Why college football has parity

[madscout96]

there is no "parity" because drum corps is not a sport.

"parity" implies that given a level playing field, the best group can "win" an objective measure. but in drum corps, there are no objective measures.

Of course there can be parity, and lack of party, even if drum corps isn't a sport. I agree that it's not a sport, but that doesn't mean it can't have some competetive balance.

the competition aspect of drum corps is unilateral. that is, no corps can actively affect the performance of another. so, the best corps get the best talent because they are the best corps. the only way to build parity is for a "lesser" corps to become "elite" by figuring out how to win the game with the talent and staff they have.

So... Blue Devils are the best because they're the best? You can't back up an opinion with the same opinion. True, no corps can actively affect the performance of another, but that has absolutely nothing to do with corps benefiting from TV exposure that other corps do not get.

no amount of television time is going to change the fact that the blue devils kids can march when they walk through the door, whereas somewhere else they must be taught.

Really... You take away the Blue Devils' TV time completely, give TV time to everyone else in the top 12 and down the road you'll see some adverse effects.

[drumcat]

I think TV time is a part of the equation that will forever lean towards those that are successful. However, achieving a balance can be had in other ways, and there are ways to competitively balance without being required to show x corps, etc...

For example, if DCI had a more coherent program to get cut lists out, it's possible that there would be improvement, but that's not a for-sure. If judges would give less pre-determined "respect" to pseudo-famous staffs, you might also see more parity. If you removed some of the GE points from the equation, and reduced the competition more towards the kids on the field, you definitely would see more parity...

With all due respect to SCV, IMO, the judges missed one badly this year. Do the math, and see what happens to the Bluecoats without GE. It's sick. But we discuss all day long about parity, and then we add GE in, and parity has a 100lb weight around its ankle.

Should GE be part of the equation? Sure. I think all 8 categories should be equal. Then you can start seeing some parity.

[drumcat]

Oh, and Kansas should be #1. Period. Undefeated BCS conference 10-0... come on. Like Lou Holtz says, they're #1 until someone proves otherwise.

Can we have a tourney already?

[shostahoosier]

Showing more DCI shows on TV might get us more exposure...but I dont see it leveling the playing field.

Actually I think parity IS appearing in Drum Corps. There was a lot of place swapping this last season between the top 7 corps...who's to say that the another corps or two makes the jump this season to become a contender.

I think the parity in college football has come from Athletic Directors at major schools realizing that they need a profitable football program to help pay for the other non-revenue sports.

So now it is a priority to have at least a decent football program....meaning lesser known schools are working harding to get the talent that the traditional powerhouses would usually ###### up....instead of just settling for what's leftover (Illinois beating Ohio State is an excellent example), however...it takes A LOT of money and commitment to make that change.

So in that sense...parity will come to drum corps when the less competitive corps recruit the same level of talent (membership and design wise) as the more competitive corps.

But then again...that all comes back to money...

[dbc03]

Oh, and Kansas should be #1. Period. Undefeated BCS conference 10-0... come on. Like Lou Holtz says, they're #1 until someone proves otherwise.

Can we have a tourney already?

It's hard to prove them wrong when they don't play anybody.

Also Lou Holtz is a crazy old man

[Fran Haring]

You know what I like the most about college football this year?

Notre Dame is 1-9.

Hats off to Charlie W. and the boys for a job well done. B)

Fran

Lifetime member of the "I Hate Notre Dame" club

[PhantomPhan1989]

LSU hands down is #1 in the country, they played the toughest schedule considering they play in the best division in the nation; the SEC. They've played Bama, Auburn, Florida, and Arkansas( I think ) , and will beat whoever wins the East division. LSU deserves to be #1. I say this in an unbiased view because I am a life long die hard Alabama fan and will forever bleed crimson; but if you took away their TV time, they would most likely rank 25th. TV helps, loads. Just food for thought.

Need I remind a lot of you, DCI getting more TV time would bring many great things...but be careful what you wish for, a lot of people will probably say in the future (if this ever happens, which I suspect it will someday) that DCI has been corrupted by the media.

Just my two cents.

Edited November 15, 2007 by PhantomPhan1989

[shostahoosier]

For example, if DCI had a more coherent program to get cut lists out, it's possible that there would be improvement, but that's not a for-sure. If judges would give less pre-determined "respect" to pseudo-famous staffs, you might also see more parity. If you removed some of the GE points from the equation, and reduced the competition more towards the kids on the field, you definitely would see more parity...

Agreed...part of the difficulty of achieving parity is that judges already have a preconceived notion of who's going to place where before the gun goes off...

Thats partially why Kansas isnt #1....its not a traditional football school

Its also part of the reason why a mediocre Notre Dame team got into a good bowl last year...they played a schedule of opponents that..."traditionally" have been good (but werent)...and they're Notre Dame

[Big Will]

I think a lot is to be said for presenting DCI as less of an "elitist" activity and opening it's doors to a more varied audience as far as prospective members and fans go...

[bstar82]

The 85 man scholarship limit has more to do with the parity than anything else. Not sure how long it has been at 85, I'm guessing between 1995 and 2000 is when it started. You don't have the powerhouses such as Notre Dame, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Miami and Florida States stockpiling players, potential NFL players on their 2nd and 3rd strings that used to be the norm with 100-125 players on scholarship. A couple of examples. The 1987 Miami-Florida State game had around 50 players that went on to play in the NFL!! That's insane. In 1994 every offensive starter at Colorado played in the NFL within the following three years and Miami just around 2000-2001 had so many NFL er's, the list would astonish you. Willis Mcgahee, Frank Gore, Clinton Portis, Najeh Davenport, Jarret Payton (son of Walter) all played rb in the same year. Add to that Kellen Winslow, Jeremy Shockey, Reggie Wayne, DJ Williams, Sean Taylor, Ed Reed, Santana Moss, Andre Johnson, Dan Morgan, William Joseph, Roscoe Parrish, Antrell Rolle, Jonathan Vilma, Bryant McKinnie and so on. Doubt a team will ever be this loaded again and this 85 scholarship rule allows the mid majors to pick up a lot of talented players they never had a chance at before. This is also why we are seeing more NFL superstars coming out of non football factory type schools such as Terrell Owens, Jared Allen, Tony Romo,and Brian Westbrook to name a few. Will the 150 cap in drum corps deplete the talent in the 6-15 corps and allow the top 5 to become that much more dominant? Or maybe more importantly the D2 and D3 corps see their numbers dwindle? We'll find out soon enough.