Northern Thunder Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 The first time I ever saw the Blue Devils was in the 1973 U.S. Open parade. I've been a fan from that day on. That '73 U.S. Open was the first national drum corps contest ever for the Blue Devils. I guess they got the hang of it from that point on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucbari Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 (edited) My fondest memory of the US Open was in 1971 - before I go further a great great show. We (Sacred Heart Crusaders) had done our prelim show and of course we weren't going to make finals because our director ran us into the ground. We were on early so I went back into the stadium with the rest of the people from the corps to watch prelims. A preface to the ending is that our housing site was at Weslayan University in the town of Delaware about 20 miles from Marion. Well my idiot bus seat mate didn't tell the driver that I wasn't on the bus when the decision was made to go back to Delaware. I stayed in the stadium until the end of prelims -hey it was great show- and only then found out that I was stranded 20 miles from our housing site with no way to get back. Everyone is streaming out of the stadium and I had the announcer get on the PA system to ask if anyone was heading towards Delaware...kind of embarrassing. Well I got back but but I made a point of making sure he was initiated - he was a rookie - in a particuarly embarrassing way to say the least. I got a drummer friend to play the street beat on his stomach after he had to read aloud to the back of the bus from grossly pornographic novel. Well that's my story. PS: Snuck into finals that night for a fantastic show Edited May 17, 2012 by Bucbari 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Thunder Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Well my idiot bus seat mate didn't tell the driver that I wasn't on the bus when the decision was made to go back to Delaware. I stayed in the stadium until the end of prelims -hey it was great show- and only then found out that I was stranded 20 miles from our housing site with no way to get back. Everyone is streaming out of the stadium and I had the announcer get on the PA system to ask if anyone was heading towards Delaware...kind of embarrassing. You won't believe this, George, but you were sitting in front of me that day at River Valley Stadium (a bit outside of Marion...it's where they held prelims until 1972). I mentioned this story to Fran Haring here on DCP a while back, and he remembered it. I remember them making an announcement about somebody from Sacred Heart getting left back at the stadium, and that somebody was YOU! You were right in front of me. Small world. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jras Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 The 1969 U.S. Open was one of the most memerables shows ever for me. As a member of the Kilties, we had many fine performances throughout the season and went on to win the VFW National title but THAT night in Marion was considered by many to have been our best show of the year....the night when everything comes together with an energy that is rarely matched. Give a listen to the recording (fleetwood?) of that show and you can feel the electricity. Funny, 43 years later and I can still feel the exhilaration of that performance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Thunder Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 The 1969 U.S. Open was one of the most memerables shows ever for me. As a member of the Kilties, we had many fine performances throughout the season and went on to win the VFW National title but THAT night in Marion was considered by many to have been our best show of the year....the night when everything comes together with an energy that is rarely matched. Give a listen to the recording (fleetwood?) of that show and you can feel the electricity. Funny, 43 years later and I can still feel the exhilaration of that performance I played that old Fleetwood album quite a bit. My brother and his wife had just moved to Marion in July of 1969 (their house was three blocks from the stadium). They went to the show and told me all about the Kilties performance that night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 My fondest memory of the US Open was in 1971 - before I go further a great great show. We (Sacred Heart Crusaders) had done our prelim show and of course we weren't going to make finals because our director ran us into the ground. We were on early so I went back into the stadium with the rest of the people from the corps to watch prelims. A preface to the ending is that our housing site was at Weslayan University in the town of Delaware about 20 miles from Marion. Well my idiot bus seat mate didn't tell the driver that I wasn't on the bus when the decision was made to go back to Delaware. I stayed in the stadium until the end of prelims -hey it was great show- and only then found out that I was stranded 20 miles from our housing site with no way to get back. Everyone is streaming out of the stadium and I had the announcer get on the PA system to ask if anyone was heading towards Delaware...kind of embarrassing. Well I got back but but I made a point of making sure he was initiated - he was a rookie - in a particuarly embarrassing way to say the least. I got a drummer friend to play the street beat on his stomach after he had to read aloud to the back of the bus from grossly pornographic novel. Well that's my story. PS: Snuck into finals that night for a fantastic show Ahh...you lucky dog. What a great memory. And a great ending! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 You won't believe this, George, but you were sitting in front of me that day at River Valley Stadium (a bit outside of Marion...it's where they held prelims until 1972). I mentioned this story to Fran Haring here on DCP a while back, and he remembered it. I remember them making an announcement about somebody from Sacred Heart getting left back at the stadium, and that somebody was YOU! You were right in front of me. Small world. Ha! Such fun reading these... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 I played that old Fleetwood album quite a bit. My brother and his wife had just moved to Marion in July of 1969 (their house was three blocks from the stadium). They went to the show and told me all about the Kilties performance that night. I always liked the "racetrack" loop of one-way streets around the city. Our school buses always had to drive the loop on the way to the stadium, and we'd drive right past "Cadet Hall", the corps' home base. That's when I got really amped up for the show (up until then I was concentrating on my girlfriend). And every store sign on that loop said "Welcome Drum Corps Fans!" We always had to park the buses blocks from the stadium so we'd walk, almost as a block, to the stadium. The awe of the place was palpable; lot's of old-growth trees overhanging the streets. Approaching the stadium was almost electric, with the chatter growing the closer we got. Seeing the corps line up and filing to our seats in the bleachers... I was in the eighth grade, and I made the trip to Marion several times. The last few to march... Great memories, burned in hard. I'll tell you a "small world" story after dinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindap Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 You all have good memories, wow! We went to the US Open a few times and the only thing I remember was 'The Thing', huge corps in white and hues of green with a massive sound. Was it 73? Oh my, I'm starting to feel old :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHall Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 How about the YMCA pool? It had super hot water and tons of chlorine. I remember Charioteers bus being there (odd that I remember this). One year we stayed upstairs at the fire house. Bells ringing, sirens...oh what joy! This memory was back in mid 80's....I was on staff with the Rochester Patriots. The entire corps went to Cedar Point and the staff stayed back to go to Open Class prelims. While enroute to the stadium, I was in the back of the van mixing alot of vodka, OJ and ice. I carried it in to the stadium like it didn't weigh much (I was in the Army). The temp was in the 90's and "breakfast" would have to start earlier than expected. Nothing better than drinking all day through prelims and then watching SCV go through the tunnel changing pants...AWESOME!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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