2016 Prediction Thread

[777hornman]

Season Begins tomorrow .

Here is my last prediction based on videos and recordings.

1. Carolina Crown -Great drum corps show.
2. Bluecoats -If they can get all that on the field n time .
3. Blue Devils -Always could be #1
4. Cadets -Drill hurts,cant just run anymore Everybody does, No Innovation anymore -why ?
5. SCV -Maybe pass Cadets again .

6. Blue Knights
7. Cavaliers
8. Phantom
9. Madison
10. Crossmen
11. Boston
12. Blue Stars

[Clutchtow]

Okay, here it is. I'm pretty sure this is brutally incorrect, and I'm not even sure if I want it like this, but why not.

1. Bluecoats

2. Carolina Crown

3. Blue Devils

4. The Cadets

5. Santa Clara Vanguard

6. Blue Knights

7. Madison Scouts

8. Cavaliers

9. Phantom Regiment

10. Blue Stars

11. Boston Crusaders

12. Crossmen

13. Academy

14. Oregon Crusaders

15. Troopers

16. Colts

17. Spirit of Atlanta

18. Mandarins

19. Pacific Crest

20. Jersey Surf

21. Cascades

22. Pioneer

I did have vanguard over cadets, but I'm pretty sure that was just homerism so I changed it.

[Cappybara]

Okay, here it is. I'm pretty sure this is brutally incorrect, and I'm not even sure if I want it like this, but why not.

1. Bluecoats

2. Carolina Crown

3. Blue Devils

4. The Cadets

5. Santa Clara Vanguard

6. Blue Knights

7. Madison Scouts

8. Cavaliers

9. Phantom Regiment

10. Blue Stars

11. Boston Crusaders

12. Crossmen

13. Academy

14. Oregon Crusaders

15. Troopers

16. Colts

17. Spirit of Atlanta

18. Mandarins

19. Pacific Crest

20. Jersey Surf

21. Cascades

22. Pioneer

I did have vanguard over cadets, but I'm pretty sure that was just homerism so I changed it.

I like this. Minus the part about Regiment being in 9th, but I hope this happens

[henry7184]

*Updated based on seeing something from all but two:

01> Crown

02> Devils

03> Vanguard

04> Bluecoats (haven't seen anything)

05> Cadets

06> Scouts

07> Cavies

08> BK (haven't seen anything)

09> Regiment

10> Blue Stars

11> Crossmen

12> Boston

[DasTuba]

This is kind of my take on things except not sure about Bluecoats since they've yet to surface. I think Crown's percussion will be more competitive and Cadet's visual as well compared to last year. I think Cadets have a stronger show to grow but will get beat up early season. They're really a mess right now. BD will be great but not really sure they're better in anything from last year vs the above two. Also think Boston will be stronger than people are ranking but we'll see.

Yeah BK over SCV might be wishful thinking but I really think they have something special going on there. I'm a crown homer but I definitely think they all the pieces in place to win it this year. I'm probably way off about BD, but so far I just can't get into their show. To me it feels recycled from previous years, but that's just personal opinion.

[ShouldveMarchedAgeOut]

1. Bluecoats -

2. Blue Devils - As Dreams Are Made On

3. The Cadets - Awakening

4. Carolina Crown - Relentless

5. Santa Clara Vanguard - Force of Nature

6. Blue Knights - The Great Event

7. Madison Scouts - Judas

8. The Cavaliers - Propaganda

9. Phantom Regiment - Voice of Promise

10. Blue Stars - Le Reve

11. Boston Crusaders - Quixotic

12. Crossmen - Continuum

13. Troopers - Hero

14. The Academy - Drum Corpse Bride

15. Oregon Crusaders - Hunted

16. Colts - Nachtmusik

17. Blue Devils B - To the Moon

18. Pacific Crest - The Union

19. Vanguard Cadets - The One

20. Mandarins - Forbidden Forest

[SpiritOfJSUFan]

Ok Since I have a good read on alot of the shows, and since the season starts tomorrow, I'll go ahead and make my last prediction for the off season!!

