Tim K Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Everyone has high hopes for Crossmen. They have been up and down for years. The corps finally makes finals again at the expense of Blue Stars failures. I am surprised to see some predictions of Spirit out of finals when in recent years, Spirit has been the only corps to make it back into finals and stay there. This was their 3rd year in a row. The 12th place corps before them made a 1 year appearance and dropped again. Nothing against Crossmen, but I am not placing as much faith in their seat in finals. Especially when you have quality, more consistent corps like Blue Stars gunning for their place back into finals with a SOLID new design and instructional team. I liked Blue Stars show last year, though there was some tweaking that could have been done to make it stronger, but that did not happen. I could have seen them in finals last year, but not at the expense of Crossmen or Spirit. People have high hopes for Crossmen because under Fred Morrison's direction, the corps has stabilized and has made steady progress. People also have confidence in Ed Devlin's design and the instructional staff. As far as Crossmen besting Blue Stars at semi's, to me, Crossmen performed their best show of the season that night, and while Blue Stars show that evening may have been somewhat flat, it was not abysmal. Regarding Spirit, many expected they would not make finals but of course they did. I expect to see them in finals again because they have found a formula that works, they have a good number of veterans, and their recruitment camps this past winter were very successful--all good signs. However, if they place in finals it will be their third year. They returned in 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Just because you make changes to a design doesn't mean you will reap the benefits in year one... in fact the Crossmen are the perfect example. They actually went DOWN in placement in 2011 with the new staff. I don't think anyone would argue it was a much better show and corps than the year prior... but while the Crossmen were starting out with a new team and a new direction with the corps, other corps just kept on trucking along. The competition to get into finals is awesome. it is one of the most exciting things to watch all year long. And the quality of these corps competing for a finals spot is so much better than even 5 years ago. It's really anyone's game. And you always have to remember that a corps has to get the boot from finals for a new team to make it in. Season to season it's going to be rough to predict 10-17. Crossmen were in 17th in 2011.. they were in 12th in 2012... who says they can't be in 8th this year.. or maybe they miss on design, and they'll be back in 16th. This area is where the real interest is for me. I don't even look at the recaps for the top 5 as much as I used to. It is just too predictable. You know one of 3 corps is gonna win... and it's usually only one of them... and it's always the same corps. And ya know what? That is boring. Getting into finals and the corps bouncing around in the bottom 6 of finals is where a lot of interesting competitions are going on. Honestly.. placements don't move around as much as I think they should night to night.. there are some obvious performance issues that are different from night to night... I'd say an ensemble tear is a pretty big issue.. but you don't always see it reflected in the numbers (just as one example). There is just too much weight on design.. and a lot of judges who are just wimps. But that is another discussion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 That's true: either they consistently over-achieve, or DCP consistently has lowered expectations for them. That is an intriguing observation With option (a) being an oxymoron, I chose (b) . For whatever reason, BAC is always considered a one-year wonder around here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 (edited) Maybe I am just a cocky person, but upon a show announcement we tend to get a feel if the corps is going to perform it well or not. In 2011 hearing about Angels and Demons you sensed that the Cadets would excel at that, especially when they were going to be integrating 2 uniforms. Hmnnn... I don't know about this. My recollection seems a bit different than yours on this. I recall that in the preseason when GH announced that The Cadets would be changing up their uniforms for the show to fit the 2011 theme, many of their Alums, as well as fans, were using Names regarding this announcement, and most of those Names being uttered at that time about it weren't exactly Holy, if you get my drift. We had a thread on DCP that went on forever, with many fans and non fans in various degrees of non approval for the "uniform change ". Then when the Corps performed their standstill in practice in May of " Angels and Demons " it sounded to me on first impression as a bad 50's B Movie score for a movie maybe entitled " Hells Angels meets Godzilla " or some such. I saw this at the time as a talented Corps with talent that perhaps might be squandered by the show designers for the 2011 season. Then in less than a month it all changed. What happened ? The Corps added Visual and Guard to the show, thats what happened. It all came alive once it was put on the field... including now the Music. I saw the 2011 Cadets show on the field in June for the first time, and turned to 3 others and said... " if they clean this puppy up, this wonderful visual treat show has the goods to win it all by August ". We 4 agreed on this. The Corps uniform change... temporary for the year...in retrospect was the correct call by the show designers, imo. By Championships, you'd be hard pressed to find too many people, including their Alums, scoffing at the uniform change, nor the Design of the show " Angels and Demons ". But was this the case when the show, music, theme, was first announced by the Cadets in the Winter ? No. This is not my recollection and observations anyway. I don't recall a lot of people doing cartwheels over the Theme, Music, and notice of uniform change for The Cadets show for the following season that would be coming up, at all. I have been both future pleasantly surprised as well as hugely disappointed in the announcement of show designs, Music, Theme, over the years to the point now that the offseason announcements by these Corps are taken in stride ( although I must admit that a couple of Corps announcements of Theme, Music has me intrigued this offseason, more than perhaps usual ). Until I see the Design on the field, I usually don't get too up or down on the preseason announcement of Music, Theme, etc, as historically it generally gives me no insight at all as to what it will eventually mean in placements come August. But perhaps thats just me too. Edited May 6, 2013 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbones7480 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Don't care what the placements are. Just can't wait for the hairs on my arms to stand up during the Crossmen ballad this summer. Heard it's creepy good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 (edited) Don't care what the placements are. Just can't wait for the hairs on my arms to stand up during the Crossmen ballad this summer. Heard it's creepy good. This is a good point, imo. My enjoyment levels for Corps shows has little at all to do with placements either. Not now. Not ever. When I go to Fan Network to watch and listen to Corps now from the past, what " placement " they came in that year is a total non factor in my decision to watch and listen to the Corps show again. Edited May 6, 2013 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonW Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 I greatly enjoy what transpires on the the field, but must admit I truly do miss the volatility in placements. Numbers 1-4 at the beginning of the season will most likely still be in 1-4 at the end of the season. Ah, well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drilltech1 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 After all the months this thread has been hanging on here, would one of the moderators please, please, please correct the misspelling of P-R-E-D-I-C-T-I-O-N-S in the thread headline. One tick. Championships can be lost for less. Yup, call me a tick hound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 (edited) call me a tick hound. Ok, if you insist... you're a dog with ticks. Edited May 6, 2013 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rannec Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Ok, if you insist... you're a dog with ticks. Okay guys, let's call it a day. No one is going to top that. See y'all tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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