2023 Season Predictions

[jwillis35]

4 minutes ago, craiga said:

So, I have another question regarding the Blue Devils, and I am interested in people's thoughts, especially Chief Guns.  I will start out by absolutely acknowledging their consistent dominance and again reiterate my position that they won in 2022 because they were the best.

Having said that, does anyone here think that BD is actually GETTING BETTER each and every year?  They obviously know how to win the big dance, but was BD 22 better than BD 19? 18?  Thoughts?

I do think the brass caption for them has been hit and miss over the 2010s going into 2020s. Last year they won high brass but it was not their best line IMO (and I only say that because BD have had some amazing lines over the years) and eventually Carolina caught them on Finals night. Having said that getting caught by Carolina in brass is not exactly a bad thing. I see that John Meehan left for a new gig in Canada. So that may change some things (unless he is still helping BD this summer). 

Boston has certainly risen to their level in guard but BD's guard is still pretty fabulous so I don't see that as a weakness. Percussion continues to be strong for BD and usually top 3 most years. Where I have seen an improvement with BD is in GE. Go back to 2010 for instance. That show easily won the title but many fans griped that it was a golf clap show. Personally I liked the show but I know many did not. But since 2014 I have noticed that BD is appealing to more and more. They continue to win due to sheer excellence, but they certainly have put more fan-friendly moments into their shows since 2014. So I do think they have improved in GE and perhaps even visual over the years. Brass, percussion and guard continue to be top 3 level captions which is always good, but GE to me as been upped a notch. 

[Ediker]

1 hour ago, craiga said:

Having said that, does anyone here think that BD is actually GETTING BETTER each and every year?  They obviously know how to win the big dance, but was BD 22 better than BD 19? 18?  Thoughts?

Depends on how one defines better, I guess. One can argue the activity itself improves each year due to innovations, style updates, and evolving audience/judge expectations.  Many top corps age out a high percentage of their most experienced and mature MMs. Maintaining a high achievement level with many new members each year is a huge accomplishment in itself. The competitive landscape also changes yearly. I can’t say whether BD 2019 or 2022 was better. Both were winners and both navigated a different set of challenges to reach the top. 

[Tim K]

1 hour ago, craiga said:

So, I have another question regarding the Blue Devils, and I am interested in people's thoughts, especially Chief Guns.  I will start out by absolutely acknowledging their consistent dominance and again reiterate my position that they won in 2022 because they were the best.

Having said that, does anyone here think that BD is actually GETTING BETTER each and every year?  They obviously know how to win the big dance, but was BD 22 better than BD 19? 18?  Thoughts?

This is an interesting question. Overall I do not think drum corps has gotten better over the past let’s say ten years. This is not a slight. The young people we see on the field are the best the activity has to offer and they are amazing. There have been innovations and changes such as in uniform, amplification, prop use, etc., but these things make it different but not necessarily better or worse. I think individual corps improve and some decline. I don’t see that changing in the near future.

Regarding Blue Devils, I think in the past ten years or so they have become consistent. We see less experimentation as we did in shows such as “Cabaret Voltaire” or “Rewrite of Spring” but there are more unforgettable and impactful moments. This has made Blue Devils more popular with the audience and I feel has decreased the hatred of the Blue Devils. While Blue Devils is still a destination corps and perhaps the most competitive corps to join, they have also nurtured more veterans. I was told this was intentional and a way the corps reasonably knows what to plan for the following year.

So are we seeing a better Blue Devils, hard to say, but even if someone says no, we’re still talking about a powerhouse. Is the corps more competitive? Here I would have to say yes. Blue Devils knows how to win.

[jjeffeory]

2 hours ago, craiga said:

So, I have another question regarding the Blue Devils, and I am interested in people's thoughts, especially Chief Guns.  I will start out by absolutely acknowledging their consistent dominance and again reiterate my position that they won in 2022 because they were the best.

Having said that, does anyone here think that BD is actually GETTING BETTER each and every year?  They obviously know how to win the big dance, but was BD 22 better than BD 19? 18?  Thoughts?

No. Corps aren't getting better, they're just different.

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by jjeffeory

[Boss Anova]

 Covid effected the quality of shows and performances since 2019 as it interrupted the flow of marchers to and from corps. Under the unusual circumstances, DCI allowed an extra year to march which  made the exhibition season top heavy with veterans. The 165 max on the field rule was temporarily waived during this period. As such,   some Corps had as many as 90 brass and 50 + guard out there, and well over 165 total on the field... one Corps over 200..

