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When your hopes and dreams fizzle out


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So, I've never marched with a corps, and was needing to pick the brains of the vets out there. My question originates from this season from Crown but has undoubtedly occurred with other corps through history.

So, Crown won last year after years of building and vying for that top stop. It finally happens! Expectations for next year are super high. They come out this year starting in the top 3. Okay, they bounced around there for years. Then they slip to fourth, and then fifth. Seeing as their score dropped below 90, it may not be out of the question to go down to 6th.

Same thing with the Blue Knights from 97-2001. Got all the way up to 6th and then BAM, out of the top 12. And the same with the Cavies from 07-12. They hover around second or third for 5 years and then down to 8th. As I said, there are probably many examples.

The Question: What is going through the heads of staff and members at this point in the year? Have they just given up? Do they feel like they are just "pissin' on a bonfire", where nothing they do helps? Do they keep fighting the good fight? Does arguing break out, and the blame game begin? So, veterans of the game, what more than likely is going on in corps on years like this?

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I think it has a lot to do with how the staff approaches the situation. In a top tier corps like Crown, my guess is that they are staying positive and trying to relate that to the marching members. Bad morale is like cancer. Once it starts it can spread like wildfire.

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It's not a big deal. For all intents and purposes, their show is a contending show. Their shows were contending in the years before they won.

Every champion will win... and then not win. It is not unheard of for a corps to go from 1st to 4th in one season... the Cavies went from 1st to 8th and back near the top within a few years on more than one occasion.

The real goal for a champion is to keep putting out contending programs. Crown has already succeeded in this regard... they actually succeeded before they placed 1st.

The idea that there is a great deal of pressure on a champion to win again the next year is a foolish standard of achievement. The truth is that shows win... they have to be performed by great corps, but it's the show that wins. Corps with good design teams have the best chance at contending most often... and winning on occasion (sound like BD?... Cadets?... etc.?)

The real heart breaker is to always contend and NEVER win.

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History tells us that Corps that have little history tend to begin their placement slide that tends to eventually lead to the Corps ultimately folding. Lots of Corps have ascended into the top tier of DCI, as the primary quest all along is to get there. Then they reach that top tier pinnacle for a year or 2 for the first time, then begin their placement slide, as The Cadevaliers reassert their dominance one more. Without a long history of survival against all odds, and periods of adversity withstood, such Corps who rose up fast eventually disappear, or in the unique case of Star of Indiana, decide to throw in the towel as a Corps, and do something else. We have seen so many Corps like Crown come and go that it is almost predictable the fate that eventually takes hold. Perhaps Crown won't eventually suffer such future fate, but I would not bet on it.

As for marchers now that are in Corps where their placement will not be as hoped, you fight on, as you don't want to ever let your other Corps members down personally not giving your all. My own personal assessment is that Marchers that became ring chasers by abandoning their previous Corps to go march another Corps, and they don't get that ring, got what they deserved... a big fat nothing... as they forgot how valued loyalty and cameraderie used to mean at one time in Drum Corps. So if they got their ring, fine, and if they didn't, well, as it says in the fine print here..... :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5QGkOGZubQ

Edited by BRASSO
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LOL Brasso on the youtube. Yep, ring chasers are always there, probably a lot more these days cause of the cost and less years marching. Back to the topic, placements happen. There is NOTHING you can do with the subjective scoring system save what corps like BD are capable of doing politicking.

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History tells us that Corps that have little history tend to begin their placement slide that tends to eventually lead to the Corps ultimately folding. Lots of Corps have ascended into the top tier of DCI, as the primary quest all along is to get there. Then they reach that top tier pinnacle for a year or 2 for the first time, then begin their placement slide, as The Cadevaliers reassert their dominance one more. Without a long history of survival against all odds, and periods of adversity withstood, such Corps who rose up fast eventually disappear, or in the unique case of Star of Indiana, decide to throw in the towel as a Corps, and do something else. We have seen so many Corps like Crown come and go that it is almost predictable the fate that eventually takes hold. Perhaps Crown won't eventually suffer such future fate, but I would not bet on it.

