Finals suggestion for the future

[silvertrombone]

I wouldn't place Phantom in 3rd with what you are saying. They've been in the Top 3 a third of the time over the last 30 years. If you want to say three "non champions" in the Top 3 - then say Bluecoats, Crown, and Blue Knights or something - it's not a surprise with Phantom in the top 3. I would still put Phantom up there in the upper echelon or "The Top 5": Phantom, Cadets, Cavaliers, Blue Devils, SCV)

And yea - it does discount the 96 tie that should have been an outright championship for Phantom. :)

Calm down. Take a look at the list again. The first three listed are alpha order. Second three are also. I wasn't dissin' anybody, just making a point. For the first time since 1991 we have the opportunity to MAYBE...POTENTIALLY...IF THEY ROLL 7'S 33 TIMES IN A ROW see a top 3...WITHOUT THE "TOP 3!" Meaning the three corps with the most championships. That's all I meant. And I'm guessing NOBODY would complain about that.

Here's another interesting scenario:

2008 semis:

1.) Cavaliers

2.) Blue Devils

3.) Cadets

4.) Phantom

5.) Carolina Crown

6.) Bluecoats

2009 finals:

1.) Bluecoats

2.) Phantom

3.) Crown

4.) Cadets

5.) Cavies

6.) Blue Devils

Couple of thoughts. Cavies get knocked out of the top two, they don't 'fall out.' The top 3 corps in semis and the top 3 corps in finals ARE THREE DIFFERENT CORPS ENTIRELY!! And finally, BD finishes out of the top 5 for the first time since, what?--1973??

If the top of the heap is as competitive from now on as it has been this year, and there's no reason to think it wouldn't be, how long is it before this is a realistic possibility?

Interesting questions, hmm?? It would all come down to who has the most ENTERTAINING product, because they would ALL be stellar in quality, and who SELLS it best in performance and umph finals night! And THAT jazzes me up just thinking about it!

[dciguy01]

bump

[notelvis]

How many people are going to pay $75-$125 a seat to watch 7 corps in finals? Not me.

I agree with you........for that kind of dough I want a show with at least the top 10 corps in it. Cut down to 5 or 6 and the maximum comfortable ticket price drops to under $50.00. (and if it weren't 'FINALS' I'd go so far as to say $40.00 max per ticket.)

It's about so much more than letting the 12th place corps feel good about themselves......it's about economics too.

[octavia9299]

With the dwindling number of D1 corps recently, more than half of all corps are now making Finals. Say what you will, but normally when you think of the finals or championships in a given competition or sport you think of teams with a shot to win. I propose that the top third (33.3%) of all corps in the division compete on the final day. Even with today's numbers, that is 7 corps (7.3 rounded down), and wouldn't you know it...they have all been in contention for the top spot this summer at one point or another.

Thoughts?

You do know, right, that there have been only 21-24 corps for A REALLY LONG TIME, not just recently, right? That this is not a new development?

It bothers me when people refer to this as a symptom of drum corps gloom and doom.

I prefer to look at quality.

[tpt43]

Shouldn't it be more about entertainment than who has a chance to win?

[MarimbasaurusRex]

Not just before the DCI era....I have a list someplace....of 28 top 4 slots between 64-70, 4 corps filled 21 of them...6 corps 27 of 28. Hardly an "anyone can win" kind of thing.

28 POSSIBLE TOP-4 SLOTS

CAVIES: 7 TIMES

TROOPERS: 6 TIMES

KILTIES: 4 TIMES

BAC: 4 TIMES

DP VANGUARD: 3 TIMES

ROYAL AIRS: 3 TIMES

BS: 1 TIME

There was some new blood in 71...Troopers still, plus the rise of SCV, the addition of 27th and the one-shot for Blue Rock.

Let's take a closer look at the top 6 movement in VFW from a few of those pre DCI years. In the 5 years from 67 to 71 there were 15 different corps in the top 6, and 8 different corps in the top 3. The trend continued into the first few years of DCI as shown in my earlier post.

1967

1 Cavies

2 Troopers

3 Des Plaines Vanguard

4 Royal Airs

5 Kilts

6 Racine Scouts

1968

1 Kilts

2 Cavies

3 Troopers

4 Des Plaines Vanguard

5 Royal Airs

6 St. Joe's

1969

1 Kilts

2 Cavies

3 Troopers

4 Boston

5 Blessed Sac

6 Des Plaines Vanguard

1970

1 Troopers

2 Boston

3 Cavies

4 Blessed Sac

5 Blue Stars

6 Kilts

1971

1 SCV

2 Troopers

3 27th

4 Blue Rock

5 Kingsmen

6 Argonne Rebels

Case rested.

[stxmoose32]

With the vastly improving quality of 7-15 placing corps, I'll be ###### if I go along with anything that 1) gives the kids fewer chances to perform and 2) gives me fewer chances to see them.

Let's focus on intelligently expanding the activity in a way that embraces education and participation rather than exclusivity. If I only want to see the top seven corps, I'll just show up late.

Edited August 7, 2007 by stxmoose32

[Tusayan]

With the dwindling number of D1 corps recently, more than half of all corps are now making Finals. Say what you will, but normally when you think of the finals or championships in a given competition or sport you think of teams with a shot to win. I propose that the top third (33.3%) of all corps in the division compete on the final day. Even with today's numbers, that is 7 corps (7.3 rounded down), and wouldn't you know it...they have all been in contention for the top spot this summer at one point or another.

Thoughts?

Why seven corps? That seems to be a random number just pulled out of the air. Do you actually believe that any of the top 7 have a realistic chance of winning on Saturday? Seems that the only thing this idea would accomplish is to shorten finals night by a couple of hours.