Blue Devils Reaction to Finals

[kickhaltsforlife]

As an age-out member of the 2008 Blue Devils I would like to say a few things.

I rarely read this forum, in fact this is the first time I have been on since finals night. I am deeply saddened and very offended by some of the views expressed in this thread about my corps. First off, I would like to apologize on behalf of myself and my corpsmates for any rude or classless behavior that any drum corps member or fan might have seen from us after finals night. I Play Baritone Good- Judging by your opinions, it seems that the Blue Devils have personally insulted you in some way. I apologize for this, and hope you give us another chance.

I'd like to tell the people who read this forum a few things about the Blue Devils, not the drum corps, but the members themselves. For the past few years the Blue Devils staff have started trying to create a new type of Blue Devil. The types of kids accepted in to the corps recently are a different breed than the Blue Devils of old. The staff are searching for younger kids with a better attitude and higher moral values. Did you know that the Blue Devils have a corps bible study group? There were around 50 members of the group this year. In case you didn't know we had 25 vets in the hornline this year. Mostly 2 years. How many did the cavaliers have? Can you imagine the pressure on all of those rookies, having to live up to the perfection expected of a Blue Devil every day? Hardly the bunch of scary ###### that for some reason most drum corps fans think we are. When I made the Blue Devils, I was shocked at how nicely I was treated as a rookie. Much nicer than my former corps. It's true, we have some members who can be jerks, but doesn't every corps? Please don't judge the entire membership of the corps on a few bad apples. We're doing our best to change.

We all know what happened finals night. Maybe some of you were expecting it. We sure weren't. We were a corps of mostly rookies, we worked so hard to be worthy of just being called Blue Devils. We thought that we had worked hard enough to attain our dream of being a World Champion. We had a chant on the Hound after we learned the score of every show we won. It went like this: "We're not that good! We're not that good!" We believed we could never stop working hard. A corps of rookies. Not a lot of experience, but tons of heart. I'm sorry we don't play emotional music, but don't think we don't have just as much heart as any other corps.

Finals night was truthfully the most heartbreaking night of my life. Not only did we not attain our dream we had been working so hard for, it seemed like the whole world was ecstatic about our failure, as it seems like some members of this forum are. Happy that the Regiment won their first solo championship, but even happier that it was the big bad Blue Devils that had been defeated at the end. It was the first time I had cried since I was 7. Our rookies were absolutely devastated. We felt like we had let Joe down. It was a very hard way to leave drum corps forever. Unfortunately, I will probably remember that night more than the night when I actually won the championship for the rest of my life.

I'm completely offended by the things that some people on this forum can say about a group of KIDS that had their hearts broken. Some of you need to realize that this is not a professional sport, kids make mistakes. Kids say stupid things when they are upset. I could tell you about all of the snide and outright mean things said to me AND MY PARENTS after finals night, but I'm not. I lost my belief in this activity when my father was insulted only for having a son in the Blue Devils. Some of the other corps aren't as "funny" or "clever" as you think by the way.

The blind opinions about the Blue Devils are garbage.

The people who can be happy about kids having their hearts broken are garbage.

Makes me wanna puke.

just want to set something straight, as long as you still have those members acting classless, it diminishes my entire view of the corps. Those classless acts were commited by members representing BD. I am happy to hear things are changing, and I know you guys worked you ##### off. Unfortunately classless acts outweigh positives at the end of the game. If I were a part of your corps, if I knew those people I would be very upset and would have gotten on them. Even if it was one person. One thing i love about rum corps is class. BD is always up there on that list, but what happened after this summer changed my opinion slightly.

I understand how heartbroken you were, believe me, I was competing in a lower corps and our hearts were broken, not on the same level, btu i still understand.

Another thing, by far, BD was still more classy than other corps that night.

But congrats on a lot of good hard work, and still a great season! Second is not so horrible. I know every corps would love to be in your position every year, and you guys do the work to deserve it.

[BSEU]

As an age-out member of the 2008 Blue Devils I would like to say a few things.

I rarely read this forum, in fact this is the first time I have been on since finals night. I am deeply saddened and very offended by some of the views expressed in this thread about my corps. First off, I would like to apologize on behalf of myself and my corpsmates for any rude or classless behavior that any drum corps member or fan might have seen from us after finals night. I Play Baritone Good- Judging by your opinions, it seems that the Blue Devils have personally insulted you in some way. I apologize for this, and hope you give us another chance.

