Swmstom1998

Sounds interesting. I’ve been hoping Scouts would turn to a darker, more intense theme. Unholy: Sam Smith and Kim Petras White Rabbit: Grace Skik and Jefferson Airplane Asturias: Traditional Egyptian Danna: Al DeMiola Momento Magico: Ulf Wakenius and Youn Sun Nah Sati: Salim Merchant, Sulaymaniyah Merchant, Berkeley Indian Ensemble

For us older alums, especially the Stewart years, it isn’t so much “winning a title” or even competing for a title even though being in that 6th-place zone puts you in striking distance. It’s more about being competitively relevant. It’s about having that swagger. It’s having show designs that elicit the raw, emotional excitement bursts from the crowd. It’s about once again being the general fan favorite, the rock stars that rolled into the lot blasting music out of the windows and flying the Jolly Roger flag, announcing The Scouts had arrived. It’s about the crowd roaring in excitement before a single note was played. Scouts had that “it” factor that made it a destination corps for kids all over the world, not a stepping stone to the top tier. Us DCI dinosaurs understand times have changed in show design and don’t expect the 1988-2000s uniform, G bugles and other throwback esthetics. But we’ve seen what Cavies drums pulled off this year. We’ve seen Downside Up and a horn book and swagger from Coats that was absolutely Madisonesque. Many corps that were small timers back then have passed the Scouts while most of the other big timers from back then are still relevant. We just want Madison to back in that club.

To those speaking about the non-competitive side of the corps being good…cool. My corps before Scouts, we were fed well, we had fun/memorable summers and made lifelong friends. But we also always finished in the upper teens or worse. When you got older, you left because most older marching-age people watched BD, SCV, Cavies, and that time, The Scouts, and wanted that opportunity to march under the lights on a Saturday night in front of a packed stadium and be looked at as rock stars of the activity. As this current trend with Scouts goes, it will remain difficult to get back to competitive relevance because Scouts have now become the type of corps I left. And that saddens me. The members having a great summer is important, sure, but if you want to keep them for the long haul, into their 19s to age outs, you HAVE to be competitive. You can turn a blind eye to it, but it is the truth. It is now, and has always been, a competitive activity. If you’re ok with where the corps is competitive wise as long as the kids eat and are happy, then you will watch this corps continue to dissolve to irrelevancy, and maybe gone all together. Change has to happen. This has gone on long enough. Something, or someone, has to right the ship. Other corps, corps that were NEVER in the realm of The Scouts in the 90s, and now some even well into the 2000s, have figured out. What did Mandarins do? What did Crown do? What did BAC, Bluecoats, etc do different than Scouts? How have they risen to be some of the best in the business when they all used to be an afterthought? I wasn’t a fan of the co-Ed move, but I can stomach it if it means The Scouts are a marquee name again. It HAS to be fixed. Ok, hopping off my soapbox.

I haven’t really followed much of DCI since my beloved Scouts are just making me sad. But seeing clips of Cavies’ drum line made sick to my stomach. Looks like Cavies in a modern way, sounds like Cavies, performs like Cavies and competes at a high level (top-scoring drum line), they have that certain machismo and presence about them still that Scouts used to have. They apparently know the trick. Wondering why my Scouts haven’t figured it out.

When I marched Scouts in the 90s, there was certainly the “scores don’t matter” talk, but my memory was it being from staff to the members as “control what you can control, and that’s your individual performance, let us worry about the other”. We were nip and tuck with Bluecoats and we didn’t enjoy it the night’s they topped us. We were elated we beat them in Finals. We were also happy when we topped SCV in a show. Scott also pushed the idea of enjoying the summer…having off days, relaxing after shows while others did basic block in the lot. But deep down, yea, we all understood the competitive side of it.

He is, and has been for quite a few years. But Pat is a Madison alum and spent many years on non-teaching staff. Pat has a soft spot in his heart for his corps, plus he has a knack for bringing corps up from nearly dead (Southwind and Phantom)

Not necessarily saying that’s who I’d go after, because I don’t know the full story with his leaving Scouts/Southwind. But he had success with Phantom (again, don’t know full inner dealings there) and he’s been with Blue Devils for quite some years now.

Since it’s been asked “who” would replace if you went another direction, Pat Seidling’s name comes to mind.