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Security rent-a-cops would have been real good in the Nazi SS. They stopped the show for a thunderstorm moving into the area (which never happend, BTW...hardly a drop of rain fell...). The SS...I mean rent-a-cops were not allowing people to leave the stadium...not allowing people to leave the seating area and cross a "sky bridge." None of us knew why...because we just entering the stadium from buying souvineers and there was no announcement we could hear. The rent-a-cops were trying to get physical with a mom trying to LEAVE the stadium to get to a corps bus! I don't care if a tornado is coming, if someone wants to go home how can you stop them? $25 parking, CASH ONLY? What a pile of crap, and what a surprise. Food was expensive, drinking fountains were hard to find, two draft beers were $15. Two philly sandwiches, 1 fry, 1 small pepsi, 1 regular pepsi was $29.50. Sweet Jesus! What a scam... Then you can't leave the stadium for any reason. If you leave, you can't come back. Left your camera, rain poncho, heart pills in the car? Too #### bad, you leave, you are not coming back in. The Boston crowd was rude beyond comprehension. Yak, yak, yak, I wanted to turn around and scream "STFU!!!" You see, people from Boston have this thing called an "accent" so it makes it easy to figure out the talkers are the local crowd. They walk in right in the middle of a performance, sticking their butts in your face while you try and watch a show. The venue was a nice place, to be sure...and those of us sitting in the red "clubhouse" seats DID have a nice, indoor air conditioned refuge and a place to sit and eat. But the people don't seem to know how to behave at a DCI show. One jack-### sitting in front of me had an INFANT and a TODDLER. You can just guess how freaking well that worked out...glad I flew nearly 3,000 miles and spent a week in a hotel so I could go to the show and listen to your kid talk constantly. Jerk. Oh man, I feel better.

So there we were...at the Div 1 semi-finals, the entire row behind me seemed to think they MUST share their opinion LOUDLY. The jackass behind me was #####ing about the judges being on the field with the corps, they have no business being there, they are ruining the show, blah blah blah. No, the judges are just fine. It's you and your BIG MOUTH that is ruining the show. He sure did hate those judges. "If I had a gun with me I would kill that judge." Yessir, you read that right. He said if he had a gun with him, he would kill the judge. I assume this man was talking out his corn dispenser, but I did ponder if I should leave my seat and grab one of the police officers standing at the top of the section. I figured he was just an angry old man, but dang...what a stupid thing to say. Anytime anyone dropped anything, he sure did notice. "DID YOU SEE THAT? HE DROPPED HIS SABER! I THINK HE DROPPED HIS RIFLE TOO. DID HE DROP HIS RIFLE? I NEVER DROPPED MY RIFLE. I NEVER DROPPED MY SABER EITHER." Please...stop...me...from....dumping...water....bottle....on....someone's....head....! ^0^

I was amazed at the number of people in the stands that would TALK OUT FREAKING LOUD during the corp's performance. I don't mean "ooohhh!" "Ahhhhh!" "WOW, DID YOU SEE THAT?" Oh no. I mean nonstop yakking about the show, about Aunt Silvia's carbuncle, don't forget to buy eggs, you name it. When the show got louder, THEY GOT LOUDER. Yes, we must shout above the show in order to be heard. The teenagers were much better than the adults. Just one look, perhaps a gentle "ssshhhh...." and they gave a look of "sorry, sir" and got much better. My wife and I were unlucky enough to be sitting behind two moms with some pretty jittery kids. I guess we should have known there was a reason those seats were empty... Yes, they paid for their tickets too, but if your yard ape cant STFU and sit still then perhaps you should not sit in the middle of the crowd on the 50 yard line. Oh, I almost forgot...HER CELL PHONE RINGING DURING A SHOW. She did not take the call. Oh no. She waited a couple minutes, then PLACED A CALL. DURING A SHOW. I could overhear the conversation and trust me, it was nothing that could not wait for the corps to finish performing. After the break we ended up sitting two rows behind two older folks (older being older than my wife and I...mid 40's... ) After an hour of them I was ready to be sitting with the rowdy kid again. She could not shut up to save her life. Nasty stares from the people in front of her did not register on her brain, nor that of her husband. Then their adult kids sat next to them and proceeded to join the debate. Verbal requests for a bit of silence worked. For a few minutes. What is wrong with people that they can't show respect for the performers on the field and the crowd in the audience? If the same thing happens Saturday, I think I'll take their pictures and post a link on DCP. Wow, it feels good to get this off my chest. Go ahead and flame me if you must, but I can't see many people defending idiots with diarrhea of the mouth.