I'd like to tell the people who read this forum a few things about the Blue Devils, not the drum corps, but the members themselves. For the past few years the Blue Devils staff have started trying to create a new type of Blue Devil. The types of kids accepted in to the corps recently are a different breed than the Blue Devils of old. The staff are searching for younger kids with a better attitude and higher moral values. Did you know that the Blue Devils have a corps bible study group? There were around 50 members of the group this year. In case you didn't know we had 25 vets in the hornline this year. Mostly 2 years. How many did the cavaliers have? Can you imagine the pressure on all of those rookies, having to live up to the perfection expected of a Blue Devil every day? Hardly the bunch of scary ###### that for some reason most drum corps fans think we are. When I made the Blue Devils, I was shocked at how nicely I was treated as a rookie. Much nicer than my former corps. It's true, we have some members who can be jerks, but doesn't every corps? Please don't judge the entire membership of the corps on a few bad apples. We're doing our best to change.

We all know what happened finals night. Maybe some of you were expecting it. We sure weren't. We were a corps of mostly rookies, we worked so hard to be worthy of just being called Blue Devils. We thought that we had worked hard enough to attain our dream of being a World Champion. We had a chant on the Hound after we learned the score of every show we won. It went like this: "We're not that good! We're not that good!" We believed we could never stop working hard. A corps of rookies. Not a lot of experience, but tons of heart. I'm sorry we don't play emotional music, but don't think we don't have just as much heart as any other corps.

Finals night was truthfully the most heartbreaking night of my life. Not only did we not attain our dream we had been working so hard for, it seemed like the whole world was ecstatic about our failure, as it seems like some members of this forum are. Happy that the Regiment won their first solo championship, but even happier that it was the big bad Blue Devils that had been defeated at the end. It was the first time I had cried since I was 7. Our rookies were absolutely devastated. We felt like we had let Joe down. It was a very hard way to leave drum corps forever. Unfortunately, I will probably remember that night more than the night when I actually won the championship for the rest of my life.

I'm completely offended by the things that some people on this forum can say about a group of KIDS that had their hearts broken. Some of you need to realize that this is not a professional sport, kids make mistakes. Kids say stupid things when they are upset. I could tell you about all of the snide and outright mean things said to me AND MY PARENTS after finals night, but I'm not. I lost my belief in this activity when my father was insulted only for having a son in the Blue Devils. Some of the other corps aren't as "funny" or "clever" as you think by the way.

The blind opinions about the Blue Devils are garbage.

The people who can be happy about kids having their hearts broken are garbage.

Makes me wanna puke.

As a member of a competing world class corps, I respect what you do and what the Blue Devils stand for. I know what it is like to have an entire corps put down for the dumb actions of a few people. (even the post right above this...) Congrats on having a great season. No matter what happened on finals night, your season was great.

Edited December 10, 2008 by BSEU

[crazymello]

As an age-out member of the 2008 Blue Devils I would like to say a few things.

I rarely read this forum, in fact this is the first time I have been on since finals night. I am deeply saddened and very offended by some of the views expressed in this thread about my corps. First off, I would like to apologize on behalf of myself and my corpsmates for any rude or classless behavior that any drum corps member or fan might have seen from us after finals night. I Play Baritone Good- Judging by your opinions, it seems that the Blue Devils have personally insulted you in some way. I apologize for this, and hope you give us another chance.

I'd like to tell the people who read this forum a few things about the Blue Devils, not the drum corps, but the members themselves. For the past few years the Blue Devils staff have started trying to create a new type of Blue Devil. The types of kids accepted in to the corps recently are a different breed than the Blue Devils of old. The staff are searching for younger kids with a better attitude and higher moral values. Did you know that the Blue Devils have a corps bible study group? There were around 50 members of the group this year. In case you didn't know we had 25 vets in the hornline this year. Mostly 2 years. How many did the cavaliers have? Can you imagine the pressure on all of those rookies, having to live up to the perfection expected of a Blue Devil every day? Hardly the bunch of scary ###### that for some reason most drum corps fans think we are. When I made the Blue Devils, I was shocked at how nicely I was treated as a rookie. Much nicer than my former corps. It's true, we have some members who can be jerks, but doesn't every corps? Please don't judge the entire membership of the corps on a few bad apples. We're doing our best to change.

