Famous, or infamous, corps stories, myths, legends

[kevingamin]

Someone else could probably go more in depth on this one but I heard a story recently that the Glassmen hornline had pizza delivered to retreat one night in the 80's sometime. Apparently the guy actually delivered the pizza on the field.

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If you want this story told right, you need Jim Fox to tell it. Since he's not a DCPer...

From what I understand, this was during the mid/late 80s when Glassmen was a small corps just hoping to make/stay in the Top 25. At the Port Clinton, Ohio show, which was essentially a home show for the Glassmen, the corps was set up in retreat next to the Troopers. Now, we all know how seriously Troopers take retreat. At the time, however, Glassmen DIDN'T take retreat seriously. I don't know if it was the hornline or the drumline, but one of the sections really did order pizza and have it delivered onto the retreat field. Bass drums, from what I understand, make great tables for serving pizza.

Now, the fun didn't really begin until somebody offered pizza to the Troopers... ^0^

[kevingamin]

Oh yeah, The Bluecoats stole the head of the Frisch's Big Boy (circa 1987).

.....not really an urban legend, but a funny story that started in Blue country.  "Did you hear, Bob Barker died....."  Has anyone else heard this on tour?

DW

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It was always Dick Clark when I heard that rumor...

[PeeJay]

Then men of Madison dont like to use the bus restrooms...so they kept milk jugs handy.

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I can tell you that is not a Madison thing.....maybe it was a Wisconsin thing ? :P

[kevingamin]

I can tell you that is not a Madison thing.....maybe it was a Wisconsin thing ?  :P

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I'd say it's a drum corps thing. I've seen Gatorade bottles kept just for this purpose. :D

[PeeJay]

I'd say it's a drum corps thing.  I've seen Gatorade bottles kept just for this purpose. :D

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Powerade i'd say :P

[kevingamin]

Powerade i'd say  :P

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Gives new meaning to Mountain Blast, doesn't it?

[ambassadorhorn]

Actually, this one's true....the year was 1985.  For some reason (dont remember why) equipment was stored for a night on the nice, brand new (that year) food semi (think Miss Amana from SCV....it was a thing of beauty!).

Re: the 1985 Blue Devils fire on tour:

The equipment truck broke down of course. "We can put all the equipment in the food truck and still get to the show on time. What could possibly go wrong?".

We stopped at a rest stop and as we were getting off the buses someone yelled: "The food truck is on fire!".

I remember brave and foolish people tossing horn cases out the back of the food trailer with the front still on fire before the fire trucks showed up. The grills in the trailer ran on propane and the tanks were still inside the trailer at the time.

They did manage to save all the horns and the gaurd equipment but as Sam posted almost all the field drums were destroyed. The only horn damaged was one run over by a truck in all the confusion.

I remember seeing members of the drum line sitting on a curb weeping with their burnt and melted drum cases in front of them. We thought that was the end of our season that night. We did start to pull it together when we left the rest stop where the fire was discovered. As a joke, we considered doing a variation on the SCV "corps wash" that they were using that year where we would appear on the field in burnt and smoking equipment and then after passing through the tunnel appear on the other side in clean equipment and uniforms.

In the end Ludwig saved our bacon although the big bass drum they sent didn't catch up with us until a week later. UPS was slower than a traveling drum corps.

I remember at the '94 BD banquet Mike Moxley, then BD director, saying to Wayne Downey something like: "I leave the corps with you for one night Wayne and look what happens!"

Edited July 26, 2005 by ambassadorhorn

[PeeJay]

Gives new meaning to Mountain Blast, doesn't it?

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Yeah and I was going to say something about the size of the bottle, but nevermind. This is a family show.

[bluecoats88]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the old rumor from the early 80's about the BD snare line all doing lines of coke off their drumheads before going into the stadium to perform.

Also 1983 Geneseo Knights who wouldn't let a judge break ranks or something like that somewhere around midseason. only to have their scores level off and corps that they had been beating started passing them and they missed finals that year after sitting in about 9th or 10th place mid season.

[RJM]

The bathrooms on the Madison buses in the '70's didn't work so the "botttle method" for urine storage occasionally had to be used. In '78 (?'79) the horn bus took some sharp turns in the Colorodo Rockies and a glass orange juice container full of urine (maybe one gallon) came crashing down on one poor guy's head. :sshh:

He was drenched, his head was gashed open and it wasn't even his own bottle! True story, happened one seat in front off me.