Madison's 2010 Uniform

[Mad75]

Someone say Old School?

Man, I loved that show.

Yea, what a great year to age out! The only regret was that we were definitely in the drivers seat to win it all in 81', and we "peaked" the night before finals during our "final" run-through of the season (not a good time to peak!). I forget the name of the university campus we were staying at in Montreal, but it was a fabulous facility and we shared the practice field with the Crossmen. The night before finals, we did a final run through for each others corps. I believe we performed first, and dangggggg! We tore the mother up! It was such an intense, take no prisoners run-through that after all these years, people who witnessed it still tell me with tears in their eye's that it was the best performance the Madison Scouts have "EVER" given to date!!! And this is coming from die hard Madison fans that have been following the corps from the early 70's up through today. We all knew after the last note of the show we had just done something special because it was an "electric" feeling that I've never felt before or since (not even in 75' or 2006!).....this was something completely different! BUT, talk about coulda, shoulda, woulda.........That was the performance that we should have, no, HAD to do finals night! Instead, we fell very flat on finals night. You could see it in everyone's eyes even before we lined up to enter the stadium.....Deer in the head lights, FEAR!.....The air was out of the balloon! Instead of having us feed off that final run-through, my personal belief was that our leadership let us self destruct within a 15 min. time period (one of the longest 15 min in my life time!). Instead of us collectively getting jazzed and jacked up, guys had tears in their eyes and the mood was eerily quite and down.......I and a few others couldn't believe what was happening around us, but it was to late, the damage had been done! And the performance proved it out.....Uninspired and flat! A stark lesson in the power of the mind, motivation and leadership! Words have the power of life or death.....And we unknowingly allowed the words of defeat to creep into the camp.....It was a quick death!

I'd give almost anything to see a video of our 81' final "practice" run-through!.......Maybe there's one out there?????

Edited November 5, 2009 by Mad75

[tommytimp]

Yea, what a great year to age out! The only regret was that we were definitely in the drivers seat to win it all in 81', and we "peaked" the night before finals during our "final" run-through of the season (not a good time to peak!). I forget the name of the university campus we were staying at in Montreal, but it was a fabulous facility and we shared the practice field with the Crossmen. The night before finals, we did a final run through for each others corps. I believe we performed first, and dangggggg! We tore the mother up! It was such an intense, take no prisoners run-through that after all these years, people who witnessed it still tell me with tears in their eye's that it was the best performance the Madison Scouts have "EVER" given to date!!! And this is coming from die hard Madison fans that have been following the corps from the early 70's up through today. We all knew after the last note of the show we had just done something special because it was an "electric" feeling that I've never felt before or since (not even in 75' or 2006!).....this was something completely different! BUT, talk about coulda, shoulda, woulda.........That was the performance that we should have, no, HAD to do finals night! Instead, we fell very flat on finals night. You could see it in everyone's eyes even before we lined up to enter the stadium.....Deer in the head lights, FEAR!.....The air was out of the balloon! Instead of having us feed off that final run-through, my personal belief was that our leadership let us self destruct within a 15 min. time period (one of the longest 15 min in my life time!). Instead of us collectively getting jazzed and jacked up, guys had tears in their eyes and the mood was eerily quite and down.......I and a few others couldn't believe what was happening around us, but it was to late, the damage had been done! And the performance proved it out.....Uninspired and flat! A stark lesson in the power of the mind, motivation and leadership! Words have the power of life or death.....And we unknowingly allowed the words of defeat to creep into the camp.....It was a quick death!

I'd give almost anything to see a video of our 81' final "practice" run-through!.......Maybe there's one out there?????

Glad you liked the photos. That Whitewater finals performance was the best I ever saw form the Boys until Kansas City 88. And there were a lot of great ones in between, too. DeKalb 82 was awesome. Semis in Madison in 85. Et cetera, et cetera. I know I won't be alone in wishing for the speedy return of the Scouts to those heights.

