Tekneek Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Wow, I don't know their reputation today, but back in the '80s you didn't so much as look sideways at Boston without taking your life in your hands. Supposedly, they have unwound a lot of that over the years. I suspect today's membership may not even know about those parts of the corps history. We thought something was going to happen in the parking lot after the show that night, so the members stayed together in groups. While putting up a unified front against Boston, the issue of tossing something into their block was addressed internally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecoats88 Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Right -- this issue of retreat being "for the kids" is utter nonsense in my book. I mean, if members are allowed to fool around during retreat and during the playing of ATB because the moment is for them, then why can't they fool around during their last performance of the year. Heck, Madison knew they were coming in 12th no matter what they did Saturday night, so why not let the members purposely frack notes and play other songs during the performance and break ranks and do whatever drill they want? It's for them, right, and they're just having fun and they've worked so hard all summer so they deserve to blow off some steam. Scouts would never do that, of course, and any corps that did would catch holy hell from us and rightly so. No, the show ends when the ticket buying public leaves and the stadium lights are turned off. Not before. If part of your show is to have a free-form retreat and/or keep up your role-playing, that's perfectly fine with me. But please allow the other corps to continue with their "performance" how they choose. You would never interrupt or interfere with another corps competitive performance so why is it okay to do it during retreat? And when you face the audience and perform America the Beautiful -- that's for the audience, not for you. Well actually I remember during Cadets final performance in 1993 (their encore) and Blue Devils encore (don't remember the year) there was plenty of goofing around or not performing the show as they did earlier that evening because they had just won and were having fun with the performance. So it's not just the members in todays corps, things like this have been going on for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kekkles Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I'm sorry. I looked through the whole thread and couldn't find it. Can anyone show me a link to Mr. Gibb's response to BD's retreat? it was on the bluedevils.org forums First I would like to congratulate ALL the amazing drum corps this season. The efforts out of all these organizations and commitment to their mission and our activity is absolutely inspiring.Congratulations to the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets and Phantom Regiment being crowned DCI World Champions. Two great and deserving organizations. I am extremely happy for all the people I know in both groups. CONGRATULATIONS. What an amazing competitive year. Congratulations to the Blue Devil B Corps for an outstanding year. What this group has accomplished this year is short of miraculous. We are all SO PROUD of everyone involved!! Thank you and congratulations!! Congratulations to The Blue Devil A Corps. What and outstanding year. From the very first show to the last, you performed your hearts out. Never once did you let up. You gave fans throughout the country in every city your very best performance. What consistency of efforts with a show that challenged you physically and mentally. But the risks were well worth the effort. You rose to each occasion with guts and determination. You put on three amazing performances. Capped off by your very best Saturday night. Congratulations to Joe Ricard for making such huge healing progress. A fighter and great person. Your presence was truly felt on the field that night. You were with every person during each performance. To all in these forums. Very few will no of the extreme efforts and sacrifices that these your people commit to on a daily basis from January through August 9th. They TRULY put their heart and soul into The Blue Devils organization and to be the very best performers. They strive for perfection. Understanding that this is a near impossibility. They focus on their job and not worrying what they can not control. They do what they love and spend countless hours and days dedicating themselves to their craft, each other and the show. On Saturday night it was the most thrilling performances I have ever seen. These young people are a part of one of the most successful organizations in the DCI era with huge shoes to fill. They came in as defending World Champions. They were consistently ranked very high through out the year. They performed Thursday night to make sure they gave it their all so not to have any regrets. They proved it again on Friday night. They went on last Saturday night following an amazing performance by The Phantom Regiment. A huge task by anyones standards and most would not be able to stay focused on the job at hand which they have been working so tireless for ALL year. They would need their very best to propel them high enough to make a excellence, energetic and powerful statement. AND they did just that for sure. Not to many Blue Devils corps had so many hurdles to clear, expectations and challenges to be met so they could be evaluated on their own merits. This was one of the most heroic efforts I have I have ever seen. I am so proud of these kids and staff!!!!!! When we came off the field with that AMAZING performance in that situation, that was victory enough. And we all knew it. Everyone needs to step back away from their keyboards and think before they type. We all need a cooling down period and think through our actions. We have always let opposing view points speak freely on The BD Forums. And I will continue today. But I will not tolerate disrespect and false accusations with absolutely no distinction of affiliation. I was on the field in front, and in the middle of The Blue Devils during retreat. A view that NO one else had. The Blue Devils