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Anyone thought about the climb back Regiment's made?

8th

7th

6th

5th

4th

5th (grr)

3rd

TBA

No matter what you think of the show or Regiment, that's a pretty amazing track record. Nothing short of relentless! And all this from a corps that had some very tough times not more than 7 years ago. That whole Rockford crew is genius.

It's a great time to be a Phan!

You're absolutely right - it's a great time to be a fan with shows like 2005 and 2006.

BUT... why did it take so long? I appreciate the phenomenal job that Siedling has done (his first year was the "first" fifth), and with him I can't imagine seeing that type of slide again. But they were top 4 in 97 and weren't again until 2003. That's far too long for a corps with the history of PR.

I look at a corps like Crown, whose recent success has gone like this:

16th

10th

7th

7th

TBA

Now, I realize that going from 10th to 7th is a lot different than going from 5th to 3rd, but still. They jumped 9 spots in two years. It's certainly an outlier, but it still happened - went from a bag of a show in 2002 and turned it around immediately.

Also, Cavies had a bag of a show in 97 and were in the top four immediately the next year.

This is no bag on PR, but why would it take so long for them to reach this level of success?

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You're absolutely right - it's a great time to be a fan with shows like 2005 and 2006.

BUT... why did it take so long? I appreciate the phenomenal job that Siedling has done (his first year was the "first" fifth), and with him I can't imagine seeing that type of slide again. But they were top 4 in 97 and weren't again until 2003. That's far too long for a corps with the history of PR.

I look at a corps like Crown, whose recent success has gone like this:

16th

10th

7th

7th

TBA

Now, I realize that going from 10th to 7th is a lot different than going from 5th to 3rd, but still. They jumped 9 spots in two years. It's certainly an outlier, but it still happened - went from a bag of a show in 2002 and turned it around immediately.

Also, Cavies had a bag of a show in 97 and were in the top four immediately the next year.

This is no bag on PR, but why would it take so long for them to reach this level of success?

I honestly think that a major portion of it came because of their trouble with visual designers. I've said it before, but...when John Brazale died, we kinda went through a carousel of drill designers:

1993: Tony Hall

1994: Tony Hall

(you'll notice that these two years were fairly successful)

1995: Steve Hegemier

1996: Greg Cesario

(you'll note that even though Regiment finally won a title in 1996, we were already on our 3rd drill designer in 4 years)

1997: Garrett Decker

1998: Garret Decker/Chris Church/Tony Hall

1999: Tony Hall

2000: Brian Hildreth/Leon May

2001: Leon May

2002: Johnny Sanchez

2003: Johnny Sanchez

2004: Johnny Sanchez

2005: Jamey Thompson

2006: Jamey Thompson

That adds up to 9 different drill designers in 14 years, not including Tony who came back for that 1998/1999 stint. I don't know what really went down in 1998 regarding the visual program. Someone once told me that Garret Decker didn't finish the show, so Chris Church was asked to write the drill in a hurry, and then Tony Hall came in to fix stuff and write some more...perhaps someone from the 1998 can explain that better? And maybe someone can explain what happened in 2000?

Honestly...what with DCI becoming so visually-oriented in the past decade, it's no wonder Regiment had issues and some down years. I like Jamey's drills, liked them when he was with Glassmen, and I think he is a good fit for Regiment. I am hoping he stays with the Regiment family for a long time, and that the staff continues to grow into a cohesive family the way that Cavaliers, Cadets, Devils, and other corps' staffs have.

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Man it like we have 3 camps here

Fort Rosemont

Fort Rockford

USS Concord

The battle lines are intense

So I will give my "Vegas" odds from Reno and the North Reno Casino Resort

Cavaliers 3:2

BD 5:2

PR 4:1

Cadets 10:1

Bloo 11:1

Field 25:1

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I'd like to add "Castle Santa Clara" but even I'm not that optimistic. I still think 5th is in range though.

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Man it like we have 3 camps here

Fort Rosemont

Fort Rockford

USS Concord

The battle lines are intense

nice.

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I am sure that most corps would kill to be where Regiment was (they were still in Finals, and still in the Top 8), but once you are spoiled by relative success, you are spoiled, and those five years were rough for many of us alumns (and, of course, all phans and members).

I think Regiment got a serious humbling at the end of 99, when the corps was in way over its head. As I understand it, some incredibly dedicated people (Johnny B, the Farrells, etc) decided that they were going to save the corps, when it became increasingly clear that the corps would fold otherwise. I got a letter in the mail that year that indicated that there was a problem; I thought about a world with no Phantom Regiment and it broke my heart. Really. I had already lost one drum corps when the Knights folded, and here was the finest drum corps ever to walk the earth (my honest opinion...deal with the bias) seemingly ready to give itself to history. I prepared for the worst.

