Ohio State vs. Marshall = Cadets vs. Troopers

[garfield]

Counting down the seconds before the mods shoot this thread out of mercy.

Edited September 1, 2010 by garfield

[rpbobcat]

TBDBITL.

Dr. Dale Riebesehl

KKPsi - Eta Chapter

PhiMuAlpha - Beta Xi

Sorry to disagree.While Tosu has a pretty good marching band,

to me,the number 1 college band,in the land, is the Ohio University

Marching 110.

[garfield]

Sorry to disagree.While Tosu has a pretty good marching band,

to me,the number 1 college band,in the land, is the Ohio University

Marching 110.

The Marching 110 has more cheese than Mike Boo's refrigerator.

But I did like them when I was in high school, too, (for one concert at least) and I applaud them holding on to their tradition like TBDBITL has.

Both are good examples to playing to the "Entertainment" side of marching music.

[madscout96]

Oh How I Hate ohio state.

But anyway, the topic. College football fans all over the country will go to season openers this weekend, many of these games will be big team hosting little team that doesn't have much of a chance. So yes many of these fans will be going for the experience, the atmosphere, the tailgating, etc. But there's a reason this happens at actual games and not at spring scrimmages. Because ultimately it IS about the competition.

[BariEuph]

Oh How I Hate ohio state.

ditto.

[Piper]

I don't see how one college vs. another has anything to do with the Troopers and Cadets. I know many kids who like Drum Corps just to get AWAY from school. It's their comfort zone.

[84skyrydr]

I'm not a huge sports fan but this time of year central Ohio becomes abuzz with Buckeye Fever. The season opener is this Thursday night. Tickets are something like $70.

As I was thinking about whether I should bother going to the game...it's a school night (gotta take my son)...it'll be hot (sat through that at our drum corps show in July, and I'm not a big sports fan)...it'll be expensive ($150 plus dinner? Times how many games in the season? And some say drum corps is expensive!?)... You get the drift.

Yet, getting down to the stadium will be as tough as it is for the OSU/Michigan game; you won't be able to drive. The roads will clog three miles away from the stadium and, when you get to the stadium, the mass of people will mean shoulder-to-shoulder "surging" that will amaze most and irritate some. Crazy parties will abound, with tailgating 10 blocks from the stadium. It is "An Event", like many others, that will run repeatedly for the next ten weeks. But this game? Really?

The Buckeyes are something like 20 points ahead in the line. Marshall, a proud and tough team, doesn't really have a chance of winning, yet even Buckeye fans in the crowd will applaud and honor Marshall's players when they make the inevitable great play. And Marshall will lay they're best on the field for a full four quarters (not 3, as some early corps performances seem willing to accept). When they're done they'll likely be proud of the effort and begin to focus on changes and "cleaning" (sound familiar?).

Is it really about "the game"? Maybe for a few, on the outside chance that Marshall will upset the Bucks. But for most it's about "the experience", the fun, the excited crowd, the history, their memories.

I'm not much of a sports fan but being in that crowd, from the time we get on the bus to head to the stadium, is intoxicating. I know that feeling well because I usually take my son to a game courtesy of my father-in-law's gratis tickets.

But I also know that feeling well because I, personally, feel it every year when I go to finals. That Buzz, that excitement, the history, the memories. Do I care, really, if Cadets beat 'Coats in July? Not really. As the season progresses does competition become more exciting? Yea, you bet. But I go see a July show with just as much excitement as finals, not because I think Troopers will beat Phantom, but because of "The Experience".

I realize that the judging aspect of drum corps needs work (unless you ask a BD honk like Plan9 ( ) . But The Experience keeps me coming back while those problems are fixed; I still want to see Marshall play well, as I do Crown in July. To make July drum corps more attractive it has to have a great "Experience". Having a compelling competition by the time of finals week makes The Experience just that much better.

DCI would do well to focus on both, and not be fooled into thinking that one is more important to spend resources on than the other.

EDIT: to add the cheap shot at Plan9

Really well thought out. I wonder if the paragraph police will arrest you? Too bad this thread was hijacked with inane my team is better than yours mantra. My team stinks, but I will always back them. Now what were you saying about some experience?

[Carl306]

Before it gets closed, some OSU sad faces.

[bawker]

. . .at the risk of angering some college football fans, closing before this becomes collegebandplanet.com.