The Cadets at Quarterfinals

[Galen]

Oddly enough, Cadets got one of the BEST reactions of the night when they got the point in their show where they say, "Let's try it without the voice"

[Tekneek]

Oddly enough, Cadets got one of the BEST reactions of the night when they got the point in their show where they say, "Let's try it without the voice"

Is that really odd? I wonder if a lot of people would love to see/hear this show without the microphones. I know I do.

[dojinator]

DUDE this guys marched this show for months..!

they DONT need hash marks.

they should be able to do this with their eyes closed...

CAVALIERS had NO problem with their harder drills

[gdisney]

....yes the field was bad i think we all agree taht this stadium flat out sucks ### for finals.

OK kind of off topic but...the field doesn't look too good, but I was really impressed with the sound in the stadium. I heard a lot of bad things about it the last few months, but I got to say that sitting on the 30 at 33 rows up, the sound was crisp and clear.

Anyway back on topic...yes I would agree the decision by Hop was not handled well. I mean, the corps was already being announced to start. Not the time to say, "wait a minute, stop everything..."

[Chris Cameron]

So from what I gather, I believe that Hop has every right to demand fresh lines for his corps.

The reason Cavaliers did okay without them is because they're marching style relies more on muscle memory and memorization of dots, rather than dressing the form and looking at the lines more like Cadets. That may have been why Cavaliers were okay with a worn out field.

Hop's decision was right, DCI's was right too.

If they don't have a penalty they're in 2nd, so in my mind they still are. Theres no reason why their scores should go down tomorrow, so they should come back into 2nd tomorrow night and be in good shape for finals.

PS. Booing the Cadets or George Hopkins is immature and rude, IMHO.

[dojinator]

All corps should be able to march their shows at this point without hash marks, and there have been two shows I personally attended where not a thing was said by anyone on the Cadets staff, including Hopkins concerning the hash marks. The hash marks were non-existent at these two shows and no one was running to paint them either.

EXACTLY

[Long Time Fan]

I know this is a chicken and egg thing, but George Hopkins bring much of the negative and positive opinions onto himslef and this will flow over onto the corps, like it or not. Some might say that because of the many innovative thinks GH tries he is the focus of this attention. I say that GH cannot resist being the center of attention, and does things to demand it. He is the only director who is easily found and clearly right out there with his corps front and center. Most directors give the corps over to the DM, not GH, he is out there clearly for all to see as he makes last minute checks.

This is not any different than his effort to bring change to the activity. He is doing this because he wants the change, but the way that he does it demands that he get the attention. He will push the change into your face and make it clear that he is doing just that. This I Believe is GH's vehicle for narration, not narration being the right and best fit to finish out a really great drum corps show. Like I said, chicken and egg.

GH wants the forefront. He wants his corps behind him. And when he grabs the stage, people are surprised that he is booed and his corps reaps this as well. I have never booed The Cadets, but I have never thought well of GH, not because he brings change, but that he puts himself out front. If he worked for changes like Fiedler or Gibbs, thinkgs would be different, But when you want to be a lightning rod, don't complain when you get struck.

[Guard Diva]

one other thing to consider..........

why wait until the corps is set up in their opening formation to pull them off the field...............why not insist it be repainted before they even started setting up?

[Danpod]

It looks like that white paint I donated to DCI earlier in the Summer came in handy :)

Tomorrow night will be VERY interesting.

[Tommeee]

Was the decision right? Probably not. It cost the corps 2 points and presumably they didn't make that up in improved performance.

The decision was made for safety - not to let them have a better performance. Hop was mad BEFORE the show, because he knew the performance would be in jeopardy either way. But if he did nothing, safety would ALSO be an issue.

My question is, how did the Cavaliers and everyone before them ever manage to do their drill as well as they did with "no hash marks"?

Nobody else has a drill as dense and fast as Cadets. It wasn't as much of an issue with the other corps.

Now here's a question to ponder- if it's ANY other corps director asking for the field to be relined, is the reaction the same?

Would the crowd boo Jeff Fiedler, or Rick Valenzuela, or Roman Blenski, if they did what George Hopkins did tonight?

If it was another director, people would NOT have booed as much.

It woulda been a right call if he got someone before he got his corps out there and did that to the kids. Since he didnt , bad call shoulda just gone with it. if anyone needed hashes it was teh cavies and they werent there when they marched , yes the field was bad i think we all agree taht this stadium flat out sucks ### for finals. And to me it looked like Hopkins was stoned or drunk all night to me lol. get off the drugs buddy.

True, the decision should have been made before the corps went on the field.

However, what makes you think the Cavies need hashes more than the Cadets? Their drill, no matter what the judges say, is NOT that difficult. Every time they line up, it's on a yard line. And they just don't have the same velocity on density with their drill as the Cadets do.

True, the stadium is the worst finals location I've seen since I've been watching. The field grass condition is atrocious, and very ugly.

The fact that BD became a benefactor of George's decision kinda brings a smile to my face. Not only did BD win, but they had nice hash marks to use...and didn't have to take a penalty to get them. :)

Elmo Blatch

Well, BD did win. But it was DCI that allowed this to happen, not George.

In my opinion, repainting the hashes has nothing to do with The Cadets 5th place Brass score tonight.

In my opinion, it does. Preparation is everything, especially during finals week. If you mess with that delicate balance, it is bound to throw something off. Now I've been watching the Cadets and paying close attention all year. And I thought the performance was a bit dirty tonight. And I also think it had a lot to do with the delay and everything associated with it (such as the booing and jeering).

Now, as for my opinion. I think the penalty was justified. But I also think George made the right decision, based on safety. It sucks that it had to happen, but it is what it is. Who cares about scores anyway.