OrlandoContraAlum

Very good point. I know that a LOT of the Bridgemen's brain trust went a bit west to Star in 85. So, if Bridgemen doesn't fold, does Star actually become a thing?

I can't imagine that that is their actual, final, ending.

Nah, nothing as sinister as that...

Really? Either it doesn't seem like it, or you Crown dudes are REALLY lucky! :)

Note to Crown (whom I love): Dance belts. For all Male members. (Literally). Thank you.

There's a reason that I ask this, I will divulge later. (In no way is this scientific)

This is exactly what I am talking about. I don't know you, but I would be willing to bet that you were not even born when, say, the Bridgemen were DQ'd in 77. I was, although I wasn't involved. However, I am a current member of the Bridgemen Alumni, and I know full well what happened that year. The corps THOUGHT that they were playing "by the rules". Unfortunately, they were not (in the strictest interpretations of said rules). Almost 40 years later, it's still a pretty sensitive topic, so unless you know EVERYTHING that happened back then, perhaps you should not comment on it.

Even that particular history page is not 100% accurate. I have heard the entire story, and I believe it. Folks, the rules, as they were back in the day, were not as cut and dried as you may imagine now. Did corps take advantage? Almost assuredly. That said, I have a feeling that a lot of folks will never know the whole story. Like I said above, this is really old news, and should probably not be discussed, unless you want yet another flame war post.

Exactly. This is a horse that has been beaten TO DEATH on these forums. Simply search "disqualification" or many other words, and you WILL get many, many posts. It's ancient history at this point.

I would respectfully disagree with your assessment of Suncoast. The corps essentially folded between the 86 and 87 seasons. Were that not to have happened, I believe that their competitive inertia would have certainly kept them in the upward trajectory that they had enjoyed to that point. An even more interesting though exercise would be to consider the potential ripple effects if Suncoast had stayed together. Assuming that the staff stayed somewhat intact, and that alums that went on to other staffs "stayed home", it would have dramatically changed the landscape of DCI. Robert Smith perhaps does not do a lot of work with Glassmen, Madison, and Troopers. Frank Williams doesn't move on to work with Cadets in 1990 and Glassmen later. Kevin Ford, Howard Weinstein, Bob Barfield, and Rich Viano may not go to Boston and help elevate that corps to Top 5 status. Later, many of the same went on to Blue Stars. Adam Sage stays in Pinellas County, meaning that Phantom, Crown, and Madison don't benefit from his guard leadership. That's just off the top of my head.

Yep... this (all other things being equal)

Usually I am a big supporter of the Fan Network, but I gotta call a spade a spade. Just tried to view the vids from the Beanpot Invitational in Lynn from this past weekend. First, it took almost 5 days after the event to get these up. Now, since it was a holiday weekend, I can actually understand that. My problem is the extremely poor sound quality on the videos. Anything above a mezzo-forte is distorted to the point of being un-listenable. I realize that there was a heavy wind throughout the show, but the occasional wind interference is not the issue. I honestly could not listen past the first hit of the Cadets show. That said, the sound is ok on the Denver videos (though still a bit distorted), and I remember that the sound quality from the show in Quincy MA was also poor. Just hope that this is not going to be a trend throughout, since I have heartily recommended FN to a LOT of my friends...

Boom.

I was going to say the same thing!

<offtopic> Perhaps so far in the Marketplace, but I have both, and my WP8 Phone is the best smartphone I have owned (I have had Blackberry and Android prior). Further, Windows 8 works wonderfully on the 4 computers (2 Desktops and 2 Laptops) that are in my household. </offtopic>

Thanks! (I agree, Ensemble Music makes more sense. It's like DCI hired some Six Sigma types to come up with these names)

Thanks N.E. Brigand and Liahona, both of your explanations make sense! Next question: in the Music Caption, is Music Analysis somewhat analogous to the old school "Ensemble Music" caption?

I guess I should have been clearer... I can tell if a guard is not together or is not marching well (well, sometimes. Their drill is so loose a lot of the time now..), and I know when I enjoy a guard "moment". What I don't know, however, is if a guard book is difficult or not, and I don't always understand how the work accents the music. If that makes sense...

I have seen all of the available videos on FN for both BD and Crown, and while both had their "best" shows of the season in total last night, I felt that both were also a bit "off", especially visually. Both had marching dirt that I had not seen in other videos (persons out of the forms, forms not hitting, etc). I don't know enough about guard to speak to that.

Could someone please explain this to me like I am dumb? (I am, in this regard.) I see this quite often on these forums, but don't completely understand. So: 1. What does this concept entail? 2. When looking at a recap, how can I tell? Thanks.

Suncoast 88, near the end, the contras fold up into two columns, right in front of the drumline. At either semis of finals we trapped the drum judge. I don't remember if we actually hit him, but we got to listen to the tape at some point and you hear this foghorn sound get louder and louder. Suncoast 89, at (I think) DCE Championships in Morgantown, WV. The hornline is rotating a parallelogram in front of the drum line during Beach Frolic. The center snare's harness breaks, a literal drum roll ensues, and his snare ends up under my feet as I am doing a backwards, fast-motion slide with my contra. I fall over it, see my horn literally bounce off the turf, and see my mouthpiece fall out and into the form. Amazingly, I was able to grab the horn AND mouthpiece and recover. Unfortunately, the center snare was out for the rest of the show (the drum judge grabbed his snare and he marched off to the front sideline). Not a lot of fun, as I aggravated a pulled ligament in my knee and missed a couple shows, but I finished THAT show. Marching up the hill into the tunnel after the show was below average though.

Besides, to truly conjure him, you need to say his name thrice.

Agreed. I am getting from the PC to my living room tv, the picture and sound quality are excellent.

Agreed. I am getting from the PC to my living room tv, the picture and sound quality are excellent.

Heh, Acheson's joke ("hasn't Denver gotten enough from Indy already") bombed, but was pretty clever!