98 and 99. Regiment members, just like you and I, presented with incomplete or uninspired product. And they perform the #### out of it. I wasn't impressed with the product, but I couldn't have been happier with the defiance.

There's nothing wrong with being humbled. I'll venture to say that it might've been for the best. Difficult times can lead to opportunity and reevaluation. There is a recognition among the people who work with Regiment that the volunteers who work with the corps are truly the best. My wife went on tour for a week as a volunteer and she said that the kids are centered, focused, and devoid of any ego posturing. They chose to bring their talent to the corps from Rockford that refused to give up on itself, and I consider the hard times for phans well repaid by their efforts. I think they understand the corps's legacy and their place in it. That makes be very proud of them, but when I think about what might have been had the corps folded, it's almost unbelievable.

I am not overstating the case. The Phantom Regiment on the field this year is nothing short of a miracle. These kids are amazing. The people who kept this corps alive are amazing. They are challenging legitimately in the top 3 again, with a fantastic show. When I saw the show in San Antonio, knowing what these people have been through in bringing this corps back, I was nearly overwhelmed by the joy and passion the members brought to the performance.

So here's Regiment--talented but humble, and ready to rock. Here's a corps with teeth. ^0^

You got to love that.

What took so long? Good foundations take time to set. Sometimes a miracle is a process.

Edited by festive
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I think Regiment got a serious humbling at the end of 99, when the corps was in way over its head. As I understand it, some incredibly dedicated people (Johnny B, the Farrells, etc) decided that they were going to save the corps, when it became increasingly clear that the corps would fold otherwise. I got a letter in the mail that year that indicated that there was a problem; I thought about a world with no Phantom Regiment and it broke my heart. Really. I had already lost one drum corps when the Knights folded, and here was the finest drum corps ever to walk the earth (my honest opinion...deal with the bias) seemingly ready to give itself to history. I prepared for the worst.

98 and 99. Regiment members, just like you and I, presented with incomplete or uninspired product. And they perform the #### out of it. I wasn't impressed with the product, but I couldn't have been happier with the defiance.

There's nothing wrong with being humbled. I'll venture to say that it might've been for the best. Difficult times can lead to opportunity and reevaluation. There is a recognition among the people who work with Regiment that the volunteers who work with the corps are truly the best. My wife went on tour for a week as a volunteer and she said that the kids are centered, focused, and devoid of any ego posturing. They chose to bring their talent to the corps from Rockford that refused to give up on itself, and I consider the hard times for phans well repaid by their efforts. I think they understand the corps's legacy and their place in it. That makes be very proud of them, but when I think about what might have been had the corps folded, it's almost unbelievable.

I am not overstating the case. The Phantom Regiment on the field this year is nothing short of a miracle. These kids are amazing. The people who kept this corps alive are amazing. They are challenging legitimately in the top 3 again, with a fantastic show. When I saw the show in San Antonio, knowing what these people have been through in bringing this corps back, I was nearly overwhelmed by the joy and passion the members brought to the performance.

So here's Regiment--talented but humble, and ready to rock. Here's a corps with teeth. ^0^

You got to love that.

What took so long? Good foundations take time to set. Sometimes a miracle is a process.

Thanks for the great read. What a story!

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Not terribly often...

(these are all just in my opinion, of course)

1987-1988-1989

1993-1994

1996-1997

2005-2006

Some people will argue that the 1988 show doesn't belong in there, but I love it. I think it is severely underrated.

Nikk,

You can't forget about 1977-1978-1979

Three second place finishes in a row (including the .1 loss because of a penalty in '78), it was during those years that Rockford should have had their first world champion.

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Nice post, Chris. I know what you're talking about when you described how you felt in San Antonio. I had those exact feelings when I saw the 2003 show for the first time. It was a run-through in Leander, TX and when they did the Canon reprise, I actually was almost overcome with emotion. They were back and I couldn't have been more proud. Thanks to all of the volunteers and board members that kept Phantom Regiment going.

My fiancee' didn't know anything about drum corps before last Summer when I took her to her first show. Now she's a huge Phan and listens to drum corps in her car, watched the web stream from San Antonio and Atlanta with me, and has a decent amount of PR attire. I took her up to this year's show of shows and the 50th reunion and she now understands how much drum corps and especially Phantom Regiment means to me. Hopefully some day I can give back to the corps even half of what they have given me. (and I was only able to march one year! I can't imagine how connected the people are who marched for more than me)

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