Jump to content

Let's examine the Blue Knights


Recommended Posts

Ok, one last hypothetical. Let's say BD wins this year's championship. If you took all the kids with BD and switched them into BK unis, and vice-versa, would the BKs be this year's champion? If not, where would BK place? And where would BD place with their same show but with BK kids?

I would say the new BKs would at least be in the top 5 and the new BD would at least be in the top 6. (Staff and programs being the same)

In my opinion.... the BK kids marching/playing BD's show would actually score lower than the current 9th-10th place slot they are sitting it. The show (in my opinion) would be a little above their heads, and thus be too dirty to score well.

On the other hand, I think BD's kids could still be in the top 5 with BK's show, but probably not win. They would max out the performance levels too quickly to be able to compete with the more complex shows of Cadets/Cavaliers/possibly Crown.

Therefore, by switching shows, I think both corps would actually score lower. The staffs and designers at each of the corps know what they are doing. They create a show which is appropriate for their expected talent level.

Edited by Tez
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, one last hypothetical. Let's say BD wins this year's championship. If you took all the kids with BD and switched them into BK unis, and vice-versa, would the BKs be this year's champion? If not, where would BK place? And where would BD place with their same show but with BK kids?

I would say the new BKs would at least be in the top 5 and the new BD would at least be in the top 6. (Staff and programs being the same)

If the uniforms had been switched all season, yes, I think the scores would be basically the same by the end. People would be really confused about why BK was in the TOC, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

because being cute with concert band music can only get you so far... and they are dirty? mostly a rhetorical question

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll preface this by saying that every marching member I've ever met from BK was a fine example of the caliber of individual present at all levels of corps.

That said, I think some of it comes down to their signature design and programming. While I agree that we should have lots of different flavors of corps, that doesn't mean we have to like every flavor. For me, BK is like black licorice. It's not for everyone, and is sort of an acquired taste.

Right now GE is the pathway to higher placements. Unfortunately, and this is subjetive so don't throw things at me, BK tends to program very cerebral shows which are not GE heavy. In fact, when corps as a whole were going through an esoteric phase there, I would say that BK was one of the few that was right in their element...thus, a time at which they achieved their highest placement ever (also a time when Glassmen made a surge).

BK is a quailty corps, but there are simply a lot of great groups out there right now. For example, I love Regiment's show this year, but I accept that there are at least three shows out there right now which are just better designed. Would I love to see PR in 4th come Saturday, oh yeah...but it won't diminish them in any way if they don't pull that off.

Blue Knights should be very proud of their status as a perenial finalist corps. It's easy to forget, but being top 12 in the world at anything is nothing to sneer at.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems the consensus is we don't have the visual juice, this year. Well, for being in year two of a total technique overhaul, I feel pretty good about the corps. The visual package is plenty hard, just not in ways most folks pick up on. Tempo changes alone separate us from all others, and we have to change style musically all the time. Yeah, that is supposed to weigh in your score. It usually doesn't this far in the ghetto of the top twelve. I'll take whatever placement, though. Kids march and play their butts off, and we don't make oil paintings out of audiences. Also, we retain the hell out of kids, so we will be giant slayers one day soon. There is a ton of championship experience on this staff. I love that we are such a frequent topic of conversation!

JBentley

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems the consensus is we don't have the visual juice, this year. Well, for being in year two of a total technique overhaul, I feel pretty good about the corps. The visual package is plenty hard, just not in ways most folks pick up on. Tempo changes alone separate us from all others, and we have to change style musically all the time. Yeah, that is supposed to weigh in your score. It usually doesn't this far in the ghetto of the top twelve. I'll take whatever placement, though. Kids march and play their butts off, and we don't make oil paintings out of audiences. Also, we retain the hell out of kids, so we will be giant slayers one day soon. There is a ton of championship experience on this staff. I love that we are such a frequent topic of conversation!

JBentley

I've enjoyed this BK show immensely. Great music, especially. The visual package still has room for improvement, but it has come a long way from the tie-dyed flags of old. I also appreciate the "classical" bent of the corps. That's an aspect of BK identity that I hope never disappears. BK is on the right track. It's just a matter of time...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love love love BK's show this year. Lots of GE and it stays on track as far as theme goes.The guard is clean as far as I've seen is recent shows before this week!

One of my favorites this season!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.

Blue Knights should be very proud of their status as a perenial finalist corps. It's easy to forget, but being top 12 in the world at anything is nothing to sneer at.

Absolutely. The bar is raised all the time. I watched The Academy in performance tonight in the theatre. This is just one example of a Corps that would have made TOP 12 in earlier times. Just take a look at Corps just outside of TOP 12 status. Its not that long ago that these Corps, with these levels of talent and performances, would have made the Top 12. The Blue Knights are a talented Corps, and with an entertaining show to boot. I agree with you, the ability to remain top 12 as the Blue Knights have is " nothing to sneer at". As a matter of a fact, it's a laudable accomplishment, imo.

Edited by BRASSO
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Absolutely. The bar is raised all the time. I watched The Academy in performance tonight in the theatre. This is just one example of a Corps that would have made TOP 12 in earlier times. Just take a look at Corps just outside of TOP 12 status. Its not that long ago that these Corps, with these levels of talent and performances, would have made the Top 12. The Blue Knights are a talented Corps, and with an entertaining show to boot. I agree with you, the ability to remain top 12 as the Blue Knights have is " nothing to sneer at". As a matter of a fact, it's a laudable accomplishment, imo.

Completely agree. That top 12 is rarified air, for sure. I thought the exact same thing about Academy... "if that's the 15th-place corps....wow."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my opinion.... the BK kids marching/playing BD's show would actually score lower than the current 9th-10th place slot they are sitting it. The show (in my opinion) would be a little above their heads, and thus be too dirty to score well.

On the other hand, I think BD's kids could still be in the top 5 with BK's show, but probably not win. They would max out the performance levels too quickly to be able to compete with the more complex shows of Cadets/Cavaliers/possibly Crown.

Therefore, by switching shows, I think both corps would actually score lower. The staffs and designers at each of the corps know what they are doing. They create a show which is appropriate for their expected talent level.

This.

On an unrelated note, I realize there is a lot of controversy over slotting and some fans downright refusal to acknowledge its existence, but it definitely happens. I have personally seen corps redo portions of a movement or an entire movement in a rehearsal day and put it on the field their very next adjudicated performance, yet never drop in rating or only drop very slightly. A lot of times a corps will realize mid-season that what the design team thought would be a good idea in pre-season isn't really sitting too well with the judges night after night and the only way to move up in the ladder is to completely rework the piece in question. There are very few corps that can learn ~40 pages of drill and have it "end of July" clean in one day.

/rant

flame me.

Edited by Vanguard07
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...