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I was there when...........


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I was there in Indianapolis in 2003, when the Blue Devils ended the Cavaliers streak, handing them their first loss in two years. Next to Phantom '08, that's the second-loudest crowd response to a score announcement that I've ever heard.

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I was at Whitewater in '83 getting a measles vaccination after coming off the field. Thanks Sky Ryders. :thumbdown:

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Championships 2008: Best night of my life! Not only was it my first championships, but Phantom won outright for the first time ever!

Hearing Brandt say the words "Blue Devils" and the crowd response after, that is something I'll never forget. :thumbdown:

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1975 DCA Championship Finals. The Rochester Crusaders got about 2/3 through their opener (Journey To The Center of the Earth - Rick Wakeman), when the T&P judge fires off his pistol stopping the corps because of rain (I believe). We were all (WT?) They were allowed to restart and just cranked (IMO).

On the sad side, 2005 DCA Prelims - Kilties - enough said.

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I was there in 1982, when the Blue Devils laid down what has to be one of the best performances in the history of drum corps, at a show in Bayonne, NJ. :thumbdown:

Fran

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...in 1965 at McCormick Place in Chicago for what many still consider the greatest drum corps show of all time.

Days of rain had forced the Nationals indoors. Tommy Howell and I (not being exactly geographically savvy) had hitch-hiked from Long Island. It took 3 days. The last-minute scramble left ticketing in chaos and we simply walked in. Along with a few other ruffians, we stacked some cafeteria tables high enough to sit behind the judges who had been positioned at the top of some low basketball bleachers.

From this perch we saw all 15 corps in finals. When the smoke cleared, the Royal Aires were the champs, having bested the Troopers (who would be National Champions in their own right a year later), Madison, Cavaliers, Magnificent Yankees, P.A.L. Cadets (with their awesome snare line), Chicago Vanguard, Garfield, Mighty St. Joe's, Blessed Sacrament, the Kilties, St. Mary's Cardinals (executing a flawless 90 degree company front wheel in "Heat Wave", brass double-tongueing all the while), St Kevin's Emerald Knights (with those incomparable Frank Bergdoll charts), Norwood Park Imperials and the Boston Crusaders.

Some memories don't fade. I can close my eyes and be right back there. I once asked Gail Royer which was the greatest corps ever. "The '65 Royal Aires", he replied, "without a doubt".

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I was there in 1988, standing on the front sideline 10 feet in front of Madison's frontline for their encore performance after winning DCI in Kansas City. True story. I was 15, had just finished my rookie season marching 4th bass with Colts, we beat Troopers to take 18th, and lost to Blue Knights by (I think) 1 tenth. I was outside the tunnel and figured it was worth a try, so I put on my best "I'm supposed to be here" face and walked all the way onto the field for the encore performance, no one payed any attention to me. It was like I was invisible. One of my best DCI memories to be sure.

I was on the track for Cadets' encore in '84. I got weak in the knees during the ballad and had to sit down for the rest of the show (serious!). Watching those kids cut it loose after the pressure was off was fantastic!

Fred O.

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