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Biggest messups in DCA history?


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I saw this topic in the DCI forum and I though that it would be "fun" to start the thread up here.  So let's hear 'em.......

I'll add my 1980 VFW appearance by West Shore to the "All Time Greatest" when I have a little more time to tell the story as I saw it "unfold".  :P

crown 2004 singing... <**> ...OH...ooops wrong thread!

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Yup, it was a flag...  It was 1980 in the Meadowlands, the guard did a flag exchange OVER the Drum Line (what a GREAT idea).  If you heard a CLANK, you knew that something was going to fall onto you head.  However, this time the flag stuck staight through the xylophone.  I can't remember who the girl was that was playing the xylo, but she just kept playing and marching.

Eventually a judge came up and asked her "does this belong here?"  She shook her head "NO" and then he asked "Would you like me to remove it" and shook her head "YES" and continued her show.  B)

In 1981, George Parks was suppose to catch the mace in the middle of a circle of Guard members (I think it was an exchange with Daryl).  The mace was off target and George had to run for it.  As he ran, he tripped over a Guard member's foot and fell flat onto his back.  As I stood nearby playing Contra, I watched the mace FALL into his hands as he laid on his back on the field.

It was at that point that I realized that George Parks was not of this planet!  :ph34r:

The flag was stuck in Willie's xylo. I remember the picture was on the front page of Drum Corps News. That was not the only time George caught the mace flat on his back. I don't remember the show, but it was in '82, George came down the 50 to do the mace toss, catch and salute and the field was wet and as the mace went up, he went down and caught the mace at his throat.

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This one wasn't on the field, but remember the Governor's Cup event we played at Penn National Race Course when Tommy "how do you exit a bus at 70mph" Sipe did his high rifle toss...and ended up falling over the fence and STILL catching it! (while hanging from the fence) I'll never forget that standing in the arc and seeing it out of the corner of my eye! (Then the governor's wife walking by saying "OH what an excellant BAND!"

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1992 DCA Prelims

Empire Statesmen

They pulled out a huge American Flag to cover the corps as part of their show. The flag came out, it proceeded to tear into several pieces and everyone underneath it was caught in a big confusing mess. People were falling and crashing, but they still finished big.

'Member that?

very much so. I remember a very active crowd kind of going silent.

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This one wasn't on the field, but remember the Governor's Cup event we played at Penn National Race Course when Tommy "how do you exit a bus at 70mph" Sipe did his high rifle toss...and ended up falling over the fence and STILL catching it!  (while hanging from the fence) I'll never forget that standing in the arc and seeing it out of the corner of my eye!  (Then the governor's wife walking by saying "OH what an excellant BAND!"

I still have no idea how he caught that rifle hanging from the fence!

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Remember when Parks fell off the railing at Hagerstown in 87? ended up wearing a cast for finals

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1992 DCA Prelims

Empire Statesmen

They pulled out a huge American Flag to cover the corps as part of their show. The flag came out, it proceeded to tear into several pieces and everyone underneath it was caught in a big confusing mess. People were falling and crashing, but they still finished big.

'Member that?

We called it "the washing machine" because underneath the flag was a winding block and it acted like a spin-cycle on the tearing banner. Almost like the corps didn't want the flag to get away.

#2 bass drummer (Fran) came off the field covered in frayed string.

I was playing tenors and we saw the thing falling apart in front of us. One of the other tenor players, Dave Pascarella, literally gave me a push and said "THAT WAY!" or I would have ended up in the maelstrom as my dot was right in it.

Ugly. :(

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1984 Steel City Ambassadors, Montclair NJ show.

the third DM was given the chance to bring the corps onto the field and direct opener.  His directing voice was absolutley unintelligible - couldn't distinguish between 'attention', 'dress' or ' I slept in a Holiday Inn last night'.  Ended up with half the corps at ready, the other half at rest.  Instead of fixing it, he started the show with half the corps, the rest catching up to the drill about 10 measures in, and the music near the end of the opener.

Someone else can remember why, but somehow we were given a second chance to perform at the end of the show, and that score counted.

You might be mixing the "second chance" story with this one.......

Hershey 1985......Walter Kelly was on the gun. He fell asleep during SCA's show and thusly failed to fire the ending shot. Drum major was LIVID!

You guys got a second shot that night.

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How about 1990 Cumberland, MD (I believe it was 1990)  The guy who screwed up the Start Spangled Banner worse than anyone in history.  Now that was funny.

I was the PA guy for those Cumberland shows... there was a wicked delay because the speakers for the system were actually backfield.. so you'd speak into the microphone, then hear yourself over the PA system something like a full second later. Brutal.

I remember warning the Anthem singer about the delay. He ignored the warning. OOOOOPS!!!!

Fran

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