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1976 Muchachos question


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I do believe that was the last VFW finals 1976 with top junior corps in attendance.

Actually 1977 had the VFW National Champion Blue Stars who just edged the Cavaliers and with Garfield coming in third in Minneapolis, Mn. And, the Cavaliers were not happy. Standing on retreat we ( Blue Stars ) had to cover our ears with the things that they said. LOL I also remember we marched that show with only 6 of 11 lead sopranos. The other 5 needed to get home for the start of school. We had a lot of out of state members.

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The original poster was correct in saying we beat a few finalsts earlier in the week at Randalls Island stadium in NYC during the VFW finals.

1976 VFW finals scores:

Cavaliers 84.85

Garfield Cadets 84.65

Bridgemen 82.15

Muchachos 79.75

Blue Stars 79.4

Guardsmen 77.3

Boston Crusaders 73.95

Saints 68.4

Pembroke Imperials 68.0

Argonauts 66.7

Long Island Kingsmen 64.2

North Star 63.1

If you have a chance to hear the world open recording from 1976, You will be quite impressed, It was a great corps, YOUNG, But great just the same.

Yes, the World Open recording has the opener in better form.

Hate to throw kerosene on the fire, but looking back at scores from their 1976 season makes me marvel at the inconsistencies. DCI prelims wasn't the only low scoring/placing outing for Muchachos in '76. August 13th in Montreal was another:

Santa Clara Vanguard 87.45

Madison Scouts 86.35

Seneca Optimists 81.9

Troopers 79.8

Argonne Rebels 74.3

Muchachos 69.65

Commodores 64.95

Pioneers 64.3

Also, Worcester, MA, on August 15th:

27th Lancers 84.25

Seneca Optimists 81.8

Bridgemen 81.0

Argonne Rebels 73.9

Muchachos 72.75

Boston Crusaders 71.45

Kilts 65.4

I have several other recordings of the '76 Muchachos, including World Open prelims, CYO and the Dream. At the Dream, they had a similarly severe ensemble breakdown (this time, in the first half of the opener), but still pulled a decent score, a couple of points behind Bridgemen.

As much as we complain about scoring anomalies back then, they are part of what makes that era's history so fascinating.

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All drum corps scores from the 70s need to be viewed with a little skepticism. It was not unusual back then for a corps to see a score move ten points one way or the other between shows, especially when using regional judging panels. It seemed especially difficult for a corps from the midwest to get a good score/placement when competing in the east. It does not surprise me that so many eastern corps were beating the Blue Stars and Guardsmen at shows in NY or NJ. The placements were correct in Philadelphia.

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All drum corps scores from the 70s need to be viewed with a little skepticism. It was not unusual back then for a corps to see a score move ten points one way or the other between shows, especially when using regional judging panels. It seemed especially difficult for a corps from the midwest to get a good score/placement when competing in the east. It does not surprise me that so many eastern corps were beating the Blue Stars and Guardsmen at shows in NY or NJ. The placements were correct in Philadelphia.

What you say is true about the 70's. VERY inconsistant. If I remember correctly even between Prelims and Finals in Philly. Didn't the two corps that you just mention, along with the Freelancers drop in points considerably from their Prelim score?

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1976 VFW finals scores:

Cavaliers 84.85

Garfield Cadets 84.65

Bridgemen 82.15

Muchachos 79.75

Blue Stars 79.4

Guardsmen 77.3

Boston Crusaders 73.95

Saints 68.4

Pembroke Imperials 68.0

Argonauts 66.7

Long Island Kingsmen 64.2

North Star 63.1

I remember standing on the field in finale with Muchachos not too far away. You can hear some interesting comments considering what happened in 75. Then someone got the bright idea to put their busses right next to ours. Let's just say cooler heads prevailed and we left before any major incident happened.

Edited by dc oldtimer
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There is a You Tube video of 77 and I didn't think they looked or sounded half bad that year either but the scores show they never got out of the 60s.

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Hmmm. nothing on fromthepressbox and our yearbook doesn't list anything for Westchester. You sure we were there? You sure it was 76?

It is funny about places you've been when you marched. I don't remember most of the places I've been. You travel, get off the bus, sleep, practice, shower perform and on the the next city. So, I guess we could have been there.

All (and the results) are true.....the show was part of the WC band clinic...........

GB

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So what's worse, inconsistency or slotting?

Precisely my point. I've noticed that we had a lot more fans engaged in the activity back when the judging was less "predictable". I ask every ex-fan I know why they lost interest in drum corps....the one common thread they cite is that they can correctly predict the contest placements ahead of time.

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Precisely my point. I've noticed that we had a lot more fans engaged in the activity back when the judging was less "predictable". I ask every ex-fan I know why they lost interest in drum corps....the one common thread they cite is that they can correctly predict the contest placements ahead of time.

This is so true,,at least for me. There was much more ,,Drama back then because you just never knew. I can remember sitting at prelims waiting for them to announce scores. It was stressful but it added to the excitement. Back then the favorite, got surprised once in a while. I'm not saying it was always fair, but it was far more interesting not knowing who would win

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