Why aren't The Cavaliers hated?

[prc756]

There was not only a lot of hatred expressed for the Cavaliers in 75-76 following the Muchacho disqualification--I'm certain there are several DCP members here who are FMM of the Cavaliers who have suffered the ignominy of having objects physically thrown at them while waiting to take the field in Philadelphia.

Come to think of it, after the first VFW win in '57 the Cavaliers had to be escorted to their buses. So I guess historically the Cavaliers HAVE been hated. And like you stated, Tim--with a hate that is uncalled for.

But, like the Corps' song goes...."there is no corps we fear"

Yeah

spit on , thrown at and called everything but a white man. There were still Imperials, Vanguard, Guardsmen, Regiment and various others around who were still hating from the beatins theytook across the decades prior to the 70's. Add to that the eastern corps who saw the rise of the midwest in the early 60's with Cavaliers leading the way and there was some real disdain for ChiCavs.

Guys who aged out of Blessed Sac still marching with Muchs? I loved the Muchs and after 73and 74 was loving 75. But with success comes responsibility and no more than a pro basebal players with a urine cup full of steroid metabolites is tolerated should be those guys who are in their mid 20's and still marching be. When the proof that was incontrovertable came the proper notice was given. The violent backlash from the East was purely HATE in nature...a mere 3 years after the Combine of the Midwest/West joined the UOJC in the east to form DCI.

Cavaliers were hated on several different levels back then. But Z is right....No FEAR!

[Paul Milano]

Yeah

spit on , thrown at and called everything but a white man. There were still Imperials, Vanguard, Guardsmen, Regiment and various others around who were still hating from the beatins theytook across the decades prior to the 70's. Add to that the eastern corps who saw the rise of the midwest in the early 60's with Cavaliers leading the way and there was some real disdain for ChiCavs.

Guys who aged out of Blessed Sac still marching with Muchs? I loved the Muchs and after 73and 74 was loving 75. But with success comes responsibility and no more than a pro basebal players with a urine cup full of steroid metabolites is tolerated should be those guys who are in their mid 20's and still marching be. When the proof that was incontrovertable came the proper notice was given. The violent backlash from the East was purely HATE in nature...a mere 3 years after the Combine of the Midwest/West joined the UOJC in the east to form DCI.

Cavaliers were hated on several different levels back then. But Z is right....No FEAR!

I agree that the corps is not necessarily "hated" that much now, other than by a few fans and members of a few corps. Nothing specific and nothing horrific, IMHO.

There's some bad blood between Cavies and Blue Devils, and there is less "love" for Cadets and PR than some other corps, but it's no more than typical rivalry "stuff."

If you want to talk about feeling hate, however, I can attest to us getting plenty of that in the early 70s. Not because we were winning, mind you (we call the 70s "The Dark Years") but because we were probably the first (and only?) championship level corps to then go through a prolonged slump of many years (23 years between "legit" championships - 1969 - 1992).

My rookie year was 1970. The corps was coming off a decade or more of almost complete dominance of drum corps. It was no fun, trust me, getting slaughtered by every single corps imaginable during the early and late 70s. The glee in their eyes and the comments from them during retreats, from alums during parades, from judges we had beaten for years when they were marching - ugh - it was not a fun time.

Now, I'm not complaining really, since I'm sure (in fact I know!) that my Cavalier brothers were plenty arrogant when they were winning in the 60s. Therefore, those of us in the 70s got it all returned to us tenfold. Even when we were at least respectable in the mid-70s, we had the whole "You killed the Muchachos!" debacle to deal with.

So, if the corps is less hated these days than it was in the arrogant 60s and the incompetent 70s, well . . . they probably have earned a bit of a break. :)

[Piper]

Most people don't hate the Cavs for 3 primary reasons :

1) They are extremely good at what they do.

2) Hoppy is not their director.

3) The chicks dig em'. Having the female segment of the populace on your side never hurts a marketing strategy, no matter what you're selling! :)

[Long Time Fan]

If one rereads the first few responses to this thread it becomes apparent that the initial attack came from a parent of a Cavaliers who brought up the Blue Devils manner in which the kids display their Rings. Rather than just speak about how wonderful the Cavaliers, their kids, their organization is, he initiated a derogatory crack against some kids in a rival Corps. The guy's an adult. He verbally assailed some kids from a rival Corps. It was cheap shot, no doubt about it. He could have said how proud he was of his kid and the Cavaliers and left it at that. But he didn't. That naturally brought out people like me unafiliated with either the BD or the Cavaliers to chime in. It was then that this thread continued to go downhill fast when a Cavaliers fan brought out the O.J. Simpson analogy to the Blue Devils, and now you telling me to take a Xanax. The Cavaliers fans have not served themselves well on this thread at all. They initially took the low road above, and the thread went quickly into the gutter. The Blue Devils and their fans did not initiate this hostility on this thread. Any fair reading of the sequential comments from above will bear this out.

Let me start by saying that I did not bring up the comment about the rings because it is not generally known, in fact BD makes no secret about the fact that they wear their rings on the outside of their gloves for just that reason. Look at the BD soloist in last year's DVD. Its right there to see. I seriously thought about leaving the comment to "there is a corps" without naming BD, but that was disingenuous. Everyone knows who wears their ring on the outside.

I did not look upon this as a verbal assault. This is what they do. If it is inappropriate, then they shouldn't do it, but they think it is OK and so do I. But it does not endear them to other corps. It sets them apart as they wish it to. It is their statement of their position. They have 11 championships and they are proud of this fact.

