Still Crum-bling on the hill in Allentown - August 5, 2023

[craiga]

Is it just me, or has someone suggested that "well, BD had an off night" or "it wasn't their best run" after every show during the past week?   

And, this whole equivocation about the Saturday corps having an extra day of rehearsal is pure boulderdash. 

Isn't this the corps which was certain to blow everybody away by two points?

Look, they may well still win, but an upset by BAC, Crown or Bluecoats has to be in the conversation now...at the very least.

Look on the bright side, BD: by going  last at quarterfinals, at least you'll have 17 additional minutes of rehearsal time that day..

 

[90svet]

19 minutes ago, craiga said:

Is it just me, or has someone suggested that "well, BD had an off night" or "it wasn't their best run" after every show during the past week?   

And, this whole equivocation about the Saturday corps having an extra day of rehearsal is pure boulderdash. 

Isn't this the corps which was certain to blow everybody away by two points?

Look, they may well still win, but an upset by BAC, Crown or Bluecoats has to be in the conversation now...at the very least.

Look on the bright side, BD: by going  last at quarterfinals, at least you'll have 17 additional minutes of rehearsal time that day..

 

The "BD had an off night" nonsense has existed for years.  It's BD homers' way of consoling themselves when they see that BD may not be in the sure-win situation that they had expected.

Sure, BD may very likely come out on top when it counts, on Saturday.  But, they will have other corps in their heels.  IMO, this tight competition helps BD moreso than it harms them, as they would be victorious over corps with similarly-strong chances of victory.

[kdaddy]

4 minutes ago, 90svet said:

The "BD had an off night" nonsense has existed for years.  It's BD homers' way of consoling themselves when they see that BD may not be in the sure-win situation that they had expected.

Replace "BD" with "<insert my favorite corps>," and yes

[LabMaster]

6 hours ago, jasgre2000 said:

Look at the scores from Houston (7/21) and San Antonio (7/22). Every corps that performed at Houston had their score go up in San Antonio. Is that just because there were different judges? Is there something magic about Allentown that keeps the Saturday corps from progressing at all on Friday?

Call it whatever you want, but you are never going to get a fair comparison when you are judging corps on two different nights. It doesn't matter that much, but this idea that it should be treated as one show where everyone is judged alike is just fiction. Why? Because DCI says so? Facts are facts.

As explained to you by another poster: Atown is same judges in the same positions, 2 days in a row.  The judges are quite capable of viewing, ranking and rating effectively over the two shows.  No one has had a rehearsal advantage in those last couple of days. But keep resisting.  ALL other shows have different judging panels judging on different night in different sites, other than Indy.

[Tim K]

33 minutes ago, craiga said:Is it just me, or has someone suggested that "well, BD had an off night" or "it wasn't their best run" after every show during the past week?   

And, this whole equivocation about the Saturday corps having an extra day of rehearsal is pure boulderdash. 

Isn't this the corps which was certain to blow everybody away by two points?

Look, they may well still win, but an upset by BAC, Crown or Bluecoats has to be in the conversation now...at the very least.

Look on the bright side, BD: by going  last at quarterfinals, at least you'll have 17 additional minutes of rehearsal time that day..

 

I can’t speak for those who saw Friday night on Flo, but seeing BD live, I did not think Blue Devils had an off night in Allentown. The show is colorful, creative, well designed, and “Both Sides Now “ is one of the season’s best ballads. I thought Bluecoats had a better run in Lawrence than Allentown, but it was still an amazing performance. Crown blew me away with that amazing sound. BAC could go in the field, play “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and I’d still think it’s great, but last night was an unforgettable night. I think some folks believe this year’s show is the greatest Blue Devils show ever, something that in the case of Blue Devils, who has had so many amazing shows over the years, can’t be determined until the season is over. That being said, the two pointers fans should probably rewatch 2014, a year BD did have a two point spread and more than deserved the victory. Then watch Bloo and Cadets. That’s what a two point spread looks like, at least in my opinion.

[Tim K]

33 minutes ago, kdaddy said:

Replace "BD" with "<insert my favorite corps>," and yes

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Tim K

[drumcorpsfever]

Two point difference was clearly the case in Atlanta. It was plain for all to see. In Allentown, no. You can see things are legitimately tighter between 1-4.  indy is going to be a rush!

[NewArpege]

BD has a wonderful and hyper-engaging show this year that is maxed out with visual drill and GE everywhere. They aren’t anywhere near as clean as BAC though, whose drill is about as clean as possible. They also aren’t as strong as Crown brass, who has the most full-bodied depth of any corp. 

BD has rightfully dominated all season, and right now, the top 4 deserve to be neck and neck. I hope next weekend is full of flipping between the top 4. It’d be great for it all to be up in the air each night. 

[LabMaster]

4 minutes ago, NewArpege said:

BD has a wonderful and hyper-engaging show this year that is maxed out with visual drill and GE everywhere. They aren’t anywhere near as clean as BAC though, whose drill is about as clean as possible. They also aren’t as strong as Crown brass, who has the most full-bodied depth of any corp. 

BD has rightfully dominated all season, and right now, the top 4 deserve to be neck and neck. I hope next weekend is full of flipping between the top 4. It’d be great for it all to be up in the air each night. 

Totally agree.  The initial thinking by many that this was BD’s year, no one would catch them, is proving to be a false acquiescence to BD’s creativity and performance ability.  What was not being considered or given credit for, was the ability of Boston, Crown and Bloo’s staffs to improve their shows with smart layering and development and generally cleaning the bejesus out of each caption. BD is not running away with it.  I mentioned before that it’s not that BD is that good, it is also that these other corps are pretty darn good themselves.  Additionally the past few years there has always been talk of how good the top 6 are.  I believe this year this has expanded to the top 8.  We are being treated to some great and amazingly diverse shows.

[MikeRapp]

12 hours ago, jjeffeory said:

No, no, no. The corps don't support the assertion that SCV members went to other corps making them better. ..and we've also been told that the percussion section sat out this year en masse so that's 30 something less people to go to other corps to start with.

The corps are never going to admit that, though.