[FlamMan]

Yea, what a great year to age out! The only regret was that we were definitely in the drivers seat to win it all in 81', and we "peaked" the night before finals during our "final" run-through of the season (not a good time to peak!). I forget the name of the university campus we were staying at in Montreal, but it was a fabulous facility and we shared the practice field with the Crossmen. The night before finals, we did a final run through for each others corps. I believe we performed first, and dangggggg! We tore the mother up! It was such an intense, take no prisoners run-through that after all these years, people who witnessed it still tell me with tears in their eye's that it was the best performance the Madison Scouts have "EVER" given to date!!! And this is coming from die hard Madison fans that have been following the corps from the early 70's up through today. We all knew after the last note of the show we had just done something special because it was an "electric" feeling that I've never felt before or since (not even in 75' or 2006!).....this was something completely different! BUT, talk about coulda, shoulda, woulda.........That was the performance that we should have, no, HAD to do finals night! Instead, we fell very flat on finals night. You could see it in everyone's eyes even before we lined up to enter the stadium.....Deer in the head lights, FEAR!.....The air was out of the balloon! Instead of having us feed off that final run-through, my personal belief was that our leadership let us self destruct within a 15 min. time period (one of the longest 15 min in my life time!). Instead of us collectively getting jazzed and jacked up, guys had tears in their eyes and the mood was eerily quite and down.......I and a few others couldn't believe what was happening around us, but it was to late, the damage had been done! And the performance proved it out.....Uninspired and flat! A stark lesson in the power of the mind, motivation and leadership! Words have the power of life or death.....And we unknowingly allowed the words of defeat to creep into the camp.....It was a quick death!

I'd give almost anything to see a video of our 81' final "practice" run-through!.......Maybe there's one out there?????

We beat SCV in our last show prior to Finals in 1981, either in Rome or Ogdensberg, NY...& I think we beat them by a pretty good margin. We were in the drivers seat for sure. I remember that last run through in Montreal too & we really brought it. I don't remember our Corps being afraid of performing at finals though. Are you serious? The Madison Scouts afraid? Nor do I blame our "leadership" for not winning DCI that night. That's just ridiculous. I remember being hyped & pumped up as usual.

My most memorable Drum Corps show ever was our first place performance at DCI Midwest finals, Whitewater, in 1981...when we were announced in first place, the roar of the crowd is the loudest I have ever heard a Drum Corps crowd...at least until MSARP in 2006! Somewhere around the house I have a cassette tape of our victory performance at retreat. I also have the drum judges tapes which are priceless. We are fortunate to be able to watch this performance since this is the show on the Legacy DVD's because finals in Montreal weren't broadcast or recorded.

We beat BD by 1.15 but only won one caption

M&M 1ST

Drums 3RD

Brass 2ND

GE 3RD

I think I'll watch this tonight...

[JOHNNY_A]

Now THAT made me laugh, although that's no a good thing with a mouthful of tea . If you look at the DCI video you can see the timp line working it with some pretty high leg lift (considering we're wearing timps).

I will be very interested to see a contemporary version of the classic uniform, made with state of the art materials to accommodate modern drum corps movement. I also think a couple of “in your face” symmetrical drill moves would be pretty cool (a company front is symmetrical, right?)

Timp line, high legl ifts and spats in the same breath...WOW...Did we ever think we would be hearing THAT!!! about a 2010 show???

[Mad75]

We beat SCV in our last show prior to Finals in 1981, either in Rome or Ogdensberg, NY...& I think we beat them by a pretty good margin. We were in the drivers seat for sure. I remember that last run through in Montreal too & we really brought it. I don't remember our Corps being afraid of performing at finals though. Are you serious? The Madison Scouts afraid? Nor do I blame our "leadership" for not winning DCI that night. That's just ridiculous. I remember being hyped & pumped up as usual.

My most memorable Drum Corps show ever was our first place performance at DCI Midwest finals, Whitewater, in 1981...when we were announced in first place, the roar of the crowd is the loudest I have ever heard a Drum Corps crowd...at least until MSARP in 2006! Somewhere around the house I have a cassette tape of our victory performance at retreat. I also have the drum judges tapes which are priceless. We are fortunate to be able to watch this performance since this is the show on the Legacy DVD's because finals in Montreal weren't broadcast or recorded.

We beat BD by 1.15 but only won one caption

M&M 1ST

Drums 3RD

Brass 2ND

GE 3RD

I think I'll watch this tonight...

