Blue Devils B Placement Friday Night?

[Triple Forte]

Hi All,

I am not in Indy for the shows this year and I did not watch the webcast Friday night.

Question out to those who saw Blue Devils B perform and others (Be it in person or webcast)

Was Blue Devils B so much better on Friday night compared to Thursday to have them go from 18 to 15th place and beat two corps (Spirit of Atlanta and The Academy) ?

Seems like quite a leap in our modern world of drum corps dci scoring....

BTW :

BDB fans and members dont take this wrong...its just a bit unusual and I am curious to know what the boots on the ground think.....

[DrumManTx]

I think part of it was the fact they went on MUCH closer to those corps they beat. There were 5 corps between them and the Academy/OC/Spirit group on Thursday and then right next to them on Friday.

[Kamarag]

They were absolutely deserving of their placement at Semi-Finals. Their performance was fantastic, and even better at the Finals exhibition just now.

[flammaster]

They should have scored even higher but got low balled in prelims. go watch their show. They should be in Finals.

[jjeffeory]

They should have scored even higher but got low balled in prelims. go watch their show. They should be in Finals.

You're such a good dad!

[NeoCervantes II]

I saw another topic talking about how the Sheets need to be looked at again because of this situation. I do not know that I believe this to be true.

So far I have seen all the corps in the bracket with (below) BDB except Academy and OC and I must say that BDB entertained me the most. Disclaimer: I have been picking and choosing my way through the fan network and was not there live.

I thought it was interesting that every single placement last night was the same as the corps GE placement with one exception: where there was a tie in GE.

Unfortunately for the corps I have seen that got beaten by BDB, while they had a lot of good musical moments going on, visual design and execution was a major issue, to the point where it distracted me from their overall performance far more and far more often than anything in BDB's show.

In the end, thought it seems really weird, and I will reserve full judgement until I see Academy and OC, I feel that from what I have seen so far, BDB's placement was justified.

[luv4corps]

I did not see their semis performance but I saw their finals exhibition performance, from excellent seats in the 500s. I watched it with my son who performs with OC. He was very honest and said their marching technique was probably a bit better than OCs, but that it broke down in the second half of the show.. likely due to fatigue (his words). To my eye, there were some visual issues similar to OC's visual issues. For BDB to be 15 and OC 19... it's hard to take, whether its fair or not. Last year, BDB placed 20th. From 20th to 15th in one year?

OC had some of the most difficult music and drill in corps history, was a hit with the audience, and lost not only to BDB, but also to Vanguard Cadets (by a tenth). Ouch.

No one in OC saw this coming. And I think I can speak for Spirit and Academy, Pacific Crest as well. This was a blindside, as they had never competed head to head against either VC or BDB.

It's a devastating blow for WC corps in that range. I just can't help but feel bad for these kids, and since I'm mom to an Oregon kid, I will speak of them. They gave the best show in corps history and for the first time (I think) since the corps rebooted in 2007, their score dropped between prelims and semis.

I know this thread is supposed to be about BDB. I congratulate them for an absolutely amazing show that got them 15th place. Clearly the judges loved them and many people on here as well feel they deserved it. But I'd sure love to hear from someone who understands where I am coming from. I don't mean to sound like a sour grapes parent... really I don't! I am trying to raise some good points:

1. no head to head competitions prior to Indy between open and world class corps in the same score range

2. Maybe, just maybe, there were some scoring anomolies this year? As scores were all over the place all season with corps in this range. Just a few days prior at Centerville, OC beat Academy and Spirit on the same night with the same panel. They were ranked 15 going to Indy. They dropped to 19. Really?

It's funny - Academy walked off the field after semis and thought they'd blown it and they cried. OC walked off the field and thought they nailed it. Members and staff were celebrating at a buffet dinner when they received the shock. No one, not staff, not member, not parent... when all days were happening in June, would have imagined in their wildest dreams that things would end this way.

(Note: I made a few edits to this so it will not match up perfectly with quotes that happened right away.)

Edited August 11, 2014 by luv4corps

[Jeff Ream]

They should have scored even higher but got low balled in prelims. go watch their show. They should be in Finals.

i'll agree on prelims., not on finals

[Jeff Ream]

I did not see their semis performance but I saw their finals exhibition performance, from excellent seats in the 500s. I watched it with my son who performs with OC. He was very honest and said their marching technique was probably a bit better than OCs, but that it broke down in the second half of the show.. likely due to fatigue (his words). To my eye, there were some visual issues similar to OC's visual issues. For BDB to be 15 and OC 19... it's hard to take, whether its fair or not. Last year, BDB placed 20th. From 20th to 15th in one year?

OC had some of the most difficult music and drill in corps history, was a hit with the audience, and lost to Vanguard Cadets even (by a tenth). Ouch.

No one in OC saw this coming. And I think I can speak for Spirit and Academy, Pacific Crest as well. This was a blindside, as they had never competed head to head against either VC or BDB.

It's a devastating blow for WC corps in that range. I feel so bad for OC kids. They gave the best show in corps history and for the first time (I think) since the corps rebooted in 2007, their score dropped between prelims and semis.

I know this thread is supposed to be about BDB. I congratulate them for an absolutely amazing show that got them 15th place. Clearly the judges loved them and many people on here as well feel they deserved it. But I'd sure love hear from someone who understands where I am coming from. I don't mean to sound like a sour grapes parent... really I don't. I am trying to raise some good points:

1. no head to head competitions prior to Indy between open and world class corps in the same score range

2. Maybe, just maybe, there were some scoring anomolies this year? As scores were all over the place all season with corps in this range. Just a few days prior at Centerville, OC beat Academy and Spirit on the same night with the same panel. They were ranked 15 going to Indy. They dropped to 19. Really?

It's funny - Academy walked off the field after semis and thought they'd blown it and they cried. OC walked off the field and thought they nailed it. Members and staff were celebrating at a buffet dinner when they received the shock. No one, not staff, not member, not parent... would have imagined in their wildest dreams that things would end this way.

This hurt - bad.

well..

with Open class corps going on the same sheets as World Class this year, it shows BDB and SCVC planned for the new sheets, and to max them out as best they could. I too loved OC's show and think they are a breath of fresh air in World Class, but I can't disagree with their placement.

[Kamarag]

well..

with Open class corps going on the same sheets as World Class this year, it shows BDB and SCVC planned for the new sheets, and to max them out as best they could. I too loved OC's show and think they are a breath of fresh air in World Class, but I can't disagree with their placement.

I agree. I absolutely love their brass sound, and The Raven was the best treatment of the Poe as I have ever seen on the field (band or corps). But I will say when they'd finished on Friday that I thought their Thursday run was better...cleaner for sure. I can't wait to see what they have in store for 2015.