ambassadorhorn Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 It appears that DA was correct. The '06 Scranton/AL Champs show is to be invitation only. Also, it seems that some upstate NY corps aren't invited. Not quite fair to host a "national championship" and then not allow anyone who wanted to compete to take a shot at the title. It appears, somehow, disquieting.I thought the AL Championship show at Scranton started in 1997, but '98 is close enough. Is there information about the 2006 Scranton show on-line somewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixtysomething Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Is there information about the 2006 Scranton show on-line somewhere? If you look at DCA website Aug 19th there are two contests. One in Scranton (which is now officially Legion Championship) and one in Corning NY. If what I hear is true: Doc is running the show and it is by invitation only. 1st time in history that LC have not been open to any corps with Legion Affilitation Empire and Brigs together about 10 time champs. (someone will correct me, but actual number is not the point.) Fact is they are not invited and will compete in Corning that night. Some corps invited have never won a LC. Form your own opinions/conclusions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Doc is running the show and it is by invitation only. 1st time in history that LC have not been open to any corps with Legion Affilitation The AL shows from 1997 through 2001 at Scranton (before the AL Championship was tied in with DCA Finals in '02) were also invitationals. You had to have a Legion affiliation to compete, but not every corps with that affiliation was invited. I do know that there was some talk around 1997-98 to perhaps make the show a prelims/finals format, to allow any corps with AL affiliation to compete, but that idea wasn't implemented for whatever reason. Fran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 If you look at DCA website Aug 19th there are two contests. One in Scranton (which is now officially Legion Championship) and one in Corning NY.If what I hear is true: Doc is running the show and it is by invitation only. 1st time in history that LC have not been open to any corps with Legion Affilitation Empire and Brigs together about 10 time champs. (someone will correct me, but actual number is not the point.) Fact is they are not invited and will compete in Corning that night. Some corps invited have never won a LC. Form your own opinions/conclusions. the conclusion is, the American legion lets Doc do what Doc wants to do, and if in fact Doc were to pass on and no one else from the 11th Distrct wanted to run the show, there would be no Legion show. as Doc is the promoter, Doc will do what Doc will do...before it was officialy the Legion championships, he had invite only shows, and while it wasnt titled a Legion show, the word Legion appeared everywhere. given the lack of replies from Legion management after issues at finals, even if we started a letter campaign to complain about what Doc is doing, they wouldn't care. my home post commander, who is very involved in all things legion on a nationwide basis summed it up this way: "they let Doc run it cause it shuts him up" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topsops Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 It's only been recently (since 97) that the American Legion Nationals has included all of the top Sr. corps. In the past Championships, the AL convention was too far away for most corps to go and compete. Therefore the Champions weren't always the 'best' corp in the country anyway. I think it was in 72 when the Rochester corps won the title, they only came in 4th/5th at DCA. Many years the Cabs won it by like 15/20 points because no one else was there. So let it be by invitation only........who cares.....DCA is where it counts!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 It's only been recently (since 97) that the American Legion Nationals has included all of the top Sr. corps. In the past Championships, the AL convention was too far away for most corps to go and compete. Therefore the Champions weren't always the 'best' corp in the country anyway. I think it was in 72 when the Rochester corps won the title, they only came in 4th/5th at DCA. Many years the Cabs won it by like 15/20 points because no one else was there. So let it be by invitation only........who cares.....DCA is where it counts!!! Orginal idea of the AL Championships was to find the best corps sponsored by an American Legion post. Same idea applied to the VFW. If your corps wasn't sponsored by a post (or find a post willing to sponsor you that year ) it was too bad as your corps couldn't compete. Know I've spent too many years reading my old mans' Legion magazine but having anything connected with the AL being closed off to any group sponsored by a post is just wrong to me. IMO, Doc ought to drop the "AL Champion" part of this show. PS - Westshoremen won it in 1978 and came in 9th at DCA. Second place corps Chicago Connection wasn't in top 12 at DCA. Third place corps was..... Oh yeah, only two Sr corps showed up in 1978. Top Jr was LI Kingsmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Bari Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Orginal idea of the AL Championships was to find the best corps sponsored by an American Legion post. Same idea applied to the VFW. If your corps wasn't sponsored by a post (or find a post willing to sponsor you that year ) it was too bad as your corps couldn't compete. Know I've spent too many years reading my old mans' Legion magazine but having anything connected with the AL being closed off to any group sponsored by a post is just wrong to me. IMO, Doc ought to drop the "AL Champion" part of this show.PS - Westshoremen won it in 1978 and came in 9th at DCA. Second place corps Chicago Connection wasn't in top 12 at DCA. Third place corps was..... Oh yeah, only two Sr corps showed up in 1978. Top Jr was LI Kingsmen. Well, I think nobody has a problem with an American Legion championship being awarded to corps that are members of the American Legion. If I wanted to award a national championship trophy to the best corps of only left-handed people (a silly notion, but then that's how satire works), it'd be absurd to let right-handed people compete. However, I would be exclusionary if I only allowed left-handed corps from east of the Mississippi River. That's not very "national", is it? On one hand, I think it's great that Doc has this championship going. I enjoy seeing a venerable tradition continued. On the other hand, it's disappointing that the show appears to be his own personal plaything. I was unaware that it had been invitation only from 1997 to 2002. I assumed that any corps that wanted in the show (subject to Legion sponsorship) could appear. It seems that I was mistaken in my assumption. PPS - Yes, it's true that in 1972 Crusaders won AL but came 4th at DCA. However, in winning the orange flag, Cru beat DCA Champ-to-be Hawthorne Caballeros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Didn't the corps competing for the AL Champ flag since '97 have to have Legion sponsorship? Read so much here I'm confused on this issue. My only complaint is AL Championships being by invite only. More upset for the American Legion and it's history than for drum corps themselves. Keep hearing this conversation in my head... "Hi, I'm with the Booma Bombers from Portsmouth, NH. We're sponsored by AL Post Frank Booma #6 in Portsmouth. We're a new corps and want to compete at AL Champs for the experience. What!! A Legion sponsored corps can't be part of at a (supposedly) national Legion event!" Yeah, real post and a real corps back before my time...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Bari Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 Didn't the corps competing for the AL Champ flag since '97 have to have Legion sponsorship? Read so much here I'm confused on this issue. Yes, I think we all agreed about having to have Legion sponsorship. That's what made the Grenadiers' participation controversial the one year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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