RMelson Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 "not every corps has competed yet, so how can you make that prediction?"It's unpleasant, but true. One day, somebody will figure out that it's as interesting as knowing exactly which two teams are in the Super Bowl, year after year after year. There's no suspense. A breif analysis of Super Bowl pairings will reveal that out of the 30 NFL teams, almost 75% of the teams have an honest shot at making the Super Bowl....parity, salary caps, free agency, etc. make it a fairly level playing field...I just don't see that with DCI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 First I am not saying or implying any particular group has been shafted in this past....I just think it is strange that none of the lower ranked corps ever get better. Take the Colts for example....making finals is their big goal every year (not to say its not everyones goal).....Making top ten is almost out of the question....Blue Devils don't worry about making Finals...they always do...They are just fighting for 1st, 2nd or 3rd.....I don't know, it just seems odd that no one ever gets alot better or alot worse. Well, look at a few from the past 10 years or so... Crown went from 10th in 2001 to 16th in 2002...and two years later were 7th, in 2004. Boston was 15th in 1998 and 5th two years later, 2000. Glassmen, OTOH, were 5th in 2001 and 14th in 2003. Madison was 6th in 05, 9th in 06 and 15th in 07....14th in 02 and 8th in 03...pretty large swings, IMO. Blue Knights went from 6th in 2000 to 14th in 2001. Since you made mention of the Colts... Look at the Colts in the 90's...went from 20th in 1992 to finals in 93 (12th) and as high as 9th in 1995. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMelson Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 No doubt there is some moving around and as you pointed out some pretty big swings, but, in my opnion, the top five or six seem to stay (almost) the same.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbc03 Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Knights, 1982.Knights, 1983. Are examples from 25 years ago really the best you can do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbc03 Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 A breif analysis of Super Bowl pairings will reveal that out of the 30 NFL teams, almost 75% of the teams have an honest shot at making the Super Bowl....parity, salary caps, free agency, etc. make it a fairly level playing field...I just don't see that with DCI Pro football players also get paid millions of dollars Meanwhile, drum corps members, the vast majority of which are still in school, pay thousands of dollars. If you want a level playing field then come up with ways to bring the bottom up, not the top down. The level of excellence is what makes drum corps so much fun to watch. I'd rather watch BD, Cadets, and Cavies be really freakin good and then have everyone else not be as good than have everyone be the on the same level as a 10th place corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 A breif analysis of Super Bowl pairings will reveal that out of the 30 NFL teams, almost 75% of the teams have an honest shot at making the Super Bowl....parity, salary caps, free agency, etc. make it a fairly level playing field...I just don't see that with DCI First off...the NFL players are professionals getting paid a lot of $$$ to play. The entire structure of how the NFL works is different from DCI...the draft being #1...players just can not go with the team they wish as happens in drum corps. The salary cap also plays some role in creating parity. You just can't relate the two organizations in any real way, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 No doubt there is some moving around and as you pointed out some pretty big swings, but, in my opnion, the top five or six seem to stay (almost) the same.... I was responding to this: I don't know, it just seems odd that no one ever gets alot better or alot worse. You are right in that the top 5/6 are pretty much the same, though there are a few the move in and out of the 5/6 spots. What does that mean though? The top corps have the most competitive success year in and year out, so they attract more of the top talent to their auditions. They have pretty successful staffs, and this is just a guess....a good amount of longevity in their staffs and admins over time...with a good level of succession planning when there is going to be turnover, e.g. the way Jeff Fiedler leaving the Cavies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriTroop Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 First I am not saying or implying any particular group has been shafted in this past....I just think it is strange that none of the lower ranked corps ever get better. Sure they get better, along with everyone else around them. That's one positive thing I've seen in the last several years. Quality is generally in an up trend right now in the long-term, well-established corps at every level. Take the Colts for example....making finals is their big goal every year (not to say its not everyones goal).....Making top ten is almost out of the question....Blue Devils don't worry about making Finals...they always do...They are just fighting for 1st, 2nd or 3rd.....I don't know, it just seems odd that no one ever gets alot better or alot worse. This is kind of the nature of the DCI beast for now. Once judging changed in the mid-80's to emphasize show design more and "ticks" (or visible/audible errors) less, there evolved a kind of equilibrium in the drum corps universe. It's harder to break into the top because the top generally has a greater lock on two things: talent and forward momentum in design and retention/attraction of highly trained members. If a corps wants to move up, these two things need the most attention. (along with focusing on program weaknesses, whatever they may be.) The good news is that the most successful designers and programs usually produce a kind of offspring system where upcoming staffers and potential designers from the likes of Cadets, Cavies, BD, SCV, Crown etc. move out to the lower tier corps and try to help them build up their program. This is not always successful, and it takes a lot to sustain the effort, but when done well it can potentially create a new break-through corps. (I'm personally betting on my home corps to be the next one to come up, but I'm a Trooper honk. ) The other element is management. A very charismatic but well-grounded group at the leadership helm goes a long way in this fight for growth. (which is also why I'm betting on the Troop.) There's lots more I could say, but I'm sure someone else will take it from here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rut-roh 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 Eagerly awaiting some responses to this! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skajerk Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 The corps will be: Cavies, SCV, BD, Phantom, Cadets, Carolina, Blue Coats Bluecoats, Boston, Blue Knights, Glassmen, Colts, and Blue Stars. Fixed. So, where does The Academy fit into this "slottness"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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