kyushujet Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Well, it's the first weekend of the drum corps season and the scores are in. Any surprises? For me, the only thing that stood out was Madison's low score Saturday night. Other than that, all the other scores were as expected, wouldn't you agree? So, here's my bold prediction on the night of June 22, 2008 of the top 12 corps that will make Finals. This is in no particular order with no guesses at scoring. The corps will be: Cavies, SCV, BD, Phantom, Cadets, Carolina, Blue Coats, Boston, Blue Knights, Glassmen, Colts, and Blue Stars. You could interchange Blue Stars for Spirit, but all the other corps are pretty much firm. Now, am I going out on a limb with this prediction? No, but isn't it sad that most drum corps fans could predict the same corps and be mostly right? There's no drama or excitement in who will make Finals except for maybe 12th place and 1st. And sometimes 1st place is a foregone conclusion by Qtrs. I can also "boldly" predict that the Troopers will not make Finals this year not because they don't have a Finals caliber show, but because their first score of the year was very low. If you start out in the upper 50s, you probably end up in the mid 70s, not quite enough to break top 12. Isn't that sad for the kids that they don't have a chance at Finals because everything was predetermined on the first weekend? The kids and staff could work their butts off this summer and attain a Finals worthy show, but none of the judges would give it to them because how could a corps that placed so low in week 1 slingshot all the other corps ahead of them? It's just not done. It's not the DCI way. And Pioneer will not catch Troopers. And the bottom 6 Finals corps (Boston, BK, Colts, Glass, Coats, Stars) will not catch the top 6 corps (Cavies, BD, Phantom, Cadets, SCV, Crown). See how predictable it all is? Aren't you all getting tired of the same ol judging and the same ol judges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordsterr Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 While you may indeed be correct about who ends up where, I can't see blaming the judges or the judging process itself unless you prefer that they pick the winner from a hat. I was at Toledo and Dublin, and without a doubt, the corps were put in the correct order by how well they performed that night. I did have different preferences in terms of the actual shows, but I could not argue with the fact that the correct order was established by how the kids themselves actually performed what they had. Of course, this is just my opinion. I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I can also "boldly" predict that the Troopers will not make Finals this year not because they don't have a Finals caliber show, but because their first score of the year was very low. If you start out in the upper 50s, you probably end up in the mid 70s, not quite enough to break top 12. Isn't that sad for the kids that they don't have a chance at Finals because everything was predetermined on the first weekend? The kids and staff could work their butts off this summer and attain a Finals worthy show, but none of the judges would give it to them because how could a corps that placed so low in week 1 slingshot all the other corps ahead of them? It's just not done. It's not the DCI way. If the Troopers work their butts off and achieve a finals worthy show, I feel pretty comfortable in saying that the judges will give them what they deserve. You're right, the Troopers will most likely not make finals this year. However, I also feel pretty comfortable that when you watch the show of whichever corps finishes 12th, and compare it to the show the Troopers perform, you'll be able to judge for yourself which show deserves that spot in finals. And if that's true for the Troopers, it's going to true for the rest of the corps that don't make finals too. Oh sure, there will be some corps right on the border that could go either way - this isn't an exact science by any means - but by and large, the corps we see rewarded are the corps that deserve it. It might be boring to see the Cavaliers, Cadets and Blue Devils in the top three each year, but watching their performances can you really say that they don't deserve it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaners Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 hey jordster i like your 'pick the placements outta a hat' approach much better then the systematic, detailed, and evidence based scoring system that is used now.. but kyushujet is right.... if you dont have a shot at 1st or 12th after the very first show, you might as well just pack it up and go home.. cause the only thing that matters in dci is either winning or grasping on to that last saturday spot..... ............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxDrumCorpsFanxX Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 not every corps has competed yet, so how can you make that prediction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry S Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 not every corps has competed yet, so how can you make that prediction? He can because history bears him out. Just watch patiently and bookmark this thread and come back after finals. I think you'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbc03 Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Name a corps that should have made finals last year that didn't because they were screwed by this so called slotting? Which corps should have been in the top 6 but didn't make it because of slotting? Who should have won but didn't because of slotting? Please, indulge me, I beg you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
year1buick Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Of course, it could also be that these corps are just consistently better performers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxDrumCorpsFanxX Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 He can because history bears him out. Just watch patiently and bookmark this thread and come back after finals. I think you'll see. I might only agree with one of his lower placements but thats about it. . . possibly. . . but thats about it. . And history, for one group they only have 1 year of history, so how can you even think about leaving them out until they perform? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMadMan Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 If the Troopers work their butts off and achieve a finals worthy show, I feel pretty comfortable in saying that the judges will give them what they deserve. You're right, the Troopers will most likely not make finals this year. However, I also feel pretty comfortable that when you watch the show of whichever corps finishes 12th, and compare it to the show the Troopers perform, you'll be able to judge for yourself which show deserves that spot in finals. And if that's true for the Troopers, it's going to true for the rest of the corps that don't make finals too. Oh sure, there will be some corps right on the border that could go either way - this isn't an exact science by any means - but by and large, the corps we see rewarded are the corps that deserve it. It might be boring to see the Cavaliers, Cadets and Blue Devils in the top three each year, but watching their performances can you really say that they don't deserve it? Wow...you put a lot of faith in the judging process... Unfortunately there's no accounting for personal bias in a subjective system, but it's the best we have... I've just learned from my government never to take anything at face value....there's always an unseen element to all this....it's only human nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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