I watched my son's corps perform in prelims on Tuesday. I thought it was the performance of a lifetime, their best score so far this season, yadda yadda yadda. When the judges scores came in, I was mad, upset, depressed, disgusted. They were several points lower than their score from the last show and dropped them a couple places. I thought the judges were idiots. Then I talked to my son. I said "the scores sucked, you got screwed" and he said "we deserved it. There were phasing issues, marching issues,....we had a bad show." Uh-oh. Dad was wrong. If the "whole organization" feels this way, then they are hurting themselves and the kids. Did the crowd clap? Cheer? Did anyone come up to you and say they liked the show? :)

Why, yes he does. That makes him one of the ten best contra players in all the world. Now, I am not going to say he is the best contra player in the world. I say being in the top ten is good enough! I am typing this from the keyboard of my laptop at the Radisson in Brockton...just a couple minutes away from the division II/III championships. OC is staying 55 miles away from Brockton. Kathy and I saw the last hour of OC's practice today. I must say, it's not the same OC we saw in Oregon and it's not the same show. What was once merely awe-inspiring is now the 8th wonder of the world. The staff has tweaked, tuned and pumped the corps into a well-oiled machine and WOW, does it look and sound great. I am partial to horns (what can I say?) but the percussion rocks and the guard is simply amazing. I honestly did not think it was possible for the guard to have progressed this far, they are better than last year and are a blast to watch. The guard tells a story with motion and if other corps had a guard as good as OC, maybe they would not have to stoop to narration. Can't wait until Tuesday!

I am Chris W's dad...the person that made the OC DVD you were watching at the auction. I type this from the airport in Detroit (Intel Inside, Centrino, you must buy one now---this has been a subliminal message) waiting for our ride to Providence. At some time I am going to be asking people with digital cameras to BRING ME YOUR FLASH MEMORY CARDS and I'll dump 'em to my computer. Ask nice and I might even make you a CD-ROM of your pictures so you can erase your card and take more pictures. See you all soon! GO OREGON CRUSADERS! Go GUARD! Go PERCUSSION! Go BRASS! Go STAFF!!!! You make it all possible! We are not worthy...

In most cases, I root for the "home team," meaning the good old U S of A. But it would be pretty cool to have a winner from overseas. I know when trying to explain Drum Corps competition to people that have no knowledge of the activity, they tend to roll their eyes sometimes when I say it's "international." Having Taipei win D3 would be proof that Drum Corps International is more than just a phrase. OTOH, it's not like I was rooting for Yamato over The Oregon Crusaders last year. My wish for international brotherhood only goes so far.

That's what happens when I ask my wife to look at the map instead of doing it myself. :P On the other hand, she is the Goddess of Directions, able to navigate anywhere we have wanted to go in over 30 states and four countries.... Still...it would be nice to know where The Oregon Crusaders are going to stay.

That would be fun. Anyone else willing to divulge what hotel they will be staying in? Kathy and I have not made reservations yet... *sigh*

ARGH! I can't BELIEVE Sean shows up in here...and does not answer the question of WHERE IS OC STAYING FOR FINALS? Div 1 and div 2/3 venues are probably 30-50 miles apart. The original div 2/3 venue looks like it was another 30-50 miles away. So unless you moved your accomidations when the div 2/3 finals moved, you could be 60-100 miles from the div 1 competition. Probably not, but how are we supposed to know? It would be nice to get a place in the middle. *sigh* A shout out to Samantha Harts' mom! Yes, 'tis me. b**bs

