Suncoast Sound/Spirit Of Atlanta Rivalry of the 1980s

[Northern Thunder]

In going over some old recaps I rehashed just how close Suncoast and Spirit were in their rivalry. For an unheard of six consecutive years the two corps placed right next to each other in the DCI finals standings.

Get a load of this:

1983--Suncoast 6th/Spirit 7th

1984--Spirit 6th/Suncoast 7th

1985--Suncoast 6th/Spirit 7th

1986--Suncoast 5th/Spirit 6th

1987--Suncoast 9th/Spirit 10th

1988--Spirit 9th/Suncoast 10th

I was there when the rivalry all began, at the 1982 DCI Midwest prelims in Whitewater. Suncoast knocked Spirit out of finals that afternoon. (That was the first time since 1977 that Spirit had failed to make finals in any contest.) Some friends and I were at a restaurant outside of Whitewater having dinner after prelims, and one of Spirit's instructors (VERY angry) was on the phone telling the person on the other end of the line that he was resigning from Spirit, and that his high school band could beat Suncoast. I felt quite bad for having seen this myself, but understood his frustration. Spirit was not used to being knocked out of finals, let alone by a fellow southern corps, and a fairly-new one at that.

Spirit did regain their finals position at the '82 DCI Championship (where Suncoast was 13th), but the rivalry really heated up the next six seasons. Both corps were fantastic during those years!

[victorcoly]

Some of the rivalries in the 70's and 80's are truly missing today. Not so much the "rivalry" stuff, but the quantity of them. Other then the Suncoast/Spirit one entitled in this thread -- some other notables:

North Star / Guardsmen late 70's, early 80's

Star of Indiana / Cadets / SCV late 80's

Madison / Cavaliers mid 70's thru early 80's

Bluecoats / Glassmen (non top 12 -- late 70's thru mid 80's)

Ah..... the memories..... :)