Gary Matczak Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 in the 70's you had several that did the RCA circuit, but attendance wasn't always stellar at those shows shows around the circuit, not sure,.......but every RCA championships held in Erie in those days drew well over 5000 fans,............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Hey Mike don't forget the BIG ONE! St. Andrews became the Bayonne Bridgemen. Ahem...I think a group that used to be called "Holy Name" might also have a shot at being called the Big One! You are of course right on as well...and there are more! I used to compete in the GSC at shows with St Andrews...note I don't say "compete against", given the 15-20 points between us. We did have one thing in common...brass guy Bucky Swan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 ... and they still play White Rabbit ... right, Mike? Ahem...I think a group that used to be called "Holy Name" might also have a shot at being called the Big One! You are of course right on as well...and there are more! I used to compete in the GSC at shows with St Andrews...note I don't say "compete against", given the 15-20 points between us. We did have one thing in common...brass guy Bucky Swan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 (edited) Lot of RCA shows that I was at were in the boonies (Frackville, PA always comes to mind) and not very big stadiums. The prize money was smaller and the ticket prices were less than DCA shows. Still remember Hershman saying we got more for coming in last at DCA than coming in first at RCA. The boonie shows were run by Fire Companies or other local community groups for fund raisers. But as costs (gas) went up the RCA shows had to charge more to make expenses and less peole would attend. Finally the show was a losing deal and was discontinued. So now it was a longer distance to get to shows still around, drives up the bus bill, corps needs more money... repeat vicious cycle. Biggest and nicest stadium I can remember in RCA was York, PA which was probably a HS stadium or Hanovers municipal Sheppard-Myers.. Edited September 19, 2015 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErieSopMike Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 This may hint at an important issue related to the subject of audience attendance: even if the number of corps at DCA championships has remained relatively stable through the years, how many other all-age corps were they competing with over the course of a season in the past? Just checking on the one non-championship score that Corps Reps has for Wind Gap (Aug. 26, 1978 in Niagara Falls), I see three corps listed--New Horizon, Kawartha Kavaliers, and Niagra Regionnaires--who were not at DCA Prelims that year. How many more were there in 1978? A dozen or more? Nowadays, almost every competing all-age corps appears at championships. (All of them this year, I think, and all but one last year.) Every additional corps that was around presumably meant more fans, and more shows, and more people who might attend DCA championships. This is something I've been trying to get at. There are lots of corps out there that play and are under the radar. There's a lot of alumni corps that are playing and you don't hear much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 This is something I've been trying to get at. There are lots of corps out there that play and are under the radar. There's a lot of alumni corps that are playing and you don't hear much. Yet with the addition of the Alumni spectacular at DCA how many people actually attend it. ALSO how many alumni actually go to DCA finals. I know of many alumni parties going on DURING DCA finals 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErieSopMike Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Yet with the addition of the Alumni spectacular at DCA how many people actually attend it. ALSO how many alumni actually go to DCA finals. I know of many alumni parties going on DURING DCA finals Well, if there's a way that there can be a compromise and a competition corps be spun off, then the alumni could go and support the competing corps. I know this is a very touchy issue, but the Bucs and Cabs both have active competition and alumni corps... If it would be possible to branch that out and have more corps do that, you have options for everyone who wants to be involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 (edited) Well, if there's a way that there can be a compromise and a competition corps be spun off, then the alumni could go and support the competing corps. I know this is a very touchy issue, but the Bucs and Cabs both have active competition and alumni corps... If it would be possible to branch that out and have more corps do that, you have options for everyone who wants to be involved. I had a very long conversation with Jim costello ( rest his soul ) director of the Cabs at the time the Alumni was formed, He had many concerns over it for some very good reasons. with the corps you mentioned, what makes you think those alumni corps all show at finals. They dont, I have a realtive who was texting me from one of their parties while finals was going on. It is a very different mind set . Not right or wrong, just different. AS I said, for the Alumni Spect. how many spectators actually show for that today? Edited September 19, 2015 by GUARDLING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErieSopMike Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 I had a very long conversation with Jim costello ( rest his soul ) director of the Cabs at the time the Alumni was formed, He had many concerns over it for some very good reasons. with the corps you mentioned, what makes you think those alumni corps all show at finals. They dont, I have a realtive who was texting me from one of their parties while finals was going on. It is a very different mind set . Not right or wrong, just different. AS I said, for the Alumni Spect. how many spectators actually show for that today? Again, I used Reilly as an example only. If the Alumni Spect. is having lesser numbers in attendance each year, then something needs to promote/enhance it. Maybe having an Alumni Spectacular shouldn't be an event at all, but over the course of the ENTIRE finals weekend, have alumni corps playing everywhere. I&E's, before, during and after prelims and finals. There's that 25 minute intermission between competing corps, well, put an alumni corps in there. Sure, that's when people use the restrooms and such, but it's an idea. I'd love to know more about the concerns that were addressed when you talked with Jim (feel free to PM me about that). I'd like to think that any idea is a good idea. It may or may not be possible to fix things, but if people don't offer up any solutions then ultimately, the decline will continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 (edited) Again, I used Reilly as an example only. If the Alumni Spect. is having lesser numbers in attendance each year, then something needs to promote/enhance it. Maybe having an Alumni Spectacular shouldn't be an event at all, but over the course of the ENTIRE finals weekend, have alumni corps playing everywhere. I&E's, before, during and after prelims and finals. There's that 25 minute intermission between competing corps, well, put an alumni corps in there. Sure, that's when people use the restrooms and such, but it's an idea. I'd love to know more about the concerns that were addressed when you talked with Jim (feel free to PM me about that). I'd like to think that any idea is a good idea. It may or may not be possible to fix things, but if people don't offer up any solutions then ultimately, the decline will continue. Creating more doesnt mean creating better\ imo. There mare many shows during the season that many spectators think there are way to many alumni as it is. Many say i didnt come here to see this I came to see a contest not a stroll down memory lane. A while is fine some shows its longer than the contest. Creating more also means thinning out. do you think thats good? There are also many corps DCI as well as DCA that do not encourage I&A saying, THIS is you focuse , the team , not the individual. many corps feel this way. Sent you a PM Edited September 19, 2015 by GUARDLING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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