Changes in DCI?

[Stu]

Who wants to bet that this is just a clever marketing ploy to hype up the next issue of DCW.

You mean like the Old Coke / New Coke / back to the Old Coke situation that happend a few years back which generated nation wide interest?

[Fran Haring]

Maybe Catherine Burr is about to be named Manager of Public Relations.

If that happens, the next sound we hear will be that of the angel Gabriel warming up.......

Fran

[Scoutnout]

OMG that rock and roll music is the devils music and I dont mean BD....dam those electronics lol.....CHANGE ....thats life

[HockeyDad]

More hype than actual substance?

Still holding true, several hours later.

[corpsband]

If that happens, the next sound we hear will be that of the angel Gabriel warming up.......

Fran

Mikey!!!!!!!!!

[skajerk]

Maybe Catherine Burr is about to be named Manager of Public Relations.

ACK! The name that shall not be spoken has been spoken!!!!

Sack the speaker of the one who named the name of the one who's name shall not be spoken so he can't speak the name of the one who shall not be spoken again!!

[BRASSO]

That is going to a tough transition for the Blue Devils.

I don't think the members of their horn line have the size or speed to keep up with those Big 10 teams.

Fran

Sure they do. They'll spread the field, go vertical, run smoothly in formation, make their hits, work the clock, etc ..., and just blow everybody away.

Edited May 14, 2010 by BRASSO

[wvu80]

Just as my periodic reminder - everything in here is conjecture right now. No official word has been given by DCI or reported by DCW. So hold off on setting couches on fire for a bit. WVU students, I'm looking at you.

Mike

We're here for you, Mike, just say the word when to start!

[cowtown]

Oh this could be interesting, it’s like DCM all over again, fitting

I’d love to never give another penny to DCI after that thing, thanks bob

I might be able to see a few of my favorite corps in finals shape OUTDOORS and not at POS Oil dome in the coming years

I think another circuit could make DCI stronger, competition is usually good

But, the break away corps have been pushing some really bad rules and I’d guess it only get worse and much faster if left on their own. I’d tend to be the anti-hoppy side and DCI without Hoppy rules would be awesome

wait

No Madison yet, Crown and Bluecoats consider themselves a top draw, really?

Madison would soon rule DCI then

I just can’t get over Crown and Coats though, I mean Crown has had a good three years but that hardly makes up for the prior 17 and Bluecoats have had a few good years too but – I’m guessing they’d be the filler corps and I’m guessing if they go, it will be their doom

Oh the implications, the irony, the I told you so

But this could actually save DCI

The super corps have been pushing DCI in the wrong direction for years IMO, picking off smaller corps and putting the other corps at a competitive disadvantage – if they left, they can continue their march towards collapsing under their own weight while DCI could retract a bit, maybe scrap the amps, go old school, make it more local and down size the cost to field a corps, it’d make it more competitive and exciting for the fans too

This is very exciting, I embrace some change mainly because I don’t like what I’ve got now from DCI…oh and then I can mock all those that don’t like CHNAGE as dinosaurs and feed them back some of the junk they’ve been throwing at me

I may not have to quit drum corps as I was expecting to

I'd think if the talks are true, you might want to open some threads and polls and try to influence the talks regardless of your side, this may be you only voice before the deal is done (and yeah, they read DCP)

[Matt_S]

So I suppose we should just tell all of the kids in all corps except for the "elite" 7 that they are not important, and their efforts are not worthwhile. They are not the draw. Everyone is here to see the "elite". This will include corps that you yourself have been a big supporter of over the years. Corps like Blue Knight and Capital Regiment. You can't possibly belive this.

Do you really think Crown and Bluecoats are "elite"? Crown has only made top 6 the last three years. Bluecoats have only made top 6 a few times as well. Crown missed Finals in 2002, and Bluecoats missed in 1999. The new kids can be "elite" but Boston, Blue Stars, Glassmen, and Blue Knights can't? All 4 have been top 6 before, and could be again. Maybe even this year. Phantom placed 9th last year. Are you sure that was just a fluke and not what we can expect again this year? You don't think Troopers or Madison are a draw?

Very short sighted thinking.

Hrm, perhaps I didn't explain myself well enough. I think the last paragraph was the most important, so perhaps I'm guilty of burying the lead.

Let's start with this premise, one that can be found often on DCP, that national touring is great for some corps and a strain on others. If you can accept that, then it's no great leap to say that you remove or reduce this strain by removing or reducing the need to tour. Right now there's a lot of incentive for your corps to tour, because that's how you gain a piece of the pie that the elite corps have baked. If that pie is being taken away, it's no longer an incentive to overextend yourself on touring. To be sure that money will need to be found elsewhere, but if that feat can be accomplished then it could have the effect of making that corps more self-reliant, more independent, and better able to focus on the needs of their corps rather than the needs thrust upon them by outside interests and obligations. This could easily be the rebirth of the regional model.

My post was addressed specifically to smaller corps in the Open Class and perhaps at the very bottom of World Class. I don't think perennial finalists like the Blue Knights would face the same challenges in adapting to the new environment as those corps would. And perhaps for perennial finalists a door might be open for joining the new 'super-group'. Keep in mind, we're all just speculating at this time, and have no idea what is actually on the table. It could be that DCI is simply forming a third Class, to be placed above the current World Class. If so, then perhaps a corps could apply for this new class, just as current Open Class corps apply for World Class status.

It's far to early to claim that any corps is being told they aren't important, any more than we can claim that Open Class corps are told they aren't important. Perhaps you think that's exactly the case, but I would argue we as fans do just as much to send that message, with our spending habits and our attendance. That was the first part of my post.

Really the purpose I had in writing was to pitch a way in which this move could be considered a net positive. The truth is, we don't know anything at this point, and it's all just conjecture. In such situations, I always prefer to be an optimist.