We all know what happened finals night. Maybe some of you were expecting it. We sure weren't. We were a corps of mostly rookies, we worked so hard to be worthy of just being called Blue Devils. We thought that we had worked hard enough to attain our dream of being a World Champion. We had a chant on the Hound after we learned the score of every show we won. It went like this: "We're not that good! We're not that good!" We believed we could never stop working hard. A corps of rookies. Not a lot of experience, but tons of heart. I'm sorry we don't play emotional music, but don't think we don't have just as much heart as any other corps.

Finals night was truthfully the most heartbreaking night of my life. Not only did we not attain our dream we had been working so hard for, it seemed like the whole world was ecstatic about our failure, as it seems like some members of this forum are. Happy that the Regiment won their first solo championship, but even happier that it was the big bad Blue Devils that had been defeated at the end. It was the first time I had cried since I was 7. Our rookies were absolutely devastated. We felt like we had let Joe down. It was a very hard way to leave drum corps forever. Unfortunately, I will probably remember that night more than the night when I actually won the championship for the rest of my life.

I'm completely offended by the things that some people on this forum can say about a group of KIDS that had their hearts broken. Some of you need to realize that this is not a professional sport, kids make mistakes. Kids say stupid things when they are upset. I could tell you about all of the snide and outright mean things said to me AND MY PARENTS after finals night, but I'm not. I lost my belief in this activity when my father was insulted only for having a son in the Blue Devils. Some of the other corps aren't as "funny" or "clever" as you think by the way.

The blind opinions about the Blue Devils are garbage.

The people who can be happy about kids having their hearts broken are garbage.

Makes me wanna puke.

I would like to say that being happy Phantom won doesn't mean you were cheering on BD's failure.... I was happy Phantom won. I liked their show and think they deserved the title. Every corps works hard. Does that mean I am chanting "Boo, Blue Devils Suck, I hope you lose!" No, I am saying "Go Phantom, awesome job out there!" Also, when I say the Blue Devils are arrogant, it isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I am generally referring to how hardcore the corps is, and how they always have that look in their eyes. The look that says "We're the best thing going out there." I know, I, for one, when in performances, on my way to the gate, etc, I strive for it. Did I particularly think the show was the best this year? I just respectfully disagree with the show design. However, that doesn't mean I don't respect and admire every second of work that you guys put into it. It was a better performance than I have ever been in. Just sayin'. Phantom rules=/=BD sucks. That's my two cents.

[Noname]

just want to set something straight, as long as you still have those members acting classless, it diminishes my entire view of the corps. Those classless acts were commited by members representing BD. I am happy to hear things are changing, and I know you guys worked you ##### off. Unfortunately classless acts outweigh positives at the end of the game. If I were a part of your corps, if I knew those people I would be very upset and would have gotten on them. Even if it was one person. One thing i love about rum corps is class. BD is always up there on that list, but what happened after this summer changed my opinion slightly.

I understand how heartbroken you were, believe me, I was competing in a lower corps and our hearts were broken, not on the same level, btu i still understand.

Another thing, by far, BD was still more classy than other corps that night.

But congrats on a lot of good hard work, and still a great season! Second is not so horrible. I know every corps would love to be in your position every year, and you guys do the work to deserve it.

If a few bad apples ruined the classiness for the entire corps, I think every single corps is classless. I don't use that same formula though.

Now here's something I don't understand. What have the Blue Devils done in the past few years that made so many people like them less and less? This is an honest question, I would like to know.

On finals night, when they were announcing 2nd place I'll be honest, I was really happy that Phantom won it, and by the slimmest margin possible, because I LOVED their show and lets be honest, there was A LOT of hype going on it. Even so, on the loud chords near the end of BD's show I stood up and started yelling, because there was a lot of emotion and it was a REALLY exciting ending. I actually listen to and watch the Blue Devils show more than I do Phantoms show. Unfortunately some of my friends booed at BD at the end of their show, because they wanted Phantom to win. I wasn't with them, but I'm really ashamed of their decision to do that.

If I were a member of BD in 2008, I would want to cry as well. Not only would I have lost being a World Champion by the slimmest possible margin, but I would've felt hated by the entire crowd, which would be the worst feeling in the world to me. It really is horrible what it's come to, and why people hate BD so much. I really don't understand why. I think whenever anything bad happens, it gets blamed on BD (i.e. retreat '08), when in fact it was another corps, the Bluecoats. I don't hear NEARLY as much complaining about them though....

I'll repeat my question so people will read it; What have the Blue Devils done in the past few years that made so many people like them less and less?