1. Carolina Crown - AMAZING Concept and, when August gets here It'll be well worth it!!!

2. Bluecoats - Even though I personally haven't heard ANYTHING from them - The Source music lends it to be a rocking show!!! Think they could contend with Crown for the title!!

3. The Cadets - Very interesting - not the typical Cadets show...

4. Blue Devils - Not a fan of it honestly.... but you cant put them out of the top 4.

5. Blue Knights - Let's see if they can crack the top 5 this year!!!

6. Santa Clara Vanguard - Very Interesting also...

7. Madison Scouts - HECK YES!! JCSS + GAGA!!!

8. The Cavaliers - WOW... Want to put them higher but it is going to be a blood bath

9. Boston Crusaders - Love the music!!!

10. Phantom Regiment - I dont think this will be a great vehicle for them

11. Blue Stars - Interesting choice of music.. Crossmen could be here also..

12. Troopers

[3PoC]

Directly from my posterior for the sake of posterity:
1. Bluecoats - High drums and GE, 2nd in brass and guard
2. Blue Devils - High guard, 4th in drums, 3rd in brass, 2nd in GE

3. Santa Clara Vanguard - 2nd in drums, 3rd in GE, 4th in guard, 5th in brass
4. Carolina Crown - High brass, 6th in drums, 3rd in guard 4th in GE

5. The Cadets - 3rd place drums, 4th place brass, 6th in GE
6. Blue Knights - 5th place drums and GE
7. Madison Scouts
8. Cavaliers
9. Boston Crusaders

10. Phantom Regiment

11. Blue Stars
12. Crossmen
....................
13. Academy

14. Troopers
15. Colts

16. Oregon Crusaders

17. Spirit of Atlanta
18. Mandarins
19. Pacific Crest
20. Jersey Surf
21. Cascades
22. Pioneer

1-5 could go any number of ways and I expect some twists and turns as the season develops. If Bloo executes, I feel that the freshness of their show will be a decisive factor as BD, Crown and Cadets programs, as awesome as they are, all have a bit of "been there" either stylistically or musically in comparison. SCV has been ready to pop for a while now, and given the right circumstances, this could be the year.
BK may be ready to knock down 1 or 2 groups in the top 5 if everything goes their way. They too seem to have a freshness that, along with an incredibly musical percussion section, will serve them well.
6-12 will likely be very volatile as well as I'm getting a good feeling about several groups in this range.

Here's to a great season for all!

Edited June 23, 2016 by 3PoC

[hostrauser]

1. Blue Devils: 98.45 - Only 0.825 points has kept them from NINE consecutive titles. NINE. IN A ROW. They've medalled 21 of the past 22 years. As long as that staff stays intact, they're automatic, and you're fooling yourself if you think otherwise. Oh yeah, and I've seen early video. They look amazing yet again.

2. The Cadets: 97.30 - Let's not forget they won both brass AND percussion last year. This year's books seem just as meaty, and the corps sounds just as talented.

3. Santa Clara Vanguard: 96.20 - Well surprise, surprise. They've been on the cusp of medalling for the past four years, this year they get it done. In their APRIL video they were already remarkably tight. I think they're motivated this year and get it done.

4. Bluecoats: 95.85 - I don't like having them out of the medals, but here they are. Canton plays it so close to the vest it's hard to get a read on them. I just think they're due for a *slightly* off season. Really, though, I can see #2-#4 in any order.

5. Carolina Crown: 94.95 - I love Crown but, man, was I the only person to watch their preview show the other night and have about a million alarm bells go off? The brass was really good, but not as tight as prior years for mid-June. Some intonation problems and fuzzy attacks. But folks, their visual design has PROBLEMS. 90% of that show's visual impacts are in the front-left quadrant of the field. Almost none of the show is behind the back hash, and their field utilization and coverage is very poor (for a corps with Gold Medal aspirations). They've got A LOT of work to do.

6. The Cavaliers: 92.40 - What now? Last year ended up a disaster, but remember back to midsummer and the Cavaliers weren't looking too bad. They were less than a tenth of a point out of 6th at San Antonio. Then the corps got smashed by summer flu. They pulled out of DCI Atlanta and were never the same. Last year was a fluke--bad luck--more than a sign of institutional problems. Remember, their 2014 was darn good. They recover their footing this summer.

