do. Now that Crown has their percussion situation figured out, they could be serious contenders for 1, if they can pull their guard and GE back up. SCV is going to be really hungry this year, plus they've added a legend to their visual staff (a category BD beat them in last year by a lot). Cavs got a former E=mc^2 player for their brass line this year, that should really help their brass and music overall, keeping BAC from cresting past 5.