Edited December 10, 2008 by Noname

[GreenMachine009]

A lot of people have disliked the style change from the more jazzy stuff of the 80s and 90s to the louder, faster stuff of this decade. I most definitely enjoyed that style of BD more. The last show of theirs I could really enjoy all the way through was probably 03.

[doyle079]

If a few bad apples ruined the classiness for the entire corps, I think every single corps is classless. I don't use that same formula though.

Now here's something I don't understand. What have the Blue Devils done in the past few years that made so many people like them less and less? This is an honest question, I would like to know.

people are stupid thats why they arent liking them as much. i saw the show in san antonio and thought it was an interesting show and pretty #### entertaining (i didnt really like last year). for the people who didnt see bd live this summer, your going off what you saw on the dvd, or your just saying what your friends say, your opinion of the show means nothing. yes phantoms show looked amazing on the dvd compared to bd. that doesnt mean that live bd didnt look just as amazing. the dvd doesnt do a lot of justice for bd this year period. end of argument. what happend at retreat or supposedly happend at retreat with bd and the horn players in ATB is a stupid argument to make towards why they are or arent a classy organization because it probably wasnt only them.

blue devils are good, they know theyre good and they are used to winning. for them to loose only 2 shows in a year and one is finals, thats gotta be heartbreaking so leave them be.

finally i started this not to bash BD, but to just have people say what they think each corps is known for lately since its obvious a lot of their show designs are different than what theyve been known for in the past.

to mods if this continues to bash on BD i would like it to be shut down. thanks

[DrinkinOuttaCups]

I'm not gonna lie, I unfortunately hopped on the "Let's all hate on BD" bandwagon back when I first got into drum corps...but that was because I didn't know any better. Just so you know, I got into drum corps at the start of the '07 season. I went to the Atlanta regional, and I left slightly upset, because I couldn't understand why the Blue Devils won that night. I just didn't like them for some reason. I kept telling myself that the show was boring, because that's what most everyone here on DCP was saying. However, once I got the DVDs, I decided to watch BD all the way through, and now not only is it one of my most-watched shows of '07, but now BD is also one of my all-time favorite corps.

So, I guess I just didn't like BD at first because I was new to drum corps, didn't know any better, and listened to the opinions of the people who had been involved in it longer than me. But now I know better.

[salad315]

My only comment was that the cavaliers are at least a little funnier / more clever in the way they insult other corps. Nothing in any of the posts i've seen has changed my mind - heartfelt as they may be. If it had been the cadets that phantom had overcome at the last second, the reaction would have probably been the same, if not worse (or better). For every great comeback and upset in history, there's someone on the receiving end. I dont blame those people for being ######, but I also dont blame people for being annoyed at bad behavior.

[fsubone]

Okay, may be walking into the firing line here, but whatever...

I really think that BD did all that they could this year. You guys really threw down for Joe, and I know that he's proud of all that you guys did for him this year. When they announced second place, I'll admit I was cheering. I was cheering that Phantom won, not because of BD losing. Phantom threw down, and they just put down a little bit more on the field than BD did, in my opinion from the stands.

As for being arrogant, I will admit that it's the good way of being arrogant, more of the "We're the best thing out here and we know kind of look," and I think it really sets them apart from the rest of the groups. Sometimes it gets a bit blatant, and we all heard what happened Finals night, but what's done is done.

And if an upset had happened to me, I would be a bit heartbroken over it. That didn't happen for me, but if it had after working that hard, I'll admit it would be hard to take initially.

JOE IS PROUD OF ALL THAT YOU GUYS DID THOSE LAST 10 DAYS

[thatguywiththehat]

I would argue that the Cavies have had some sort of instants that i would define as classless..

Example:

2003 when BD and the Cavaliers were neck to neck all season. I've heard of accounts of Cavies members throwing fits after they came in second at finals night, not to mention several other occasions through out the summer season where they have slipped up.

I believe that this is similar to what the Blue Devils experienced this past summer tour. I remember the allentown show this year when they announced BD in second... the stadium erupted and we knew it would be a good finals. BD seemed to have put the cavies past them but didn't count on PR's last surge to the top.

I would be pretty upset if i had been 1st all season and just came in second to a 3rd place corps.

*** Just to clarify, i see this much like a sport ranking in the NCAA...I believe that the corps in 1st place the whole season has every thing to lose, and they did... so in my 2003 example of the Cavies and the current 2008 BD situation i feel they acted like humans. Emotions run high because they hadn't experienced anything less than their expectations... which was to win.

Edited December 10, 2008 by thatguywiththehat