Look Flamguy, I'm not here to take anything away from "your" experience or to get into a pi**ing match. 1981 was a fabulous year! I was simply reporting a "verifiable", highly disappointing experience that I and "many" others experienced. Maybe some in the snare line had a phenomenal performance that night! But, I can tell you, after sitting in the back of the drum bus for all my years and being tight with Dave and Todd Herrick, I vividly remember speaking to them both before and after that finals performance, and they both knew what had just happened.......heck, I can give you the names of at least a dozen guys that will tell you the same thing I described. That's great that you had a good show! All I know, is that our finals performance wasn't anything like our "run-through". As a matter of fact, this has got to be one of the most talked about facts regarding the 81' season that I've ever heard guys talk about! I remember vividly getting off the field and almost every "veteran" horn player (and percussionist) I looked at just stood there silently shaking their heads.....we knew it! And, I don't care what you want to believe, but "dozens" of us knew that the tail spin began when we pulled in together for our pre-show talk.....there was NO hype or confidence in the words spoken, No....to the contrary! I can vividly remember looking into the eye's of Dave Ramthun (my bus seat partner) and Greg Drake as we were in shock pertaining to what was being communicated. We were in shock as we witnessed the composure and demeanor of individuals all around us shrink and melt away! We even witnessed guys become so emotional that they had tears in their eyes and hugging one another as if they were saying good by to someone before they pass on! No eye of the tiger! No excitement! No attack!......As I said earlier, it was as if I were attending a funeral. And unless you totally missed it, again, that performance didn't even come close to holding a candle to our final run-through performance, and THAT should not have been! Furthermore, by no means do I pin blame on this or that person, nor did I say "they caused us to loose nationals". Heck, as a veteran age out, I blame myself for not trying harder to stop the cascade!.....No, It was a collective occurrence with several key players that caused a domino effect. Could it be that the drum staff was speaking to you guys separately? I stick by my experience.....because it's my (and many others) experience. Such is life......live and learn I say!......And, if there's one important thing I learned from that experience, words are powerful! But, if you prefer, call me crazy!

[FlamMan]

Look Flamguy, I'm not here to take anything away from "your" experience or to get into a pi**ing match. 1981 was a fabulous year! I was simply reporting a "verifiable", highly disappointing experience that I and "many" others experienced. Maybe some in the snare line had a phenomenal performance that night! But, I can tell you, after sitting in the back of the drum bus for all my years and being tight with Dave and Todd Herrick, I vividly remember speaking to them both before and after that finals performance, and they both knew what had just happened.......heck, I can give you the names of at least a dozen guys that will tell you the same thing I described. That's great that you had a good show! All I know, is that our finals performance wasn't anything like our "run-through". As a matter of fact, this has got to be one of the most talked about facts regarding the 81' season that I've ever heard guys talk about! I remember vividly getting off the field and almost every "veteran" horn player (and percussionist) I looked at just stood there silently shaking their heads.....we knew it! And, I don't care what you want to believe, but "dozens" of us knew that the tail spin began when we pulled in together for our pre-show talk.....there was NO hype or confidence in the words spoken, No....to the contrary! I can vividly remember looking into the eye's of Dave Ramthun (my bus seat partner) and Greg Drake as we were in shock pertaining to what was being communicated. We were in shock as we witnessed the composure and demeanor of individuals all around us shrink and melt away! We even witnessed guys become so emotional that they had tears in their eyes and hugging one another as if they were saying good by to someone before they pass on! No eye of the tiger! No excitement! No attack!......As I said earlier, it was as if I were attending a funeral. And unless you totally missed it, again, that performance didn't even come close to holding a candle to our final run-through performance, and THAT should not have been! Furthermore, by no means do I pin blame on this or that person, nor did I say "they caused us to loose nationals". Heck, as a veteran age out, I blame myself for not trying harder to stop the cascade!.....No, It was a collective occurrence with several key players that caused a domino effect. Could it be that the drum staff was speaking to you guys separately? I stick by my experience.....because it's my (and many others) experience. Such is life......live and learn I say!......And, if there's one important thing I learned from that experience, words are powerful! But, if you prefer, call me crazy!

Finals certainly wasn't our best show, but to say that the Scouts were afraid to take the field...I'm not buying what you're selling, & I doubt that there are many Scouts alumni who would. You really think we were afraid??? Really??? The Scouts were the last Corps who would ever be "afraid". And you actually saw the composure & demeanor of other Scouts melt away on the field?

One show doesn't ruin an entire season, & I have great memories from my age out year.

MYNWA.

