Cappybara Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 What "I wish" is that BD would perform shows that were as demanding as Crown, Coats, or especially Cadets, and then see who actually is better. BD winning the Sanford is laughable, for example. Cadets book was harder, and the drill/movement demands on the Cadets drumline was arguably twice that of the Devils. Yes, BD's show concept was great, and the staged design very clever. Much more coherent and impactful than the Cadets. But to pretend that BD's show isn't aimed at the judges by deftly managing risk and playing to the sheets every single year is willful ignorance. They win because that's all they care about. Don't believe me? Talk to a MM or alumnus. Ever since the 80s, all they care about is the rings. Whatever it takes to get yet another, they'll do. That's not a huge knock on the organization, because they are able to consistently do that better than anyone, but to imply that they're somehow playing to the audience, like maybe Madison, is just silly. And.. Who cares? They performed their show better than the Cadets performed theirs. Id rather watch a show being done near perfectly than watching dirt in championship week. Doesn't matter anyways since once the season is over, I pay absolutely no attention to drill because all I do is listen to the shows, not watch them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) And.. Who cares? They performed their show better than the Cadets performed theirs. Id rather watch a show being done near perfectly than watching dirt in championship week. Doesn't matter anyways since once the season is over, I pay absolutely no attention to drill because all I do is listen to the shows, not watch them.Agreed. They won the Gold and Cadets didn't even medal. BD knows their show was easier than probably the other top four corps. Big deal. It's GE that's the big caption and they're strong there and have no weak captions. Hopefully Cadets get that design act together and with that talent, they would be untouchable. Edited August 11, 2015 by Tobias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsnare Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Posted by George Hopkins himself on Facebook: "We took on the most difficult book and visual program in a long long long time. And the kids were magnificent Kudos to the other three corps butting heads but if I was judging ...... Thanks to all for the support. It was a fabulous ride. I am honored and I assure you that Me and the design team will be back next year with a show that will again amaze and thrill Next year begins now I love this corps and I have never felt so privileged to have the job I have These young men and women are my heroes. Carpe Diem" Wow, George capiatlized "Me"!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlejaw Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 No. Sorry. The Cavaliers starting in 2000 became the masters of sleight-of-hand drill: all the most difficult playing is done when not moving, or moving very little, or only part of the corps that is playing the difficult music is at a standstill or mostly at a standstill. Most all of the really difficult drill the Cavies ever did was while no one was playing. The judges and fans ate it up. I just found it to be risk management, rather than truly trying something difficult. Re watch your DVDs and read our dotbooks, marching 200+ and playing was all 2007 was. You wanna play a feature while marching at 212 and then do a guard roll and continue marching, be my guest, you think it is really easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brichtimp Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Agreed. They won the Gold and Cadets didn't even medal. BD knows their show was easier than probably the other top four corps. Big deal. It's GE that's the big caption and they're strong there and have no weak captions. Hopefully Cadets get that design act together and with that talent, they would be untouchable. Well, I appreciate the relative perfection of the BD GE execution and design; but in my opinion, their show totally lacked the relentless intensity that the Cadets show brought to the field. I will enjoy both on BluRay (I hope) because excellence takes many forms at this level. Cadets were three hundredths of a point from sweeping Ott and Sanford awards, so that ensures an enjoyable listening experience even if a fan doesn't care to view the shows down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouooga Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 If we're talking hardest as in "this is what we want you to do, now execute" and it's hard to do exactly that, I'm going to say SCV 2003. Let's just put the entire corps 100 yard apart and have them play together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Well, I appreciate the relative perfection of the BD GE execution and design; but in my opinion, their show totally lacked the relentless intensity that the Cadets show brought to the field. I will enjoy both on BluRay (I hope) because excellence takes many forms at this level. Cadets were three hundredths of a point from sweeping Ott and Sanford awards, so that ensures an enjoyable listening experience even if a fan doesn't care to view the shows down the road.Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallace Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 (edited) I absolutely adored this year's offering from the Cadets. It was without a doubt one of the most difficult shows ever brought to the field. The general effect and the emotion were in the performance, but some folks including judges just could not seem to wrap their heads around that notion. Such is the nature of the beast. Regarding ReRite of Spring: That is quite possibly my favorite Blue Devils show of this decade. I found the music especially memorable and masterful. Edited August 12, 2015 by wallace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 And.. Who cares? They performed their show better than the Cadets performed theirs. Id rather watch a show being done near perfectly than watching dirt in championship week. Doesn't matter anyways since once the season is over, I pay absolutely no attention to drill because all I do is listen to the shows, not watch them. ehh. It's apples and oranges. Cadets weren't playing "dirty" - they were pretty near perfection too That said - I think BD was a terrific battery. As was Coats. As was SCV. Frankly any of them could have taken it, BD just averaged slightly better over the three nights. Extremely slightly. Maybe less drill demand helped that consistency. Cadets won semi I believe and SCV prelims. It was really close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I absolutely adored this year's offering from the Cadets. It was without a doubt one of the most difficult shows ever brought to the field. The general effect and the emotion were in the performance, but some folks including judges just could not seem to wrap their heads around that notion. Such is the nature of the beast. Regarding ReRite of Spring: That is quite possibly my favorite Blue Devils show of this decade. I found the music especially memorable and masterful. we are really debating greatness vs. greatness I personally (as a Cadet fan) though Cadets show felt flat vs. the other top 4 - pains me to say that but I think some of the staging and decisions made and the guard just didn't gel as much as they were hoping the last 3 weeks. The other 3 rapidly improved in terms of GE and Cadets program just sat there. Still GREAT. But you can tell from the crowd it just wasn't selling as well as the others. JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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