drilltech1 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 (edited) Yeah I heard... and it is extremely sad indeed. But it's not as though there is anything inherently dangerous about Rome for Americans. Except for those dumb tourists not prepared for the heat... and man is it HOT! Feels like San Antonio the third week of July. ;-) Well try the Alban Hills outside of Rome and the beautiful views of Lago Albano. I hear Castel Gandalfo is vacant at the moment. Tell Papa Francesco I said, Buon giorno. If you are staying in the city, be sure to check out Rome's own drum and bugle corps in the Swiss Guard (ask at Porta Santa Anna by the Vatican Museo for when they practice and troop.) Their big Roman performance is August 6th. The guard at the gate will also tell you where the best local eats are available at the cheapest prices. Further info and discount coupons can also be gotten at the Vatican Info office on the piazza or at the North American Collegio on the Janiculan Hill overlooking it all. Regarding the Swiss guard drum corps: No , they are not getting new unis this season. Michaelangelo's design, now several hundred years old, is unique and still does them quite well. Sorry Cesario. Ciao.:smile:/>/>/> Edited June 20, 2013 by drilltech1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 (edited) Preshow includes a comedy act that is actually pretty good. Had the audience laughing. Just saw a video of The Academy on youtube. I really hope the Piano man is either water down or removed. He reminds me of Pepe le Pew. Edited June 20, 2013 by LincolnV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr1138 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Any idea when they practice? I will only be here until July 5th so will miss the Aug performance. Hope to catch DCI instead by then! Been here 4 weeks already. Ironically I haven't even made it to the Vatican yet. Its actually a bit out of the way and all the ancient ruins (plus Architecture studio) have been keeping me quite busy! Plenty of good eats around town if you just stay away from places clearly targeted at tourists. Ate fried artichoke today in the Jewish Quarter and it was FANTASTIC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloooCrownValiersPhan Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Just saw a video of The Academy on youtube. I really hope the Piano man is either water down or removed. He reminds me of Pepe le Pew. .....I'd hate to say it, but it works. I just watched the video and my thoughts were along the lines of "...wat," but I guess it fits with their theme. Pianomen are usually rowdy, risqué rapscallions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumManTx Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Saw a vid. of Crown from last night. LOVE the way the unis look on the field, as well as the guard equipment and outfits. Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btown50 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 To see some videos, go to the Crown thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCfan76 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Its not easy to finish in the TOP 12 year in and year out. You can't stand still, or others will pass you by. You have to keep improving year in and year out. BK has shown the ability to do this. Thats why its so hard to crack the TOP 12 in any year, and usually only 1 Corps or so at most does so in any year. And once a Corps makes the Top 12, it needs to demonstrate in a 3 year period it can do so 3 years in a row, or it usually is overtaken by another. I think the 11th and 12th positions at DCI are the most intriguing as it is here that we find the most volatility from year to year. BK is solidly in the TOP 12 , and has been for a decade. Barring something unforseen, it looks like BK is solidly in the TOP 12 once again and even has a good chance to possibly move up. You are absolutely right. It used to be that there was a big gap between 12 and 13, and all you had to do was be "good enough" to make it in (or hold your spot). But now we have about 6-7 corps that will be fighting for 11 and 12... and they're all good... because they have to be BETTER than last year's 12th place corps - or they will be left out. This is going to be a great year for Drum Corps!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Wow, BK, despite the lack of off season hype, appears to be poised to possibly move up in the rankings, not down this summer, as some had predicted in the off seasson. Cool! :thumbup:/>/>/> The majority of corps are better every year than the year previous. To move up in the rankings, a unit needs to be 'more-more-better' than the other units at their level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Its not easy to finish in the Top 12, year in and year out. You can't stand still, or others will pass you by. You have to keep improving year in and year out. BK has shown the ability to do this. That's why its so hard to crack the Top 12 in any year, and usually only one corps or so at most does so in any year. And once a corps makes the Top 12, it needs to demonstrate in a three-year period it can do so three years in