talent vs vehicle

[Drum Korps Fan Man]

Let me preface this post by saying this:

I am a fan of what BD has done for every year up untill about 2006-7. I was not a fan of 2008 or 2009. Unfortuntely, due to scheduling issues, I was not able to make it to any show they were at this year, so I have not and will not have seen their show for real untill I get my finals DVD and watch both the multi-angle and the high cam.

let me repeat part of that: I AM A FAN OF BD UP UNTILL ABOUT 2007.

That being said, I do believe that BD, along with many other corps, such as PR, SCV, CC, et al. get the benefit of the doubt from judges more than, say, BK, BStars (not BS because... well we all know what BS is... ). If BD, or SCV, etc. tried some of the things that the Stars, BK, Glassmen, etc. did, they would get higher repetoire and excellence scores, even if they performed it at the same level.

Is this anyone's fault? No- it is natural that if a corps has won as many times as BD, you will assume that their design is good; even if another corps has the same design.

again, let me repeat part of that: IT IS NATURAL. Not anyone's fault, and I don't think there is anything anyone can do to stop this bias. Everyone who has ever marched a corps in the lower echelon of the top 12 has been told they have to 'make it obvious' or some variation thereof. The reason is because: people will not think they are better than a corps that is above them if that corps has always been above them UNLESS IT IS OBVIOUS.

I do NOT mean this to be a slam on ANYONE, and I don't think it is offensive, and if it is, I am sorry- that was not my intention, and I am very sorry.