As for marchers now that are in Corps where their placement will not be as hoped, you fight on, as you don't want to ever let your other Corps members down personally not giving your all. My own personal assessment is that Marchers that became ring chasers by abandoning their previous Corps to go march another Corps, and they don't get that ring, got what they deserved... a big fat nothing... as they forgot how valued loyalty and cameraderie used to mean at one time in Drum Corps. So if they got their ring, fine, and if they didn't, well, as it says in the fine print here..... :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5QGkOGZubQ

You know... there is no Cadevaliers. There really is only the Cadevils... or the Bluedets. Or, if you push one more tier there is only the Blue Devils. The Cavaliers had a relatively short period of consistent success (not quite a decade). I'm not sure that they are the great constant powerhouse that you portray them to be. Prior to that short run, the Cavaliers were on par with SCV, and since... they are barely on par with SCV.

None the less... you are correct that history... as in the case of Star... and... Star... and also Star...

Never mind.

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Crown is staying focused and working hard every day. They have absolutely no control on the judges read other than to react to the suggestions being made, if any, to the show itself. At this point every corps is ALL IN on concept and design. Tweaks can and will take place. The numbers will be where they lay. Numbers have been inconsistent at the non-regional shows all year for several corps in 2014.

For one to think that Crown has thrown in the towel or should do so would be nutts. Crown has arguably done the last two weeks of tour better than anyone the past several years, cleaning and surging so I say stay tuned. I have 100% confidence in the kids and the staff that they will max this show out. Regardless of where it stands in the end!!! Wishing every corps a safe and strong last two weeks of the summer!

#ootw #CrownBrass #spacepantsband

Edited by Tone Quality Matters
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You know... there is no Cadevaliers. There really is only the Cadevils... or the Bluedets. Or, if you push one more tier there is only the Blue Devils. The Cavaliers had a relatively short period of consistent success (not quite a decade). I'm not sure that they are the great constant powerhouse that you portray them to be.

Talk to someone in the Cavaliers and tell them ( your words ) " the Cavaliers have had a relatively short period of consistent success, not quite a decade ", and they will educate you with your apparent lack of knowledge on this particular issue that has you in error regarding this particular issue.

As for the Cadevaliers, wait'll you get a load of my 2015 Corps placement predictions that someone will no doubt begin a new thread on in less than 3 weeks time hence.( haha!)

Edited by BRASSO
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Be mindful that DCP folks tend to focus intensely and inordinately on the competitive aspect of drum corps. This is because we are mostly dinos, looking in from the outside. But for the marching members, competition is only one part of the drum corps experience, and maybe not even the most important part.

Back in my day (late 70's, early 80's), I marched with a small local corps, the Fox Valley Raiders, then an up-and coming Guardsmen, (who quickly flamed out after their best season in '79), and then with a corps that had a serious shot at the championship, SCV 84. So I know first hand the joys and agonies of all levels of drum corps competition.

My memory may be faulty, and times may have changed, but in all these corps, I recall that my biggest thrill came not from who we beat, but just from being a member of the corps. My day-to-day concerns were more about friendships, romances, making music, and finding beer and pizza. There was also intense focus on mastering our show, and pleasing our instructors and parents and fans.

Competition was important, of course, and we were always acutely aware of who was just ahead and behind us. The competition was the most thrilling part of the experience, but it is just the icing on the cake. Whether it was the Raiders beating the Emerald Knights, or SCV beating BD and Cadets, this always seemed secondary to the tight bonds developed within the corps.

So my guess is, while kids in Crown might be kind of bummed about their title prospects this year, I am pretty sure they are still having a hell of a time, and forging life-long friendships and memories. So don't feel too bad for them.

Edited by quietcity
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