7. Phantom Regiment: 90.85 - They need to sack their entire design staff. I say this as a lifelong Phan. The only sticker on my car is a Phantom window decal. 1993 Phantom got me hooked on DCI. 2008 Phantom is my favorite show of all time. But look: their design team has got to go. All of them. 2014, 2015, and now 2016 all look and sound like generic DCI shows that any number of corps could have done. Their shows are stale, and even the kids performing the hell out of them isn't going to be enough to get out of the middle of the pack.

Sorry, I'm all out of commentary now.

8. Blue Knights: 90.35

9. Madison Scouts: 88.60

10. Boston Crusaders: 88.40

11. Blue Stars: 86.40

12. Crossmen: 85.10

13. Troopers: 84.10

14. Colts: 83.40

15. Spirit of Atlanta: 81.85

16. The Academy: 81.30

17. Oregon Crusaders: 79.55

18. Vanguard Cadets: 78.75

19. Blue Devils B: 78.65

20. Pacific Crest: 78.30

21. Mandarins: 77.20

22. Genesis: 73.05

23. Jersey Surf: 72.80

24. Spartans: 72.60

25. Cascades: 70.60

[Jurassic Lancer]

1. Blue Devils: 98.45 - Only 0.825 points has kept them from NINE consecutive titles. NINE. IN A ROW. They've medalled 21 of the past 22 years. As long as that staff stays intact, they're automatic, and you're fooling yourself if you think otherwise. Oh yeah, and I've seen early video. They look amazing yet again.

2. The Cadets: 97.30 - Let's not forget they won both brass AND percussion last year. This year's books seem just as meaty, and the corps sounds just as talented.

3. Santa Clara Vanguard: 96.20 - Well surprise, surprise. They've been on the cusp of medalling for the past four years, this year they get it done. In their APRIL video they were already remarkably tight. I think they're motivated this year and get it done.

4. Bluecoats: 95.85 - I don't like having them out of the medals, but here they are. Canton plays it so close to the vest it's hard to get a read on them. I just think they're due for a *slightly* off season. Really, though, I can see #2-#4 in any order.

5. Carolina Crown: 94.95 - I love Crown but, man, was I the only person to watch their preview show the other night and have about a million alarm bells go off? The brass was really good, but not as tight as prior years for mid-June. Some intonation problems and fuzzy attacks. But folks, their visual design has PROBLEMS. 90% of that show's visual impacts are in the front-left quadrant of the field. Almost none of the show is behind the back hash, and their field utilization and coverage is very poor (for a corps with Gold Medal aspirations). They've got A LOT of work to do.

6. The Cavaliers: 92.40 - What now? Last year ended up a disaster, but remember back to midsummer and the Cavaliers weren't looking too bad. They were less than a tenth of a point out of 6th at San Antonio. Then the corps got smashed by summer flu. They pulled out of DCI Atlanta and were never the same. Last year was a fluke--bad luck--more than a sign of institutional problems. Remember, their 2014 was darn good. They recover their footing this summer.

7. Phantom Regiment: 90.85 - They need to sack their entire design staff. I say this as a lifelong Phan. The only sticker on my car is a Phantom window decal. 1993 Phantom got me hooked on DCI. 2008 Phantom is my favorite show of all time. But look: their design team has got to go. All of them. 2014, 2015, and now 2016 all look and sound like generic DCI shows that any number of corps could have done. Their shows are stale, and even the kids performing the hell out of them isn't going to be enough to get out of the middle of the pack.

Sorry, I'm all out of commentary now.

8. Blue Knights: 90.35

9. Madison Scouts: 88.60

10. Boston Crusaders: 88.40

11. Blue Stars: 86.40

12. Crossmen: 85.10

13. Troopers: 84.10

14. Colts: 83.40

15. Spirit of Atlanta: 81.85

16. The Academy: 81.30

17. Oregon Crusaders: 79.55

18. Vanguard Cadets: 78.75

19. Blue Devils B: 78.65

20. Pacific Crest: 78.30

21. Mandarins: 77.20

22. Genesis: 73.05

23. Jersey Surf: 72.80

24. Spartans: 72.60

25. Cascades: 70.60