All-Decade Rankings...2000's

[silvertrombone]

We can debate all day whether the 2000's are from 2000 to 2009 or 2001 to 2010. I don't care quite frankly which standard you adhere to. It is interesting, is it not, that depending on which position you take, it more or less places the top 2 corps of that time period in either 1st or 2nd place when taking placement into consideration?

Well, this thread is not about placement. It is about PROGRAMS. And keep it nice. I don't care if you are a Phantom Regiment honk or a Carolina Crown Homer. I don't care if you are a Hop-Hater or a Gibbs Roadie...let's talk about who had the best overall PROGRAMS for the period 2000 to 2010.

There should probably be some high-ranking corps from the group of Boston, Blue Knights, Bluecoats and Glassmen given the numerous quality programs put out by those groups. And by programs I mean both the repertoire as well as the drill, cleanliness, design, GE and individual captions...although not so much from a "numbers" perspective.

And while the Phantom Regiment's had some pretty incredible programming in the second half of the decade, the first half was something of a contrast in that regard. Exchange 2004 and 2009, for example, and the first half is pretty sparce, IMHO. And the second half is pretty incredible! So probably not as high as if 2000-2004 were on par with 2005-2010.

Cadets had some PHENOMENAL corps in this decade, namely 2005 and 2007 especially! Programs were somewhat..."different" from at least 2005 to 2008. Affected their overall placement, IMHO.

BD...best talent of the decade. Repertoire...some bright points...some "YOWZA's." Nuff said.

Crown...decade of the up-and-comer, started slow, accelerated all the way through the last 3-4 years' shows. Boston / Glassmen...high points in placement earlier, some GREAT programming later! I would say that they bump a few places for purposes of this thread based on overall "fan-friendliness." Same with Scouts, Bluecoats and Blue Knights as well.

Blue Stars kind of paralleled Crown in the up-and-comer and accelration categories. VERY fan friendly shows of late.

SCV...some GREAT programs throughout the decade. 2004 Scheherezade, 2009 Appalachian Spring...even 2010 Barber/Bartok was good stuff! Bump overall. And adding Paul Rennick for the 2010's? Look out! The 2020 version of this thread may bring good things for SCV!

Troopers, Crossmen, Cascades...just like we have seen TOUGH challenges for that 12-spot the last half of this decade, the 12-spot for the DECADE should be tough competition! And that should make this thread REALLY, REALLY fun! Maybe I'll go back later and see if a poll can somehow be added? I'll try an initial "Top 12" of the decade later. I look forward to your EDIFYING commentary and ADULT discussion.

[Catan]

A few comments...

Glassmen 2001 - the visual design is extraordinary, 2nd only to Cavaliers that year IMO.

Cavaliers 2002 - IMO, the best "total package" of design ever put on the field

2002 - Rosander writes drill for 2 finalist corps (SCV/Seattle)

2005 - Blue Stars play the music of Final Fantasy

BD 2010 - Design genius

Shows with an impressive degree of athleticism: BD 2006, Cadets 2006,2007,2008

[GREENBLUE]

How can the OP even start this topic without mentioning the Cavaliers?

2000 thru 2010 this corps had some of the highest quality product to ever be put on a football field. While their design style or brass philosophy may not be your favorite, its hard to argue against the quality of their shows.

Niagra Falls(2000), Frameworks(2002), Spin Cycle(2003), 007(2004), Machine(2006), Samurai(2008) and MadWorld(2010), each gave us some amazing/groundbreaking visual moments as well as some beautiful musical moments. Even their less popular years: FourCorners(2001), My Kind of Town(2005),...And So It Goes(2007), The Great Divide(2009) were shows that many a corps would have loved to have designed/marched.

You can call me a honk, a homer, whatever. But you cannnot mention the decade without including the men from Rosemont.

Edited September 9, 2010 by GREENBLUE

[SFZFAN]

How can the OP even start this topic without mentioning the Cavaliers?

2000 thru 2010 this corps had some of the highest quality product to ever be put on a football field. While their design style or brass philosophy may not be your favorite, its hard to argue against the quality of their shows.

Niagra Falls(2000), Frameworks(2002), Spin Cycle(2003), 007(2004), Machine(2006), Samurai(2008) and MadWorld(2010), each gave us some amazing/groundbreaking visual moments as well as some beautiful musical moments. Even their less popular years: FourCorners(2001), My Kind of Town(2005),...And So It Goes(2007), The Great Divide(2009) were shows that many a corps would have loved to have designed/marched.

You can call me a honk, a homer, whatever. But you cannnot mention the decade without including the men from Rosemont.

Exactly. The Cavaliers are the corps of the decade. Thread Over.

