San Antonio Crossmen

[darkvibescd]

Yes, because it's not like Jersey Surf, Raiders, Hawthorne Caballeros, Bushwackers, and the Reading Buccaneers are right within a stone's throw of Crossmen's old stomping grounds.

You're right. There's nowhere for them to go at all.

That isn't entirely true. I was planning on going out for the Crossmen until a few days ago. I'm happy for them, but at the same time my friends and I are sad about this move. I live in New Jersey....and there is ONE division one DCI corps now in the area: The Cadets. They will be even harder to get into because many Crossmen auditioners will be going there (since the camps are at the same place). The closet DCI Division 1 corps besides The Cadets is 8 hours away in Ohio.

An advantage to a DCI 1 tour from May untill August corps is you don't have to travel constantly back and forth. Driving and taking the bus a "stone throw" (1-4 hours) for a monthly camp is possible. Multiple times a week for every rehearsal during the season it is a bit much.

A marching season is can be like $2,000 (corps cost and personal expenses to particiate). Adding $200+ for plane tickets for monthly camps and auditions isn't an option for some people. The people going out for DCI are in high school and college: we have limited funds. Please don't interpret what I'm saying as being stuck up or anything about the Crossmen auditions, I don't know if I would make the cut, but it is less of a gamble going localy then spending a lot of money to go off to California.

I'm still going to try for the Cadets, but what are other people doing now that the Crossmen suddenly isn't an option? Any other Pit people?

Good Luck, Crossmen you will be greatly missed on the east coast. :(

[Underdawg]

I have kept my mouth shut until now. I just wanted to see the full gamut of responses to what has happened. I will be the first to admit that I don't know what the outcome of this change will be, but I am remaining optimistic. The relationship between x-men and YEA has always been strained at best. Some wonderful drum corps have emerged from the relationship, absolutely and I cherish all of them. But, over the past 10 years I have had my concerns. Some of my concerns are very different from what I have seen here and I will admit, some of which are selfish. Though I love the Crossmen and have had several students march there, I have always harbored a bit of resentment that my Cadets alumni contributions were funding the Crossmen at the expense of the Cadets. Flame me if you will, but at least I am being honest and forthright.

As a former east coaster that now lives in Texas, I am tremendously excited for the Crossmen. If you have ever been to the San Antonio regional and seen the amount of kids of marching age there, you would be also. There are so many kids in this state especially in south TX that would march somewhere if it was not so geographically and financially prohibitive ( of course, I never lived within a 9 hour drive of a division I corps when I was of eligible age and still marched 3 yrs).

Yes, there is not a good track record of corps in TX and I won't pretend to know anything about that. I do know that the band community in TX has always fought drum corps and there are few band directors in the state with the clout to fix that. Mark Chambers is one of them from what my friends have told me. Therefore, I am hopeful and I wish others would be as well. Quit bashing Hoppy, I think he did best for the X-men and trust me, I don't say that lightly. Despite being a die-hard cadet, Hoppy has never been one of my favorite people.

[Underdawg]

The Ronald Reagan marching band is my personal favorite marching band of all time. The 2002, 2003, and 2005 shows are masterpieces. DCI-quality in terms of design.

I'm not sure where you are geographically, Hrothgar. But, since I have heard that you are still of marching age, this would be an ideal opportunity for you to experience the activity first hand. I know how much I gained by marching my 3 yrs and I would love for you to have that same experience. A great classic corps paired with a marching band you love ......think about it.

[Tekneek]

Although Dci is different from a hs band, the way rehearsals were run at Reagan are near the same level of intensity of a drum corps if not exceeding some.

I certainly do not have a personal experience to draw on here, which I presume you do, but I truly find that hard to believe. For the sake of Crossmen and the activity in general, I hope you are right.

[Underdawg]

I have never gone this long without someone telling me that I was an idiot. ........LOL ........is this an omen?

[Tekneek]

Also, since that stadium is shared amongst many schools, is there any guarantee that the Crossmen will actually be able to use it all the time? How far away is it from the school?

