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Was there a lot of criticism of The Cavaliers in the early 00s?


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Was there as much fan criticism of The Cavaliers in the early 00s as there is of BD today or The Cadets (when they have won with shows that were out of the mainstream)? Or did people generally like The Cavaliers when they were dominating?

It seems like during the early 00s, The Cavaliers shows were notably different in style from other corps, but probably not radically different like some have perceived BD and Cadet shows to be. I imagine there probably was some angst from people that were tired of them winning every year, and feeling like their shows were gimmicky (I loved them, for the record), but my guess is that there was not the "this will be the end of drum corps" rhetoric like there is now.

The fact that the internet was not nearly as pervasive during that period probably changed the dynamic a little too.

Is my assessment right, or were things about the same then as they are now?

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Other than Madison, Cavaliers were pretty consistently the crowd favorite. At least they seemed to be.

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Not that I remember. However, the Cavaliers have been a fan favorite for years and were an underdog as they didn't win a championship for many years in DCI. In my DCI experience, they also have never done a difficult to understand or controversial show either.

If they won as many as BD and did similar shows, they would be subject to the same backlash that BD are, despite what many DCP'ers think is just a "bash the BD" attitude for some unknown reason.

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Sure, the Cavies got a lot of criticism during their time on top. Their brass is too quiet, their music is less important than their visual, their marching technique is sloppy, that sort of thing. Well, they still get criticized for those things, but the critics were a bit more vocal when they were at the top. But the criticism is milder than what BD is facing now, IMO, and it was much, much, much milder than what the Cadets had to endure.

Why? Couple of reasons. First, while many fans didn't like what the Cavies were doing, there was no question that what the Cavies were doing was "drum corps" because the Green Machine innovated within the long-established boundaries of the activity. The Cadets and BD, on the other hand, have made full use of new and controversial rule changes which these two corps had been instrumental in pushing through. So they get the "NOT DRUM CORPS!!!!" mantra thrown in their faces. Especially Cadets.

Second, while some older fans (by no means all) weren't happy with the Cavies, some pretty big sections of the audience loved them almost unconditionally. Band kids, college age kids, and 20-somethings in particular. On the other hand, the younger part of the audience has been much more mixed when it came to the mid-2000s Cadets, or BD of recent years. That's why the criticism of these corps has been louder.

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Not that I remember. However, the Cavaliers have been a fan favorite for years and were an underdog as they didn't win a championship for many years in DCI. In my DCI experience, they also have never done a difficult to understand or controversial show either.

If they won as many as BD and did similar shows, they would be subject to the same backlash that BD are, despite what many DCP'ers think is just a "bash the BD" attitude for some unknown reason.

Ummm, My first year following drum corps (1994), I think that show was controversial (emphasis on "I think").

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Was there as much fan criticism of The Cavaliers in the early 00s as there is of BD today or The Cadets (when they have won with shows that were out of the mainstream)? Or did people generally like The Cavaliers when they were dominating?

It seems like during the early 00s, The Cavaliers shows were notably different in style from other corps, but probably not radically different like some have perceived BD and Cadet shows to be. I imagine there probably was some angst from people that were tired of them winning every year, and feeling like their shows were gimmicky (I loved them, for the record), but my guess is that there was not the "this will be the end of drum corps" rhetoric like there is now.

The fact that the internet was not nearly as pervasive during that period probably changed the dynamic a little too.

Is my assessment right, or were things about the same then as they are now?

The simple answer is " no ",... one never heard audible boos in the 2000's after The Cavaliers won.

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In 2003 some fans had had enough of the Cavaliers and were ready to see a new champion.

Spin Cycle was not well-beloved. It was another show where unrecognizable music was arranged to fit a visual idea. The guard uniforms were also questionable. I heard some criticism of that year's drumline - Cadets and BD were in a class of their own that year.

In 2004 with 007, the Green Machine changed tack and made the shows a little bit more fan-friendly.

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