Phantom Regiment 2023

[regimentlvr]

49 minutes ago, college-phan said:

Yeah this is my biggest take away from this season. They could end up in 5th, they could end up in 7th. This is still a huge step forward that will set them up to compete at the elite level for the foreseeable future.

If there is any issue with this show, and I don’t think you can call it an issue, it’s just that the design staff wasn’t sure how talented the membership was and played it safe. That’s a very reasonable strategy too, considering it’s a fairly young corps. Also, I think we forget they completely switched marching techniques this season (which I think played a large part in the visual design for this 2023 show).

Whatever happens this year, I see Phantom coming out for blood next season with a veteran membership, a difficult visual program, and a beefy brass book. If they build as I expect they will, they’re just going to fill the space that SCV left behind. They legitimately have the design staff to win a championship, it’s just all about ramping up to that point.

I want to feel this way but I have mixed feelings. All of the top 12 corps are getting better and better and if phantom is to remain relevant they are going to need to dial it up. This year is miles ahead of last years show, but they may place 1 position higher, or the same placement with the cavaliers closing in. Doesn’t that leave them right where they started?

[KVG_DC]

Agreed on the step forward. 

Had they not taken it, they’d be no where near even sniffing 5th and fortunate to be aspiring for 7th if that given how strong this year is. 

[Weaklefthand4ever]

14 minutes ago, regimentlvr said:

I want to feel this way but I have mixed feelings. All of the top 12 corps are getting better and better and if phantom is to remain relevant they are going to need to dial it up. This year is miles ahead of last years show, but they may place 1 position higher, or the same placement with the cavaliers closing in. Doesn’t that leave them right where they started?

You make these dramatic changes to impact not so much season 1, as you do effect season 2, 3 and onwards. You have to build the foundation before you build the house. This is a new foundation. Next you build the house and that will take a few seasons. Then add in some old family PR decorations and suddenly you're in the game again. 

I said it after show #1 and I'll say it again. Top 7 makes me happy with such huge changes in design. 2 or 3 seasons more after that and we'll see how strong the product is. Give it time for the foundation to dry before you start worrying about framing the house.

[Weaklefthand4ever]

I know this is an odd question, but does anyone know how many returning vets PR had in their battery and FE? They're getting cleaner but they don't seem as comfortable physically as I have seen in the past and I think it comes through on how the battery and FE book plays. Granted this is just my opinion but it does seem to align with the scores.

I will say that the flat line technique looks far more natural this year though. 

[college-phan]

40 minutes ago, Weaklefthand4ever said:

I know this is an odd question, but does anyone know how many returning vets PR had in their battery and FE? They're getting cleaner but they don't seem as comfortable physically as I have seen in the past and I think it comes through on how the battery and FE book plays. Granted this is just my opinion but it does seem to align with the scores.

I will say that the flat line technique looks far more natural this year though. 

From my info (I’m not super in-the-know when it comes to percussion), it’s a younger battery and front ensemble. I think they had a decent bit of membership turnover there. Again, I might be wrong, but that’s what I’ve heard.

[kdaddy]

5 hours ago, regimentlvr said:

I want to feel this way but I have mixed feelings. All of the top 12 corps are getting better and better and if phantom is to remain relevant they are going to need to dial it up. This year is miles ahead of last years show, but they may place 1 position higher, or the same placement with the cavaliers closing in. Doesn’t that leave them right where they started?

Absolutely not. This year's show is far more sophisticated than 2022, and it's on the path to what they need to be doing. 

I alluded to this in the Allentown show thread, but I don't think the corps should be shouldered with unrealistic expectations from fans. Someone in this thread in the last couple weeks suggested top 4. Seriously?!?

I'd like to see Regiment in the top 6, but I'm far more interested in competence, and they have that in spades after years without it. Also, if they wind up in 7th, that means Mandarins made the top 6 for the first time ever, and Cadets are in the top 6 for back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2016. Both of these feats would be remarkable.

Also, let's not act as though they didn't beat Cavies in 2022 by essentially a rounding error. They easily could've been 9th last year.

[Rocketman]

On 8/3/2023 at 8:11 PM, Mello Dude said:

Not worried.  Phantom has always been an end of year corps.  They can get butts out of the seats.

This may be true, butt, can they get points out of judges? That still remains to be seen. 

[regimentlvr]

42 minutes ago, kdaddy said:

Absolutely not. This year's show is far more sophisticated than 2022, and it's on the path to what they need to be doing. 

I alluded to this in the Allentown show thread, but I don't think the corps should be shouldered with unrealistic expectations from fans. Someone in this thread in the last couple weeks suggested top 4. Seriously?!?

I'd like to see Regiment in the top 6, but I'm far more interested in competence, and they have that in spades after years without it. Also, if they wind up in 7th, that means Mandarins made the top 6 for the first time ever, and Cadets are in the top 6 for back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2016. Both of these feats would be remarkable.

Also, let's not act as though they didn't beat Cavies in 2022 by essentially a rounding error. They easily could've been 9th last year.

If the Mandarins can go from 10th to 5th why can’t Phantom? Not arguing with you, just saying it can be done. 

[PRomoter]

2013 - 6th

2014 - 7th

2015 - 7th

2016 - 8th

2017 - 9th

2018 - 11th

2019 - 12th

2022 - 8th

2023 - 5/6/7?

that’s a huge comeback in anyone’s book. Good things happening. We are all enjoying the show. We’re just wanting to have our own feelings about Regiment verified by a placement. Let’s just enjoy the final week and be super excited about what an incredible turnaround they’ve had. I have loved every second of each year since 2021, and it seems to be getting better every day. This is what we all wanted. Don’t let it escape you that it is happening right now  

 

[kdaddy]

30 minutes ago, regimentlvr said:

If the Mandarins can go from 10th to 5th why can’t Phantom? Not arguing with you, just saying it can be done. 

Of course it can be done! It's certainly possible that we're celebrating a narrow 5th place finish in a week. 

And of course it's possible that a corps like Regiment can go from 8th to 5th or Mandarins go from 10th to 5th. But there could be a caption or two here or there that prevent it regardless of overall design successes.

My point was that we shouldn't let our possibly misguided expectations impact (too much) how we feel about this season. We did that to ourselves, and that's our fault. Tremendous improvement regardless.