Tricia-A BD/BK Mom Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) My thoughts, or review if you will, is late but getting back to San Fran turned into a nightmare and I didnt arrive until 3AM, the kids were ready for their free day in San Fran in the morning, I am back in CO now, whew. There were a few hundred people there, if that, Cali back me up on this one. Almost anyone could have a seat at the 40 or 50 yard lines, it was open seating. I have never seen a drum corps performance, except practices, in a stadium like this. It was small and hot. I saw another side of drum corps. The crowd was different, this was pure entertainment and this was big for that small town. There were lots of kids and families with picnic food, this performance was a town celebration. I did not get the feeling there was a competition, just magic. Kids were doing air drums; they were so excited by the color guards throwing rifles. It was so pure. It really moved me. When the Mandarins took the field one whole section went absolutely crazy, they had signs, flags and cheering that was for one of their friends that had made it into Color Guard. I sat and watched the show and started looking at the people around me, they were mesmerized by every performance. With all my sappiness I would give every corps performance a 99.9% that night for the pleasure they gave this crowd. The performances were comparable to Stanford's; I actually think some corps were a little cleaner. I feel like I should quickly slip into my flame suit and take the consequences of my crowd appreciation over drum corps performances that night. I have always loved drum corps and I watch for the good, bad and ugly, speculating about who will win the world championship just like everyone on this board. I almost didn't go to this show but my son insisted, he wanted me to see a small town show and now I understand why. It was humbling. We all love the competition, we have our favorite corps and watch with anticipation. I don't believe most of the people in that stadium realize what kind of competition goes on, it was entertainment on a Sunday night. Edited June 29, 2011 by Tricia-A BD/BK Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calistar Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 My thoughts, or review if you will, is late but getting back to San Fran turned into a nightmare and I didn’t arrive until 3AM, You probably hit that construction mess on I5...yeah, I did too...it was a MESS. There were a few hundred people there, if that, Cali back me up on this one. Almost anyone could have a seat at the 40 or 50 yard lines, it was open seating. I have never seen a drum corps performance, except practices, in a stadium like this. You know its difficult to gauge. The Stadium holds 28,000...and even if it was only a tenth full, that would be almost 3,000. The crowd sure did seem small, so you may be right. Stagg Stadium is actually an excellent place to watch drum corps (as you said). Very intimate and the steep seating and excellent acoustics help to present each corps in a favorable light. Even the weather cooperated this year and was very comfortable about an hour into the show. Apparently everything agreed with the Cadets, because they put on a blistering performance. I WISH that was the show captured on the Fan Network, but I'm sure there will other great shows captured on video. Oh, and before I end this post...I just want to give a shout out to the BLUE KNIGHTS who I thought were great! They have one of the most fan friendly, likeable shows out there and may suprise some people with their final placement. If there are some of you who have not checked out their show yet, do yourself a favor and experience the 2011 version of BK. It was nice meeting you Tricia! Cali. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photographer Jim Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 My thoughts, or review if you will, is late but getting back to San Fran turned into a nightmare and I didn’t arrive until 3AM, the kids were ready for their free day in San Fran in the morning, I am back in CO now, whew. There were a few hundred people there, if that, Cali back me up on this one. Almost anyone could have a seat at the 40 or 50 yard lines, it was open seating. I have never seen a drum corps performance, except practices, in a stadium like this. It was small and hot. I saw another side of drum corps. The crowd was different, this was pure entertainment and this was big for that small town. There were lots of kids and families with picnic food, this performance was a town celebration. I did not get the feeling there was a competition, just magic. Kids were doing air drums; they were so excited by the color guards throwing rifles. It was so pure. Sorry to hear of your travel difficulties, and hope it didn't spoil your visit to our fair state. I'm glad you enjoyed the show and appreciate your comments about the nature of the crowd. There usually is a good " vibe" for this show. However, lest others in distant parts of the country get a false idea, Stockton is not really a "small town". The city has a population of 300K and is the 13th largest city in the state. What you experienced may be more easily attributed to the fact that this show dates back 32 years, and it's location is close (hour drive) to the home turf for BD, SCV, and Mandarins. Go back a few years and the show was also within a short drive for Freelancer and Commadores fans. There have been a lot of good drum corps come through this stadium, so there are many long term fans who return each year. Many of us date back to the days when Jim Ott was a local instructor for the Stockton corps. The magic you experienced may be less small town novelty as it is a well established appreciation for the activity. I guess we're just lucky that way. Again, glad you enjoyed the show and hope your trip ended well. Join us again next year! And by the way, that Denver corps is doing a very enjoyable show - best they've done in years. Hope BK continues to get the crowd support they deserve this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricia-A BD/BK Mom Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Wow! I didn't know all of that. I do plan to go again next year it was so pleasant and friendly. I have never been able to walk completely around the stadium to watch a performance. For the first time I saw shows from the side and the back. I would recommend anyone to go watch a show there, it isn't Stanford but for less money it was a fantastic atmosphere. LOL, no my misadventure was due to the crazy GPS lady. She had me on Hwy. 17 and told me to drive 16 miles. Next thing I know I'm in the mountains, somewhere, no lights, no signs, nothing but a crazy road. I kept turning it off and on and she just kept saying "go right" "go right" I finally unplugged it and literally threw it in the back and just kept going. I don't know where she was trying to take me but I know I crossed a bridge with water going to Stockton and ended up finding Hwy. 101 and I never crossed over water getting back. It was crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photographer Jim Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Wow! I didn't know all of that. I do plan to go again next year it was so pleasant and friendly. I have never been able to walk completely around the stadium to watch a performance. For the first time I saw shows from the side and the back. I would recommend anyone to go watch a show there, it isn't Stanford but for less money it was a fantastic atmosphere. LOL, no my misadventure was due to the crazy GPS lady. She had me on Hwy. 17 and told me to drive 16 miles. Next thing I know I'm in the mountains, somewhere, no lights, no signs, nothing but a crazy road. I kept turning it off and on and she just kept saying "go right" "go right" I finally unplugged it and literally threw it in the back and just kept going. I don't know where she was trying to take me but I know I crossed a bridge with water going to Stockton and ended up finding Hwy. 101 and I never crossed over water getting back. It was crazy. Oh my. I won't even try to describe where you had to have gone in order to get back into the city without re-crossing the Bay!!!! Better you not know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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