acted very well. They applauded Phantom Regiment on their victory. We handed out medals. Took a few pictures. Laughed and cried. We have been asked by DCI to exit the field quickly which we did in a organized way. Thanked the people that did applaud us. Got our equipment and left the stadium by twos to a place that we could talk and give the final instructions of the night. Specially considering the circumstances, I am extremely proud of all of our members and how they acted. Many things happen on the field at a world championship retreat in ALL organizations. Each action can be interpreted many many ways. What I saw that night was amazing set of young people covering the entire field. ALL corps performed their hearts out through the summer and that evening. It is an extremely emotional time and all corps handled it very well. We need to move on and appreciate all the efforts of these young performers. They have done an incredible job. These are the BEST OF THE BEST!! Lets applaud them. Lets support them. Lets make sure they feel our love. Because they have loved performing for all of us. As a parent of two young children that are around these Blue Devil members daily. I can not think of a better place for them to learn from watching their heros commit to excellence. Dedicate themselves to their own personal growth, their fellow corps members and a historic organization. My own children will grow up better human beings because of the examples on and off the field they witnessed. Thank you for all of your continued support!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Wow, I don't know their reputation today, but back in the '80s you didn't so much as look sideways at Boston without taking your life in your hands.While at 27th in '85 or '86, we were in a parade with Boston. Some drunken spectators started spraying silly string at Boston's guard members. Needless to say, that wasn't looked at too favorably and a brawl ensued. That night, Boston went on with the drum major's nose broken, a contra player's jaw wired up, many dented horns and lots of blood on their uniforms. You just don't mess with Boston. Makes me wonder how many of "the other guys" spent the night in the hospital- or the morgue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekneek Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I think you may have misunderstood what I said...or at least meant...if the Cavies guy had fallen inside their own block, this picture would not have been out there and the Cavies-guy-falling-into-the-Cadets-space part of this thread would not have happened. Oh. I imagined you saying if he had fallen into the block of the corps on the other side. It would have just been a funny photo if the guy had fallen inside the Cavies block and George walked by and looked at him. Probably would have been much better that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tekneek Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Well actually I remember during Cadets final performance in 1993 (their encore) and Blue Devils encore (don't remember the year) there was plenty of goofing around or not performing the show as they did earlier that evening because they had just won and were having fun with the performance. So it's not just the members in todays corps, things like this have been going on for years. An encore performance of the show is not the same as the combined playing of America, The Beautiful (or whatever it is called). At that point, DCI is still putting on a show and has not turned the field over to the champions to do as they wish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Other Mike Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Oh. I imagined you saying if he had fallen into the block of the corps on the other side. It would have just been a funny photo if the guy had fallen inside the Cavies block and George walked by and looked at him. Probably would have been much better that way. If only Hopkins had a body bag with him. Putting that Cavies kid in a body bah would have been perfect. No better way to deal with a smart ### than to out smart ### them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Well actually I remember during Cadets final performance in 1993 (their encore) and Blue Devils encore (don't remember the year) there was plenty of goofing around or not performing the show as they did earlier that evening because they had just won and were having fun with the performance. So it's not just the members in todays corps, things like this have been going on for years. True. And the encore is just that -- an encore. Even in rock concerts the encore is more laid-back and fun -- cover tunes, different versions of tunes, etc. And certainly the intensity of the competitive show is gone. Given all that, though, they still generally do the show as written and as best they can given the circumstances. My point, though, was that the competetive performances and retreat and score announcements are all part of the show that the ticket buyer purchased and was promised. The winning corps can do anything they want for the encore -- standstill, repeat of the show, whatever. But no one would tolerate a corps goofing around during their final competitve performance and purposely fracking notes and misplaying tunes because, well, the season's over and so we're just going to have fun. So why should the audience and the corps themselves accept it during the retreat which is still part of the production, that's all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 If only Hopkins had a body bag with him. Putting that Cavies kid in a body bah would have been perfect. No better way to deal with a smart ### than to out smart ### them. See now, if only he had fallen into Phantom's block, they could have covered him in the shroud and everyone would have thought it was just part of the show .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 See now, if only he had fallen into Phantom's block, they could have covered him in the shroud and everyone would have thought it was just part of the show .... That or stabbed him for real Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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