gsksun4 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) True enough..... but if " Elite Status " is reduced to " little engines that could ", and those Corps that " deserve a pat on the back " for efforts, then what the heck, lets assign " Elite Corps Status " to EVERY Corps out there. No, every corps is not elite, and I agree with your statement above. The Rays are only an example of Lil Engine, that doesn't make them elite. Yet. It will take time if it happens at all. Yankees on the other hand are elite. I can say this because for one, I'm a life long Yankees fan, and I've been around longer than a prehistoric cobweb. Two, I live down the road from the Rays, and I'm a big fan of theirs. I can do both. Except for when they go head to head. That's when I root for my home team. Elite Status should not be deminished, and again I agree with what you say. Consistancy is the key. Just throwing some analogies around. By the way, I suffered with the Mets in the beginning as well as the Tampa Bay Bucs. That in itself deserves a pat somewhere. Or at least a wack on the derriere Edited June 10, 2009 by gsksun4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 No, every corps is not elite, and I agree with your statement above. The Rays are only an example of Lil Engine, that doesn't make them elite. Yet. It will take time if it happens at all. Yankees on the other hand are elite. I can say this because for one, I'm a life long Yankees fan, and two, I live down the road from the Rays, and I'm a big fan of theirs. I can do both. Except for when they go head to head. That's when I root for my home team.Elite Status should not be deminished, and again I agree with what you say. Consistancy is the key. Just throwing some analogies around. By the way, I suffered with the Mets in the beginning as well as the Tampa Bay Bucs. That in itself deserves a pat somewhere. What about everybody getting a trophy? Come on. Can't everybody be winners? Just like in t-ball and AYSO. Keeping score is so 1980s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) People are way overthinking this.The original concept was "Is there a ceiling to the 'Top X' designation?" In the 90s, we had a set Top 7 (Top 6 after Star left). There was an occasional upstart that broke into the Top 6 but it wasn't a regular thing. With Madison's fall, is it officially Top 5 or has the success of Bluecoats over the recent years expanded it back to the Top 6? If Crown can stay up there this summer are we in a Top 7? At what point is there an obvious "break" between the Upper Tier of the Finalists and the Lower, just like there's an obvious break in Semis? Remember, people considered Cavies and Phantom Top 6 corps for years before their first championship. Throwing "well, they haven't won yet" isn't quite fair. By the time we get to Finals Week, we are left with 3, at most 4 Corps ,with a legitimate shot at the Title. If your Corps is not ranked in the top 4 coming into Finals Week, based upon over 35 years of history, you can just about forget about a Title. You have NO shot. So the notion that somehow there are more than 4 Corps in any given year as " Elite " Corps doesn't seem to pass muster. Not if " Elite Status " by definition means a Corps has a shot at the Title that year. Thus, in my definition, there are usually 3, and at most, 4 Corps in " Elite Status " in any given year if the historical timeframe for consideration is as little as " 1 year ". Edited June 10, 2009 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsksun4 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 What about everybody getting a trophy? Come on. Can't everybody be winners? Just like in t-ball and AYSO. Keeping score is so 1980s. No, what we need is good old fashioned gang wars like we had in the 60's. That's right, if you don't like your placement, settle it out by the busses. A trophy is just a hunk of metal. Oh wait, there's a check involved too. Forget what I said. Carry on..................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 No, every corps is not elite, and I agree with your statement above. The Rays are only an example of Lil Engine, that doesn't make them elite. Yet. It will take time if it happens at all. Yankees on the other hand are elite. I can say this because for one, I'm a life long Yankees fan, and I've been around longer than a prehistoric cobweb. Two, I live down the road from the Rays, and I'm a big fan of theirs. I can do both. Except for when they go head to head. That's when I root for my home team.Elite Status should not be deminished, and again I agree with what you say. Consistancy is the key. Just throwing some analogies around. By the way, I suffered with the Mets in the beginning as well as the Tampa Bay Bucs. That in itself deserves a pat somewhere. Or at least a wack on the derriere long time Chicago Cubs baseball fans go to Heaven when they die. They've already been to Hell and back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsksun4 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 long time Chicago Cubs baseball fans go to Heaven when they die.They've already been to Hell and back. Good one. Don't give up, look how long it took for the Red Sox to break the curse of the Bambino. Besides, you had Ernie Banks and Sammy Sosa. That's not too shabby I'd say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smj02 Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 By the time we get to Finals Week, we are left with 3, at most 4 Corps ,with a legitimate shot at the Title. Is this because, every year, there are only 3 or 4 shows that are really that good, or is it because, as humans, we can't really distinguish among more than 3 or 4 individuals in a group, so we (or judges) classify all the corps into groups and go from there? Say the following shows went head to head on one night (champions and those scoring closest to the champions since 2002): 2002 Cavaliers 2003 Blue Devils 2004 Cavaliers 2004 Blue Devils 2005 Cadets 2006 Cavaliers 2006 Phantom Regiment 2006 Blue Devils 2007 Blue Devils 2007 Cadets 2008 Phantom Regiment 2008 Blue Devils How much spread would there be from 1-12? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smj02 Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 Now, as you were perusing the list, think about it: were you mentally sorting the corps into groups, or roughly as "toward the top, toward the bottom" as you were looking at it? See, we can't evaluate/compare more than a handful of things at once, so we mentally sort them and go from there. So, in any given year, there will NEVER be more than 3 or 4 corps who can conceivably fight for a title. But can we reach a point where, in a 3 or 4 year period, seven or eight different corps are in the top 4? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie85 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Is this because, every year, there are only 3 or 4 shows that are really that good, or is it because, as humans, we can't really distinguish among more than 3 or 4 individuals in a group, so we (or judges) classify all the corps into groups and go from there? Yeah, for the life of me I still can't tell a Blue Devil from a Blue Coat from a Blue Knight. So characterizing them as elite, ultra-elite, and super-double-extra-special-elite helps me keep them straight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) Good one. Don't give up, look how long it took for the Red Sox to break the curse of the Bambino. Besides, you had Ernie Banks and Sammy Sosa. That's not too shabby I'd say. I'm not a Cubs fan and I don't believe in curses. I do believe in both good and bad baseball though. And that good and bad ownership and management puts you where you belong. Same as Drum Corps in this respect. Edited June 10, 2009 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.