G7 Elitism

[Jeff Ream]

The Cavaliers' name is on the proposal, which is presented as a unified front.

They haven't said it (edit: "it" = their name) doesn't belong there.

in fact, based on Adolph's press release, they haven't said what they want.

[skywench]

it's been forever since i posted here. this topic just bothers me so much. garry has been updating me on everything that's being said and done, as far as we can find out.

i did find this interesting. posted on hoppy's facebook page this evening. (i guess they had a disaster domino drill this evening.)

"and what does it all mean ???? There are 5 or more excellent corps. The Cadets are one of them. We have three 1/2 weeks to go. Tomorrow, we will get up and work from 8 am -- 5 pm. If we had won, we would get up tomorrow and work from 8 am -- 5 pm.

LESSON .... WORK HARD!!! If you want something .... WORK HARD!!! and btw .... you do not always get what you want. BUT .... WORK HARD :-)"

FIVE OR MORE excellent corps? gee, i wonder WHO he could be referring to.

[David Hill]

Drum corps needs Shirley Sherrod right now!

[oldschooldbc]

Will the G7 members bolt? Seriously? Will they form their own super-tour? Will the G7 members cut themselves out of the DCI revenue streams?

If they do that, I will not go to see one of their shows. Seriously. Even if it is playing 30 feet away.

Essentially, this is what transpired in 1972, when the old regime, ran by the VFW, collapsed. Ironically, that move brought in the era of "corps administration" - where the corps wanted to run their own tour. That gave us the DCI we have today.

Now the G7 are seriously thinking about leaving? So they can their own "super tour"? Isn't this effectively what DCI was created to do, 38 years ago? Didn't the corps want to manage their own affairs, instead of some outside entity? Don't they already have what they want? (Oh, no, wait a minute. The G7 members want to run their own affairs, and could not care less about the other 30 junior drum corps in this country. That's the difference.)

If they bolt, then the results could be disastrous, for junior drum corps as a whole. I am sure that the G7 members will survive, but I doubt if most of the remaining DCI corps will. DCI could eventually collapse, and with no tour, how will those shipwrecked from DCI survive? Will they join DCA, form their own circuit, or simply fold? (Then again, that may be part of Hopkins' master plan. If the rest of the 30 junior corps fold, then it's simply more revenue for him, and the rest of his G7.)

I have said it before, and I have said it again. Junior drum corps in this country needs independent, outside administration. The era of "corps administration" has been a disaster, for junior drum corps. By any standard, junior drum corps has deteriorated badly since 1972. By any metric, junior drum corps has declined significantly over the past 38 years - and this G7 power-play only has the potential to make it worse.

Drum corps should be managed by an outside entity, with a board of directors with no allegiance to any corps. This is essentially the model we had pre-1972, and I belive we need to bring it back now. Outside administration would not tolerate a stunt like this. They would tell Hopkins and his group to get in line, or get out.

[thirdcoast]

Nice thread Dave. Alot better than the pro thread. Let the games begin.

Edited August 8, 2010 by thirdcoast

[thirdcoast]

What would happen if DCI gave the gseven a spanking? Dont they basically own all Drum Corps per say? So say a fine, or mabye a 2 yr ban for peoples involved for making a mockery of our activity? How about no more than 100 tryouts for next year? I would have to bet that this would really level the playing field, I sure would like to see something happen to knock these elitists down a peg. I for one would like to see them banned from anything Drum Corps for a period of 2yrs, not the Corps just the people who put their names on the so called document. Dont know if this could be done, but I think a good spanking is in order for those involved.

[David Hill]

A "spanking" is one way to deal with this situation; but I wonder if "time and love" might take care of a lot of this? On this Sunday morning, I read about, and have been pondering, which congregation matters here.

[oldschooldbc]

Dont know if this could be done, but I think a good spanking is in order for those involved.

Well, really, that has already happened. The G7 advocates were removed from the board of directors. I am sure that was a humiliating experience, for those that were politely asked to leave.

Now, whether that leads to any change of attitude is something else. These aren't children we are dealing with - these are adults. And indeed, many of them are very successful people - and arrogant, to boot.

Their pride could kick in, and they simply want to walk away. Decisions like this are often based upon pride, not logic. Hubris has a way of doing just that. It could completely cloud their judgment, and cause them to make a choice that makes no sense. Then all of junior drum corps will pay.

===============================================================

Last year on this board, I documented the parallels between DCI, and the IRL, Indy Racing League. It was the independent racing league which was formed by the operators of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The leadership at IRL attempted a power play, in which they tried to take over the sport of open-wheel (F1) racing from CART, which was managing open-wheel racing in this country. The IRL had the Indianapolis 500, which is by far the most popular open-wheel race in this country. So they felt they had the power and prestige to pull this off.

It failed miserably. The fan base in racing became divided, and the talent pool became diluted. Open wheel racing declined rapidly in popularity, and that opened the door for NASCAR. Stock car racing rapidly became the dominant force in racing this country - thanks in large part, to a superior marketing and promotion strategy.

Eventually, the leaders of CART and IRL had a rapprochement. But the damage was done. Much of the fan base was lost, and the revenue basis that went with it. And open wheel racing is still lagging behind stock car racing, with little prospects for closing the gap.

This is ultimately the scenario that I see for junior drum corps, if indeed there is a breakaway by G7. The division will hurt everyone, and it could take years or decades for the wounds to heal. Junior drum corps will probably survive, but what will be the cost?

[MikeD]

What would happen if DCI gave the gseven a spanking? Dont they basically own all Drum Corps per say? So say a fine, or mabye a 2 yr ban for peoples involved for making a mockery of our activity? How about no more than 100 tryouts for next year? I would have to bet that this would really level the playing field, I sure would like to see something happen to knock these elitists down a peg. I for one would like to see them banned from anything Drum Corps for a period of 2yrs, not the Corps just the people who put their names on the so called document. Dont know if this could be done, but I think a good spanking is in order for those involved.

DCI does not own the corps themselves, nor could they limit who decides to try out for a corps, G7 or not. As a 'spanking', or 'fine'...whatever for??? They made their spiel and it was seemingly rejected in short order. That's how the organization works.

[Peel Paint]

This is ultimately the scenario that I see for junior drum corps, if indeed there is a breakaway by G7. The division will hurt everyone, and it could take years or decades for the wounds to heal. Junior drum corps will probably survive, but what will be the cost?

I think your parallel is well drawn. The Indianapolis 500 and CART/IRL still have not recovered much of the fan support they once enjoyed, years later, after supposedly coming to an agreement. They were able to survive, but they had a fan base far larger than DCI ever had. Their split was all about power, ego, and money, and so is this G7 mess. I'm not as confident about the junior drum corps activity's survival as you are, for that reason, in the face of the second G7 proposal that leaked out yesterday. I don't know that our fan base or some corps can take a split and keep the activity alive.

The Indianapolis connection to both situations is of course a total coincidence, yet still a little eerie.