[DCISuperfan]

Thank you for acknowledging the cavaliers! about time! They fly under the radar so much on this board. I would also like to say that of this decade, I think the corps that has gone through the most refinement, changing, and continuing to get better and better would be Carolina Crown. They went from barely making finals at 2000ish and now are placing in the top 5 every year for the last few years, and most likely for many years to come. Their 2007 program "Triple Crown" as well as "Finis" the "grass is always greener" AND "A Sec2nd Chance" are all phenomenal shows. Crown deserves to be nominated for "most improved corps" of the decade.

[luvs me sum mello!]

How can the OP even start this topic without mentioning the Cavaliers?

^^^^^This.

[leif]

Just checking the results for the decade past. Cavies have a 7 year streak, from 2000-2006, where they finish 1st 5 times and 2nd twice. This is just a hair better than BDs run from 1976-1982, where they also had 5 1sts, but 1 2nd, and a 3rd.

(How about that for totally ignoring the title of the thread?)

Edited September 9, 2010 by leif

[chaddyt]

My Thoughts:

Cavaliers - Definitely the corps that shifted the paradigm of drum corps for the decade. Programs were simplistic from an intellectual level, but totally redefined the merging of music and visual into a total, complete, and effective package.

Blue Devils - The corps of consistent talent. Love 'em or hate 'em, there's no denying that each caption they field is at the top of their game (or pretty #### close to it) from year to year.

Cadets - Pushed a lot of different boundaries. Some good. Some not so good. I think what they have done from a demand/athleticism stand point over the last half of the decade is remarkable. What they did with voice/narration was much less so. Definitely gets my award for Most Talked About.

Crown - The rising star. No pun intended. I generally don't like their shows as much in the beginning of the year, but by the end, they're one of my most played corps. Designers have found a way of getting consistent with connecting with the audience.

[MisterA]

For the last decade, Cavaliers without a doubt had the best programming and performance of any corps on the field. I know alot of people got tired of seeing them winning all the time, but I've noticed now that they haven't won in 4 years, people are starting to appreciate that 2000-2006 run that they had alot more.

And while their performance come finals week isn't always as clean as some of the higher placing corps, I think Santa Clara Vanguard is probably the 2nd best as far as programming of shows. They probably show as much diversity on the field as any other corps. It seems whether they are in 1st or 8th, they are always a crowd pleaser.

I would say Blue Devils would be 3rd this decade. I know they have the 2nd highest average placement of any corps in the last decade behind Cavaliers, and they always perform at an extremely high level. However, as some may argue, they tend to design their shows more for the 30+ people in judges uniforms than for the fans.

Cadets have had a most unusual decade. If one can take the time to overlook the singing, the talking, the props, and Hops ideas on some things, they have put out some amazing shows. My biggest question to programming design team, is when you have 150 of the most talented amazing musicians and color guard personnel on the field, why would you want to focus all the attention on a person or 2 with a microphone in their hand?

Crown has really picked up steam over the last decade. From not making finals in 2002, to almost giving Blue Devils a run for the championship in 2009, there has been some fantastic programming along the way. This seems to be the corps everyone is rooting for right now, along with Bluecoats. Nice to see some different corps with some amazing programs competing at such a high level.

Blue Knights are a corps that have really surprised me this last decade. I thought their musical selections have been nothing short of amazing. I like their unique style of marching as well. I think they have been on the short end of the juding stick a few times this last decade, expecially with their spectacular Fear and Trembling show.

Phantom Regiment has also had some amazing shows this decade. I think they have probably been the most overscored corps of the decade, but still have put some great things on the field.

Boston Crusaders, Blue Stars, Madison Scouts, Colts, Glassmen, Academy, Pacific Crest, Spirit, Crossmen, and Mandarins have also had some great programming. Unfortunately not enough people get the chance to see them, or don't seem to care enough to show up early at quarters, or other competitions these lower placing corps are at.

[Plan9]

My Thoughts:

Cavaliers - Definitely the corps that shifted the paradigm of drum corps for the decade. Programs were simplistic from an intellectual level, but totally redefined the merging of music and visual into a total, complete, and effective package.

Blue Devils - The corps of consistent talent. Love 'em or hate 'em, there's no denying that each caption they field is at the top of their game (or pretty #### close to it) from year to year.

Cadets - Pushed a lot of different boundaries. Some good. Some not so good. I think what they have done from a demand/athleticism stand point over the last half of the decade is remarkable. What they did with voice/narration was much less so. Definitely gets my award for Most Talked About.

Crown - The rising star. No pun intended. I generally don't like their shows as much in the beginning of the year, but by the end, they're one of my most played corps. Designers have found a way of getting consistent with connecting with the audience.

This is very good. IMO, would only add the (love it or hate it) design stuff that BD is doing (and obviously being extremely successful) could be equated to Cavies paradigm shift earlier in the decade (time will tell). My point being, it's not just about performance level, that's not enough to get them where they are now.