I am a big fan of BD. My son and a multiyear BD alum always go to events together. While at Atlanta, I was at the BD booth getting them directions to the BD rehearsal site at Kenesaw Mountain. I go to their rehearsals.

If I have insulted BD, I apologize. If they think that it should not be pointed out that they have made a decision to wear their rings on the outside than I am sorry. But if they are OK with it, as I think they are, then I have done no wrong.

[uncle z]

Most people don't hate the Cavs for 3 primary reasons :

1) They are uncle z's favorite corps.

2) How could you not like something uncle z likes??

3) The chicks dig em'.

Piper--I'm feelin' you, dawg!! B)

[funcorpsagain]

I hate them! HATE, HATE, HATE!

Their shows are monumentally boring. The drill could have been written by a 3-year old. The guard is afraid to let the equipment leave their hands. The drums sound like mud.

Have you ever been near them? They don't even bathe.

And the staff! A bunch of drunks -- when they're not kicking and cursing the members, they're trashing other corps.

I hear they torture kittens on their buses.

The Cavaliers are the epicenter of evil in the modern world. So much to hate...

[boxingfred]

Most people don't hate the Cavs for 3 primary reasons :

1) They are extremely good at what they do.

2) Hoppy is not their director.

3) The chicks dig em'. Having the female segment of the populace on your side never hurts a marketing strategy, no matter what you're selling! :)

MOST people don't hate any div. I II or III corps.

I know people who hate the cavaliers just because they're the cavaliers.

It's kind of stupid to hate a drum corps.

Edited August 15, 2006 by boxingfred

[wolf1]

It's kind of stupid to hate a drum corps.

Kind of?!?!?! It is plain stupid to hate a drum corps. Period.

[HockeyDad]

Why aren't the Cavaliers hated?

1. Concerning amps, Jeff Fiedler said they aren't necessary.

2. Observed at Madison, Thursday, Friday and Saturday: George Hopkins, standing between the Cadets drum major and Brandt Crocker, waiting for just the right moment, then pointing to Crocker for him to announce "Cadets, you may take the field for competition." (on Saturday, he pointed to the timing judge, who in turn pointed to Crocker). Jeff Fiedler, walked onto the field, stood against the fence for awhile watching Cavaliers warm up, them quickly run up the stairs to take a seat in the stands and quietly watch the show. Modesty - always wins me over.

3. No, "mic check red queen, mic check red queen"......

[jwillis35]

Sorry, but George's statement just came across as a little....blunt.

1) Look at who some of the Midwest corps are: Regiment, Cavaliers, Bluecoats....there are a lot of really good drum corps in the midwest. And don't you root for your hometown football team?

2) I'm a fan and hopefully future member of a midwest drum corps that wears white. I'm a fan of another midwest drum corps that wears green. But, I love love love me some SCV!! (ask anyone in my theater for Quarters) or some Blue Devils any day of the week. George seemed to lump all us "Midwest fans" in one big group of unsportsmanlike hogs, and I don't appreciate that.

Sorry if this came across a little jerky myself. I'm off my soapbox now. :)

I think you are inferring something into George's words. George was to the point, but I think he is correct in many ways.

Here are my thoughts on the current dynasty of the Cavaliers:

1. They seem to be enjoying their dynasty without much hate or jealousy, as of now, mainly because they do entertain, they program well, and they seem to keep their noses clean. What I mean by that statement is that they don't seem to be trying to push the activity forward, yet they innovate with class. They don't seem to be fighting the current rules, and their director and staff do not cause a great deal of comotion. They mind their business and WIN!

2. However, keep in mind that what they just accomplished has been done before. The Blue Devils won 5 of 7 titles from 1976 to 1982, and the Garfield Cadets won 5 of 8 from 1983 to 1990. During those years, both corps were loved. Even during the 3-peat of Garfield, they were mainly loved by the fans. It was all the winning that came after those titles when things started to change. And it's not like poeple hate BD or Cadets, or SCV, or most corps that win a lot. It's more of a lack of interest type of feeling that people get when the same corps seems to win too much. This could start to happen now with the Cavaliers. If they come out next year and win most of their shows, many, many, many people are going to be saying things like "not them again," or "anyone but Cavaliers."

3. When Cavaliers have won during the early part of this decade, they did so over Cadets and BD for the most part. Had they not won, it was likely that one of those two corps would have done so. This year was the first year of the decade in which a corps other than BD or Cadets have been in the 2nd spot. You already see more people saying in their reviews and discussions that Phantom should have won. Largely because they were that close. If BD or Cadets were there, it would be like "good God, which one of those two corps needs another title?"

So, in short, it's not as if people were booing Cadets or BD when they won. Usually when those two win, the crowd can sense they are the best. It's just a case of people wanting a change. And they will most definitely want that change now, both Midwestern fans and others. The only corps that has ever really taken a beating from the fans was Star of Indiana. And here George was right, the Midwestern fans never claimed them as their own, especially once they started to win. I know, I live in the Midwest. I went to many shows in those days, and what I saw was jealousy run amuck. People felt they hadn't earned it like the other corps. People complained about their money. People said they bought Garfield's staff to get good. People made up a lot of excuses to make themselves feel better about the fact that Star was winning a lot of shows. Probably should have won 3 titles in a row from 1991 - 1993. You can make an argument they should have won in 1990 too. I think Midwesterners have come to love Star, but just a bit too late.