 Since then, DCI has adopted a truncated season that goes between 4-6 weeks for most Corps now. Corps that once had 30-32 competition shows, now have 21-24 in a shortened season with travel costs one of several factors for this. Put these ( and other factors together ), if some are noticing a fall off in performance execution quality , especially in the post covid period, these things might help explain why, imo.

 As for the Blue Devils, their performance quality levels may or may not have been advesely effected by these things ( as well as extended layoff ), but nevertheless, their quality levels by Championships week was superior to all others, and thus their 3  wins  with 3 different judging panels was both compelling and deserved, imo

[Cadet Guardy]

Perhaps this paticular thread just isn't for me but the monotonous Blue Devil talk has me 🤯 I'll throw out a prediction here - Cadets in 4th this year pushing Crown to 5th. I'm hearing incredible things from the inside but don't want to spoil anything. 

[BlueStainGlass]

6 minutes ago, Cadet Guardy said:

Perhaps this paticular thread just isn't for me but the monotonous Blue Devil talk has me 🤯 I'll throw out a prediction here - Cadets in 4th this year pushing Crown to 5th. I'm hearing incredible things from the inside but don't want to spoil anything. 

Id be worried if you were hearing bad things from inside. 

[TheOneWhoKnows]

1 hour ago, jwillis35 said:

I do think the brass caption for them has been hit and miss over the 2010s going into 2020s. Last year they won high brass but it was not their best line IMO (and I only say that because BD have had some amazing lines over the years) and eventually Carolina caught them on Finals night. Having said that getting caught by Carolina in brass is not exactly a bad thing. I see that John Meehan left for a new gig in Canada. So that may change some things (unless he is still helping BD this summer). 

Boston has certainly risen to their level in guard but BD's guard is still pretty fabulous so I don't see that as a weakness. Percussion continues to be strong for BD and usually top 3 most years. Where I have seen an improvement with BD is in GE. Go back to 2010 for instance. That show easily won the title but many fans griped that it was a golf clap show. Personally I liked the show but I know many did not. But since 2014 I have noticed that BD is appealing to more and more. They continue to win due to sheer excellence, but they certainly have put more fan-friendly moments into their shows since 2014. So I do think they have improved in GE and perhaps even visual over the years. Brass, percussion and guard continue to be top 3 level captions which is always good, but GE to me as been upped a notch. 

I agree that technically it may now have been their best brass last year, but the way the music was written and their overall ability to handle it and to blend as a hornline is what kept them at the top. 

[Chief Guns]

3 hours ago, craiga said:

So, I have another question regarding the Blue Devils, and I am interested in people's thoughts, especially Chief Guns.  I will start out by absolutely acknowledging their consistent dominance and again reiterate my position that they won in 2022 because they were the best.

Having said that, does anyone here think that BD is actually GETTING BETTER each and every year?  They obviously know how to win the big dance, but was BD 22 better than BD 19? 18?  Thoughts?

I think @jwillis35nailed it with his comment above brother. Those are my feelings exactly. My apologies if that's taking the easy way out. 

 

 

[Vidal28Rdg]

3 hours ago, jwillis35 said:

I do think the brass caption for them has been hit and miss over the 2010s going into 2020s. Last year they won high brass but it was not their best line IMO (and I only say that because BD have had some amazing lines over the years) and eventually Carolina caught them on Finals night. Having said that getting caught by Carolina in brass is not exactly a bad thing. I see that John Meehan left for a new gig in Canada. So that may change some things (unless he is still helping BD this summer). 

Boston has certainly risen to their level in guard but BD's guard is still pretty fabulous so I don't see that as a weakness. Percussion continues to be strong for BD and usually top 3 most years. Where I have seen an improvement with BD is in GE. Go back to 2010 for instance. That show easily won the title but many fans griped that it was a golf clap show. Personally I liked the show but I know many did not. But since 2014 I have noticed that BD is appealing to more and more. They continue to win due to sheer excellence, but they certainly have put more fan-friendly moments into their shows since 2014. So I do think they have improved in GE and perhaps even visual over the years. Brass, percussion and guard continue to be top 3 level captions which is always good, but GE to me as been upped a notch. 

I would definitely be surprised for BD if this year’s wasn’t a fan favorite, not that there isn’t a lot of opposition to BD due to the sport of it all and spectators wanting their favorite/another corps to win, but I’m sure this one’s gonna be a crowd pleaser, and it can be said that a lot shows will be this year. Crown, BAC, Phantom, Cadets, and more will all have fun shows and lots of fantastic moments this year, I believe👀