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Greatest Guard Performance Ever!


Guest GeorgeD

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Guest GeorgeD

I'll never forget a particular guard performance.  In 1990, the weekend prior to finals, in a huge downpour in Giant Stadium in Meadowlands, NJ Cadets guard performed their Bernstein Celebration show in bare feet and high winds... and with wet silks no less.  Somehow, no one fell...all catches were made..and the audience went nuts.  Outstanding and emotional guard performance I will NEVER forget.

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Yes, Madison's '95 was very energetic and one of my top Madison shows of all time. The guard work was surprisingly not that difficult of a book. I enjoyed that book more so than in the past three years.

As far as winter guards go, Escapade's REM show...awesome and should have won! Their drill lookes like something that Brubaker or Zingali would have written...fast and ferious!

As far as difficulty in DCI, I would have to say it would go to Cadets color guard.No,they haven't been the cleanest guard around, but in terms of "demand" they hit it on the nail!

CNAL

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  • 2 weeks later...

I guess I'm old school too, cause I not only remember those guards but I agree with you, Garyifny. One year I particalarly loved was the Blue Devils in 88 (or 89? -the gray year).  They were just so elegant.   In winter guard though, I must say there have been more incredible guards besides the Skylarks. They were fabulous and way ahead of their time. But, how about San Jose in their prime and even Logan as recently as last year to name a couple. There were several memorable WGI guards over the years, and not just the ones that won.  St. Anthony's, Odyssey, Erte, Emerald Marquis and many others that were so innovative and changed the face of winterguard.   Now I'm hard to impress- I've seen it all before, so if it blows me away- it must be something!

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The first guard that comes to mind, for me, is Blue Devils 1982. I saw them at the show in Evansville, Indiana, and they just blew me away. Well, OK, the whole corps blew me away, but that guard was just amazing.

My first winter guard experience was seeing the first-ever WGI finals in 1978. The sad thing is that I remember little about that show. I can vaguely recall little snippets of Quasar, Phantom, St. Anthony's Imperials, Marcus Whitman, Cavies, and, of course, Seattle Imperials and their ballet slippers. I had just begun spinning flag, myself, so I was only learning what was going on. I would've appreciated that contest so much more with a little more experience.

Found this web page with an article by Jeff Fiedler:

http://www.emeraldmarquis.com/wgi78.htm

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Drum Corps:  27th Lancers, 1979-1980; Cadets, 1983-1985, 1987, 1990; Phantom Regiment, 1979-1980; Cavaliers, 1986-1987.

Winterguard:  Skylarks, 1983-84.

Old school?  You bet.  Do I look it?  No.  ]:-)

Skylarks 1983, wow !!! how awesome was that show, too bad they choked on finals night(IE if you remember in the rifle feature, there were like 4 drops) ..and those outfits !!??!! They looked like bees that just flew out of a jar of grape jelly...I loved Skylarks, but Cavaliers were unstoppable....en fuego !!

~~G~~

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Skylarks 1983, wow !!! how awesome was that show, too bad they choked on finals night(IE if you remember in the rifle feature, there were like 4 drops) ..and those outfits !!??!! They looked like bees that just flew out of a jar of grape jelly...I loved Skylarks, but Cavaliers were unstoppable....en fuego !!

~~G~~

I saw Skylarks in prelims and finals that year. My jaw dropped and stayed propped open throughout their entire prelims performance. "Awesome" is an overused expression, but I think it's entirely fitting in their case. They were like a machine, almost like they really *were* extraterrestrial creatures. And Cavies . . . as great as that "James Bond" show was, it seemed lukewarm in comparison to Skylarks' eerie, ethereal, powerful "space" show.

Then, at finals, the roles were reversed. It seemed as if Skylarks suddenly realized they could win the whole thing, and froze. I could actually see "deer caught in the headlights" expressions on some of the guard members' faces. Meanwhile, Cavies seized the moment and had their performance of the year. Theirs was a "trick" show, and they did some of the most amazing tricks I've ever seen. It was so hard to watch retreat. I was happy for Cavaliers, but in my heart of hearts, I felt Skylarks was the best guard on the floor. But they just didn't pull it off that afternoon. That's what competition's all about.

Later that summer, I was at a workshop conducted by Fred Miller, and he said Skylarks had their worst performance of the entire season at finals. The disappointment must've been crushing for them.

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  • 3 weeks later...
As far as winter guards go, Escapade's REM show...awesome and should have won! Their drill lookes like something that Brubaker or Zingali would have written...fast and ferious!

CNAL

YES!!!  Escapade's REM year is absolutely incredible...I show it to everyone when I introduce them to winter guard (my friends are SO tired of that show now...LOL)  That has got to be some of the most difficult indoor drill I've ever seen...

DCI - BD '94 (just love the show) and of course Madison '95! I enjoyed Glassmen's guard this past year too - better than the previous two years. :)

DCA - Sun the year they did Les Mis...incredible for senior corps!  :)

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