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2019 Phantom Regiment


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On 4/30/2019 at 10:38 AM, Rocketman said:

The talent issue with the Regiment (IMO) is not with the members. (I think you know where I'm going with this.) They can only perform what they are given. What's the saying, 'you can put lipstick on a pig, but its still a pig.' The overall design was NOT top 12 material (again IMO). There were several better designed shows between 13 -15. It could be suggested that 'reputation' kept them (barely) in the top 12. I know I'm burning bridges here, and will probably never be welcomed back in Rockford, but I don't care. It is wholly unacceptable for the organization to be in this position. That they can't seem to keep, attract, or develop top level design talent is distressing to me.  

 

You're saying exactly what a lot of people have been saying and thinking for a long time.  And i don't buy the monetary problem.  I would bet if someone mounted a campaign to raise funds to be used solely for affording top notch staff the money would flood in.  There are too many people who love PR and want to see it succeed.  And secondly,  the habit of hiring alumni is and has never proven to be very successful.  It's a crutch that comes with many problems.  IMVHO, PR needs to clean house.

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1 hour ago, DFA1970 said:

I agree with what some are saying. The Joan of Ark show is another show style they have done before and to me they are not trying to push into the top elite 6...they are just trying to NOT to fall from finals. Mandarins last year was innovated, interesting and designed better than Phantom's show and totally deserved to be ahead of PR. It would not be a big surprise if Phantom didn't make finals in 19.

I agree it is unlikely that Phantom will make the top six this year or seven for that matter. I expect we will see the same top seven, with Cadets as a possible wild card, Cavies hard today, a fierce battle for third among BAC, Crown, and Bloo, and BD and SCV battling for first and second, and even that could change. 

I expect to see Blue Stars and Blue Knights in the same range this year. 

Some have suggested it will be harder for Mandarins to make finals for a second year, but their progress has been very consistent. I have not see too many predictions Crossmen will fall, though this has been the case in past preseasons and they make it. This does make it seem possible Phantom will fall. It depends. If Phantom learned from past mistakes, particularly 2017 and 2018, it’s possible. If not, Madison wants to return, Spirit is hungry, Colts could be too, and Academy would love another Saturday night performance.

While drum corps is somewhat predictable, at least in a general sense, there is still room for surprise. Look back to the fall of 2012 and Spring of 2013, Blue Knights was going to fall because “Avian” was less than well received. They rebounded in 2013 and “Avian” became visionary. 2016 Boston Crusaders barely made finals. The gathered a dream team staff but in the fall it was believed by some it would not make a difference, when news from camps emerged it was all hype. Come August lots of folks were eating crow. 

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34 minutes ago, EricS said:

You're saying exactly what a lot of people have been saying and thinking for a long time.  And i don't buy the monetary problem.  I would bet if someone mounted a campaign to raise funds to be used solely for affording top notch staff the money would flood in.  There are too many people who love PR and want to see it succeed.  And secondly,  the habit of hiring alumni is and has never proven to be very successful.  It's a crutch that comes with many problems.  IMVHO, PR needs to clean house.

I do think money is a big part of the problem. To attract and retain top-tier staff you have to be able to pay them. Both staff payroll costs and costs of running corps have ballooned since the 80s. We saw a lot of corps fold in the 80s because of the problem of paying staff being their means and then folding. It's definitely a problem. That being said, as someone who is not in the least qualified for any staff person on Regiment, even I would have had the sense to say, "Eh, I'm not so sure about that." I just don't get it. It's baffling.

It's even worse at Madison. If I was in charge and one of my designers brought that prop idea to me, I would have laughed thinking they were joking. When they replied it wasn't a joke I would have fired them. The narration was terrible too, as was the usage of the female player. What a waste of her talents.

Honestly, I don't know how these designers at Madison and Regiment actually have jobs. I mean, based on what I've read on here, most of us (if not all) at least know what NOT to do.

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7 minutes ago, Tim K said:

Some have suggested it will be harder for Mandarins to make finals for a second year. 

Not when you have JW. That guy is a stud! Everything he touches turns to gold. I expect them to be even better. Whether they place higher or not is one thing, but they will be better.

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8 minutes ago, Tim K said:

2016 Boston Crusaders barely made finals. The gathered a dream team staff but in the fall it was believed by some it would not make a difference, when news from camps emerged it was all hype. Come August lots of folks were eating crow. 

I was one of them eating crow. Big time. The dream staff sure did lure a lot top talent there, which I wasn't aware of until the season started. Such a great time for them.

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4 hours ago, queenanne_1536 said:

It's even worse at Madison. If I was in charge and one of my designers brought that prop idea to me, I would have laughed thinking they were joking. When they replied it wasn't a joke I would have fired them. The narration was terrible too, as was the usage of the female player. What a waste of her talents.

Honestly, I don't know how these designers at Madison and Regiment actually have jobs. I mean, based on what I've read on here, most of us (if not all) at least know what NOT to do.

I don't know if he was the designer that "brought that prop idea" at Madison last year, but the drill writer is now with Phantom Regiment. Digest that accordingly.

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7 hours ago, DFA1970 said:

I agree with what some are saying. The Joan of Ark show is another show style they have done before and to me they are not trying to push into the top elite 6...they are just trying to NOT to fall from finals. Mandarins last year was innovated, interesting and designed better than Phantom's show and totally deserved to be ahead of PR. It would not be a big surprise if Phantom didn't make finals in 19.

I've mentioned before that I'm just looking for competency in the design - something we haven't seen lately - not necessarily a push to top six.

And I'd argue we don't yet know enough about the Joan of Arc idea to suggest that they aren't trying to push into top six. But we do know enough about the current design team...

Edited by kdaddy
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4 hours ago, queenanne_1536 said:

Not when you have JW. That guy is a stud! Everything he touches turns to gold. I expect them to be even better. Whether they place higher or not is one thing, but they will be better.

That argument didn’t seem to work out with SoA

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14 hours ago, queenanne_1536 said:

I do think money is a big part of the problem. To attract and retain top-tier staff you have to be able to pay them. Both staff payroll costs and costs of running corps have ballooned since the 80s. We saw a lot of corps fold in the 80s because of the problem of paying staff being their means and then folding. It's definitely a problem. That being said, as someone who is not in the least qualified for any staff person on Regiment, even I would have had the sense to say, "Eh, I'm not so sure about that." I just don't get it. It's baffling.

It's even worse at Madison. If I was in charge and one of my designers brought that prop idea to me, I would have laughed thinking they were joking. When they replied it wasn't a joke I would have fired them. The narration was terrible too, as was the usage of the female player. What a waste of her talents.

Honestly, I don't know how these designers at Madison and Regiment actually have jobs. I mean, based on what I've read on here, most of us (if not all) at least know what NOT to do.

They don’t have the money to pay for staff of that level.

Thank goodness for duct tape. 

Edited by phd-student-TTU
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