a row, or it usually is overtaken by another. I think the 11th and 12th positions at DCI are the most intriguing, as it is here that we find the most volatility from year to year. BK is solidly in the Top 12, and has been for a decade. Barring something unforseen, it looks like BK is solidly in the Top 12 once again and even has a good chance to possibly move up. You are absolutely right. It used to be that there was a big gap between 12th and 13th, and all you had to do was be "good enough" to make it in (or hold your spot). But now we have about 6-7 corps that will be fighting for 11 and 12, and they're all good, because they have to be BETTER than last year's 12th place corps--or they will be left out. I'm not sure history bears out the idea that the 12th place and 13th place corps were traditionally more clearly distinct from each other in quality than they are now. Let's take a closer look. Here, according to CorpsReps, are the relevant prelim/semi scores: 1972 12 -- 78.550 -- St. Andrew's Bridgemen 13 -- 78.450 -- Garfield Cadets Difference: 0.100 1973 12 -- 76.550 -- Black Knights 13 -- 75.550 -- DeLaSalle Oaklands Difference: 1.000 1974 12 -- 79.400 -- Blue Stars 13 -- 76.950 -- Polish Falcon Cadets Difference: 2.450 1975 12 -- 79.600 -- Troopers 13 -- 79.000 -- Squires Difference: 0.600 1976 12 -- 83.500 -- Seneca Optimists 13 -- 82.750 -- Troopers Difference: 0.750 1977 12 -- 84.450 -- Garfield Cadets (tie) 12 -- 84.450 -- Kilties (tie) Difference: 0.000 (Kingsmen at 14 with 83.600) 1978 12 -- 79.950 -- Kilties 13 -- 79.200 -- Freelancers Difference: 0.750 1979 12 -- 81.900 -- Troopers 13 -- 81.700 -- Crossmen Difference: 0.200 1980 12 -- 79.350 -- North Star 13 - 77.050 -- Blue Stars Difference: 2.300 1981 12 -- 80.050 -- Freelancers 13 -- 79.850 -- North Star Difference: 0.200 1982 12 -- 83.100 -- Cavaliers 13 -- 81.100 -- Suncoast Sound Difference: 2.000 1983 12 -- 78.700 -- Sky Ryders 13 -- 78.600 -- Crossmen Difference: 0.100 1984 12 -- 85.900 -- Velvet Knights 13 -- 85.200 -- Troopers Difference: 0.700 1985 12 -- 85.900 -- Freelancers 13 -- 85.200 -- 27th Lancers Difference: 0.700 1986 12 -- 85.900 -- Troopers 13 -- 85.600 -- 27th Lancers Difference: 0.300 1987 12 -- 85.300 -- Sky Ryders 13 -- 84.700 -- Florida Wave Difference: 0.600 1988 12 -- 86.600 -- Sky Ryders 13 -- 86.400 -- Dutch Boy Difference: 0.200 1989 12 -- 85.800 -- Crossmen 13 -- 85.500 -- Dutch Boy Difference: 0.300 1990 12 -- 86.300 -- Dutch Boy 13 -- 85.400 -- Blue Knights Difference: 0.900 1991 12 -- 85.100 -- Sky Ryders 13 -- 84.600 -- Dutch Boy Difference: 0.500 1992 12 -- 84.000 -- Freelancers 13 -- 83.900 -- Glassmen Difference: 0.100 1993 11 -- 84.200 -- Colts / Glassmen (semifinal tie) 13 -- 83.100 -- Velvet Knights Difference: 1.100 1994 12 -- 83.000 -- Colts 13 -- 82.600 -- Boston Crusaders Difference: 0.400 1995 12 -- 81.900 -- Magic of Orlando 13 -- 81.300 -- Blue Knights Difference: 0.600 1996 12 -- 84.600 -- Blue Knights 13 -- 82.700 -- Glassmen Difference: 1.900 1997 12 -- 85.900 -- Carolina Crown 13 -- 84.100 -- Colts Difference: 1.800 1998 12 -- 86.900 -- Carolina Crown 13 -- 85.000 -- Magic of Orlando Difference: 1.900 1999 12 -- 85.200 -- Colts 13 -- 83.000 -- Bluecoats Difference: 2.200 2000 12 -- 85.150 -- Bluecoats 13 -- 84.950 -- Southwind Difference: 0.100 2001 12 -- 85.950 -- Colts 13 -- 84.050 -- Spirit from JSU Difference: 1.900 2002 12 -- 85.950 -- Seattle Cascades 13 -- 85.500 -- Blue Knights Difference: 0.450 2003 12 -- 85.500 -- Spirit from JSU 13 -- 85.350 -- Blue Knights Difference: 0.150 2004 12 -- 86.375 -- Glassmen 13 -- 86.300 -- Spirit from JSU Difference: 0.075 2005 12 -- 85.750 -- Spirit from JSU 13 -- 84.075 -- Colts Difference: 1.675 2006 12 -- 85.275 -- Spirit from JSU 13 -- 83.050 -- Colts Difference: 2.225 2007 12 -- 85.500 -- Spirit from JSU 13 -- 84.500 -- The Academy Difference: 1.000 2008 12 -- 86.375 -- Madison Scouts 13 -- 85.950 -- Crossmen Difference: 0.425 2009 12 -- 85.900 -- Troopers 13 -- 85.600 -- Colts Difference: 0.300 2010 12 -- 86.500 -- Glassmen 13 -- 84.650 -- Colts Difference: 0.850 2011 12 -- 86.500 -- Spirit of Atlanta 13 -- 83.400 -- Glassmen Difference: 3.100 2012 12 -- 84.900 -- Crossmen 13 -- 84.600 -- Blue Stars Difference: 0.300 If we group these by decade, the 12th and 13th place corps were separated by an average of: 1972-1981 -- 0.835 1982-1991 -- 0.630 1992-2001 -- 1.200 2002-2011 -- 1.025 So the past decade shows more competition between 12th and 13th than during the decade before, but not as much as in the two decades 1972-1991. The smallest difference between 12th and 13th places, 0.000, i.e., a tie for 12th, was in 1977. The largest difference between 12th and 13th places, 3.100, came just two years ago! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownBariDad Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 The topic of the heat has come up a few times. I asked my son about it and he said it wasn't so much the heat as the dust. So, I guess it really is a DRY heat. BTW: Recaps are broken again, but I fully expect they will get things sorted out soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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