I know time will provide these answers and it is possible that nobody has the answers right now. All of that great facility stuff sounds terrific on paper, but we don't know just what kind of access the corps will actually get to all of it right now, do we?

[Tekneek]

I just sat through that high school's 2005 BOA program through Google Video (YouTube lacks the very beginning, although the intro is relatively meaningless, IMO).

It did remind me that I would still be bored out of my mind at a BOA competition and that almost all the things I enjoy least about drum corps today are all over BOA programs. If these people are intending to take their BOA style to the drum corps idiom, I don't personally think Crossmen will ever entertain me again. I'm not trying to go on a rant here against BOA, but I really hope this crew wants to understand that drum corps is (hopefully still) different than marching band and requires a different mindset from the top down.

For those in the activity that would like to see DCI become Summer BOA (and there are some out there), adding a director that is all about BOA certainly would further that cause. I'm not saying that is the aim of this transaction, but it is definitely something to acknowledge.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this. Unlike some others here, I watch the BOA show from this school and I feel worse about this move, rather than better. It would excite me more to find out that Mark Chambers marched drum corps, as well as how much he loves the activity, and how much he has encouraged his members to march drum corps every summer.

[Piper]

After much contemplation, I've got the whole thing figured out. Remember the Cavs 05' when they tossed out a baseball? Well, the Crossmen have to do the same thing only using a "footbaw". They'll draw every fan in Texas (helmets a plus). :P

[Jami]

I should have said a Division I corp! Maybe they will go to the Cadets????!!!! LOL & LMAO. I am sure that most of the local kids were intending to return to the Crossmen and now That will probably NOT be happening for some of them, due to the fact that the Crossmen will be based in San Antonio. :( <**> IMHO, I would not want to march in a Senior corp if I were 15 - 22 years old. You only get to be in DCI until 21 or 22, Why waste those years in a Senior Corp??? You only live once, so go for a DCI Corp when you are young and save the DCA corps for the later years in your life, if you must.

Wasting years? Hardly. I started in senior corps before I went to DCI - just to make sure that what was I really wanted to do. It's really easy for one to say that they want to march junior corps but before they either try it, either full out on DCI tour or by trying the weekends thing with DCA first, it's just that - an easily made statement.

(Note to Mike Boo - your article is almost done) :)

[Xmen89]

Some of my concerns are very different from what I have seen here and I will admit, some of which are selfish. Though I love the Crossmen and have had several students march there, I have always harbored a bit of resentment that my Cadets alumni contributions were funding the Crossmen at the expense of the Cadets. Flame me if you will, but at least I am being honest and forthright.

I do not think this is correct. With YEA, donations made to the Cadets stayed with the Cadets; donations made to the Crossmen stayed with the Crossmen. In addition, YEA fundraising/grants funded both corps. Does anyone know for a fact that this is NOT the case?

The problem, though, is that your perception has been shared by many others - especially Crossmen alumni and fans, who would not write a check for the Crossmen and mail it to the YEA office for fear that it would be paying for rabbit suits and pink tables. (joking!)

YEA and George Hopkins threw a lifejacket to the Crossmen in 1995-6 and saved the corps from folding. But that transition cast off many long-time supporters, alumni, and friends in the process. In the short term it kept Bones afloat and even strong on the field for a while. But in recent years, the connection to YEA has become a liability for the Crossmen - the lifejacket is preventing them from swimming on their own in the D1 pool. Clearly, the connection has also been a strain on YEA, as the Crossmen side of operations simply has not been bringing in enough money to pay for itself. But... my point above may explain why fund-raising has an inherent problem. BOTTOM LINE: TWO D1 CORPS UNDER ONE ROOF IS NOT A GOOD ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL. Crossmen need to be an independent organization, and the TX home may do that. Were there other choices closer to their homebase of PA? I and many other would like to hear more.

Report card:

The efforts of YEA to help the Crossmen during the past decade: A-

The planned split of Crossmen from YEA: A+

The move to Texas: incomplete