[Mad75]

Finals certainly wasn't our best show, but to say that the Scouts were afraid to take the field...I'm not buying what you're selling, & I doubt that there are many Scouts alumni who would. You really think we were afraid??? Really??? The Scouts were the last Corps who would ever be "afraid". And you actually saw the composure & demeanor of other Scouts melt away on the field?

One show doesn't ruin an entire season, & I have great memories from my age out year.

MYNWA.

Look........we're not connecting here.....Your not getting it and you're obviously not reading anything I've said. Furthermore, for some reason, you've now taken it as a personal affront and that I've personally taken something away from your experience, to the contrary!......Did you read anything I said? Did you also notice that 81' was my age out year after being with the Scouts for 10 years???? And, who said anything about the Scouts being a fearful corps? No, I explained an event in time....an occurrence. Is it not even plausible in your mind that we as Scouts were still human enough to make a mistake and possibly because of a series of events, end up not putting on our best show? Or, are you saying that in your world, that's not even possible? Furthermore, if you can read, I did not say anything about melting on the field....Did you read? What I did explain in "great" detail is what occurred prior to taking the field!!. If that wasn't "your" experience, then so be it! Again, did I say "one show" ruined an entire year? No I didn't......again, just the opposite......If you can read, you read where I mentioned at several points how it was a wonderful year!....right???? You really need to step away from this being a personal attack or an attack on the corps or it's management.....it's something that happened, end of case! You didn't experience it, that's fine.......I'd suggest we agree to disagree and talk about other things like the 2010 Scouts! (I'm done.....Wow)

Edited November 6, 2009 by Mad75

[84BDsop]

Wow.....a pissing match between alums of the same corps regarding the same year....nice way to stay on topic re the new UNIFORMS, guys....

[FlamMan]

Look........we're not connecting here.....Your not getting it and you're obviously not reading anything I've said. Furthermore, for some reason, you've now taken it as a personal affront and that I've personally taken something away from your experience, to the contrary!......Did you read anything I said? Did you also notice that 81' was my age out year after being with the Scouts for 10 years???? And, who said anything about the Scouts being a fearful corps? No, I explained an event in time....an occurrence. Is it not even plausible in your mind that we as Scouts were still human enough to make a mistake and possibly because of a series of events, end up not putting on our best show? Or, are you saying that in your world, that's not even possible? Furthermore, if you can read, I did not say anything about melting on the field....Did you read? What I did explain in "great" detail is what occurred prior to taking the field!!. If that wasn't "your" experience, then so be it! Again, did I say "one show" ruined an entire year? No I didn't......again, just the opposite......If you can read, you read where I mentioned at several points how it was a wonderful year!....right???? You really need to step away from this being a personal attack or an attack on the corps or it's management.....it's something that happened, end of case! You didn't experience it, that's fine.......I'd suggest we agree to disagree and talk about other things like the 2010 Scouts! (I'm done.....Wow)

I don't take this as personal at all, just a slight over-reaction on your part...

With regards to the Scouts being afraid you said...

"You could see it in everyone's eyes even before we lined up to enter the stadium.....Deer in the head lights, FEAR!"....

As for the "melting away" comment you said...

"We were in shock as we witnessed the composure and demeanor of individuals all around us shrink and melt away!"

Regarding our performance you said:

"As I said earlier, it was as if I were attending a funeral".

Afraid? Composure & demeanor melting away? Our performance was like a funeral?

Yea...wow...

[euponitone]

Wow guys - people have completely different experiences on the field all the time, and this is coming from someone who's been aged out only 3 years. Cant imagine thinking back almost 30....but things have a way of changing in ones mind over time... It got to the point with me where I just expected that if I had a great show, everyone else would be ###### / angry coming off the field, and vice versa. The only notable exception was the end of 05, where pretty much everything clicked, almost to the point of being boring. Point is, people come out of an experience like that all the time with different experiences. One guy happens to catch a few glances at people at a certain time and comes away with a certain perspective while the other is 20 yards away, laughing with friends. It only takes a few remembered 'instances' in ones mind to make you sure you remembered something a certain way, and those instances can be greatly varied between people of differing experiences. Unless you two stood next to eachother, and looked at the same exact people / things before, during, and after the show, there's no way to compare your experiences (even then, there's room for error in interpretation)

So basically, what I'm saying is

Stop it...