You might be right. If that is where they finish, I say the Oregon Crusaders have everything to be proud of, as do whatever corps finishes in fourth or sixth or first or last. I was there last year when Jersey Surf "took the penalty" and it was a moment I will never forget. They proved by action that it's not all about what place you finish, it's not all about the gold, silver and bronze. It's about musicianship, showmanship, teamwork and the joy they give themselves and the audience. I am so proud of my son and the part he plays in OC, but when I watch the corps play I almost *never* know where he is on the field. I am so busy taking in the sights and sounds of the whole experience. Sure, I love him, well, like a son, but I also know it's a team effort. Am I the only one like this? (You would think it would be impossible to lose him because that horn is so big it blocks the sun, but there are 9 others just like it...and I had the same problem when he played sax in highschool.) Just once, before finals, I am going to try and follow him with my eyes (and camera?) the whole show. But I have never been able to do it before. Not in four years of band, and not in this, his third year of DCI and OC. Something always happens..."oh, look at Chris! He shouldered his horn and is about to.....mmmmm! Rifles!" I loved the very first full runthrough I saw in Vancouver, Washington; I'll love the last show I see at Div 2/3 championships. No matter how they finish, I'll be easy to find; I'll be the dad in the stands wiping the tears of joy from his eyes.

WHERE ARE THE OREGON CRUSADERS going to be staying in Providence for DCI finals? Airfare...booked.......rental car....booked........tickets for Div 2/3 and Div 1...in hand......now about that Hotel.... Where, oh WHERE, will OC be staying????

How could they NOT let the show go on? Can you imagine the mayhem that would have resulted? 600 musicians and staff converge on this field, having driven multiple buses and tractor trailer rigs hundreds of miles, only to be told that they can't perform because 22 designated Football Gods are going to pummel each-other senseless in five days...and they need a pretty piece of grass to do it on? Puh-LEASE! Not to mention the people that already had tickets... I say it's about time all those football players get off the band and corps field. OC ALL THE WAY!!!! OC GUARD ROCKS!!!! OC BRASS ROCKS!!!! OC PERCUSSION ROCKS!!!! AND HITS THINGS WITH STICKS!! b**bs OC STAFF ROCKS!!!

Oregon Crusaders have clawed their way into the thick of things. I would ask if OC's staff sold their souls or something, but that was last year. ^0^ What an impressive climb!!!

I am pretty thrilled with The Oregon Crusaders . Perhaps I should not complain...because this is a free site...but the division 2 (and I presume div 1 and 3) stats are not being updated on a regular basis, or are sometimes being updated with incorrect information.

OC's guard scored at 14.0 in Boise! Perhaps I am a bit too excited about it...and call me an optimist...but if you take the highest scores so far in brass, guard and percussion...and put it all together in one show... Do you know what that spells? I sure don't, but a four point jump in a single show is incredible. WAY TO GO, OC GUARD!

What an insulting review, and how different from my thoughts on the subject. When the Cascades were done, I turned to my son (a member of OC) and said to him "Seattle is going to finals." I thought the kid doing the talking was great, he went out of his way to speak clearly and understandably. Lisp? Are you kidding? I just told someone else that was there about the original poster's opinion of the narration and she said "that guy is an idiot, the kid was perfectly clear and understandable." Having said that, I wish the speech would stop. Nothing against him, but I can't stand narration. Otherwise, I did enjoy their show greatly. The aircraft shape was pretty interesting, the biplanes were fun and original. One pilot lives to fly another day, one dies and climbs the "stairway to heaven." Neat. Before the show, a lot of the Cascade's guard members were running around without their shirts on. Now I don't know what they call that thing they wear underneath their top, but it sure looked like a black satin pushup bra. While I admit to being impressed may I suggest wearing a shirt? Next subject. OC is a great sounding corps with a weak guard. I saw them warming up 30 minutes before the show and the caption head was lying on the ground while his assistant lead the drill. Every time I have seen the guard working out, it's always the assistants and not the head. The guard was very late in coming together and I am sure their scores will improve, but they need every member of their guard's staff to be involved and right now, I don't see it. :(