perc2100 Posted October 30, 2010 Share Posted October 30, 2010 Go back in your archives and find me a citation, prior to all the G7 stuff, that makes reference to the "top 7." I'll wait. We talk about the top 12. The top 5 was and is always a marker. But never the "top 7." Which is quite a bit different than 7 corps in finals. So, I stand by my statement, there was no such thing as a "top 7" being bandied about prior to the G7. FWIW, in 2007 at the very least, I (and others) talked about how the "Top 7" was the 'new' Top 5/6 because of the high range of talent exhibited by corps. That was the year, I think, that Bluecoats, Phantom, and SCV were neck and neck jockying for a Top 5 slot. I suggested that being 7th place in this day and age is just as prestigious as being in Top 5 was in the 90's due to the competitiveness and the talent on display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 So people on the west coast get to see Phantom and Cadets live since 2007, and yet again, it's made out to be a bad thing. It's a good thing many drum corps fans don't come on this site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 So people on the west coast get to see Phantom and Cadets live since 2007, and yet again, it's made out to be a bad thing. It's a good thing many drum corps fans don't come on this site. It's only bad if it isn't financially sound, or if the corps need to steal money from the lower placing corps in order to make it happen. It's obviously not bad for the fans out there to get to see the corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Go back in your archives and find me a citation, prior to all the G7 stuff, that makes reference to the "top 7." I'll wait. We talk about the top 12. The top 5 was and is always a marker. But never the "top 7." Which is quite a bit different than 7 corps in finals. So, I stand by my statement, there was no such thing as a "top 7" being bandied about prior to the G7. Or during. The G7 were not exactly the "top 7" when they formed their little club. P.S. When was the top 5 ever a noted subset of world-class? I don't recall any time since the 1966 AL finals where top 5 was a criterion of particular public significance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Or during. The G7 were not exactly the "top 7" when they formed their little club.P.S. When was the top 5 ever a noted subset of world-class? I don't recall any time since the 1966 AL finals where top 5 was a criterion of particular public significance. Back in the '80s the DCI top five at Finals were shown "live" on PBS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Back in the '80s the DCI top five at Finals were shown "live" on PBS. Technically, wouldn't that have been the last five corps in the performance order, then? That was not determined entirely by placement....the defending champ typically went on last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruckner8 Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 There has always been the Top 12. In the 70s, it was a huge privilege to make the Top 12, if not only because there were so many competing corps! In the 80s, there was the Top 6. (BD, SCV, Phantom, Cadets, Madison, + 3-4 other corps always trying to get into the Top 6, including Bridgemen, 2-7, Suncoast, Spirit, Cavies) If one of the big boys fell out of the Top 6, the season was considered a failure. If any of the others made it to Top 6, it was considered a success for them. In the 90s, the Top 6 was solidified (BD, SCV, Phantom, Cadets, Madison, Cavies). Although Star always managed a Top 6 placement in 90-93, there was still no talk about Top 7 or anything like that. Whoever came in 7th was considered a failure in the psyche of the time. Only Crossmen and Glassmen made it to the Top 6 in the 90s. The 00s saw two distinct things happen: The idea of the Top 3 (BD, Cadets, Cavies), AND the idea of expanding elitist status to the Top 7 or Top 8. Crown and Bloo's huge strides in the 00s, combnied with Madison's decline, forced the conventional wisdom to rethink the Top 6 idea entirely. Corps like Boston, Blue Knights and Glassmen each made strides into the Top 6. (An aside: The Bb instruments have had the most impact on leveling the playing field.) The 10s are starting with OFFICIAL talk of a Top 8, especially with the clear resurgence of Madison and Blue Stars. The conventional Top 6 plus Crown and Bloo will become the Top 8 if modern trends continue. Blue Stars will have to be in that Top 8 for about 6-7 years to be considered elite, even though they're in 8th place right now. Bloo had 9 straight Top 8 finishes in the 00s; Crown had 6 straight. The thing is, Boston and Blue Knights are hardly chopped liver! (Glassmen seems perfectly content in 10-12th place) Maybe the Top 12 will actually mean something in the near future, even though there are less corps today. The 9th-12th place corps today are good enough to win in the 70s...that's how far the excellence has come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Technically, wouldn't that have been the last five corps in the performance order, then? That was not determined entirely by placement....the defending champ typically went on last. Technically, it was the top five performing units in the Saturday Finals which made the "live" broadcast; and as far as I know the previous year winner was always in the top five and sixth place never bumped out fifth place at Finals (but hey that was twenty plus years ago so my memory might be slightly off). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyDad Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 You can't be serious.If memory serves Phantom was half a million in debt a few years back. They've fixed that issue, but it was an issue. Touring extensively could have been part of the mounting debt. Last time Phantom came west they did not lose money. Their souvie sales were awesome. I had to wait in line for over 45 min. in Vista, CA...lots of young kids with their wallets out for a Phantom t-shirt. I would think if a tour was well planned, it would not result in lost revenue. If it can't break even, why do it, right? And if I believe what I was told about Phantom Regiment, their close to $500,000 debt was caused by many factors including trying to operate too many programs which were not breaking even. I was able to meet Mr. Rick Valenzuela a few years back. Didn't he used to be with Santa Clara? Anyway, I have friends in Illinois who give to Phantom and they said that Rick and other Board members and staff worked hard over the past 5-6 years to reduce and eliminate debt and the programs causing the debt. I didn't get the impression that any of it was touring related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Technically, it was the top five performing units in the Saturday Finals which made the "live" broadcast; and as far as I know the previous year winner was always in the top five and sixth place never bumped out fifth place at Finals (but hey that was twenty plus years ago so my memory might be slightly off). I know Spirit bumped Suncoast from the 1986 telecast. Suncoast moved past Spirit to take 5th in finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.