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The Crossmen still belong in Pennsylvania.


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I can't believe people are still posting on this.

Bottom line....the "model" that the Crossmen have been operating under in recent years has not been functioning correctly. It is a fact.

After looking at it from the outside over the past year, it seems clear that a move had to be made.

This relocation to Texas is the best thing for the Crossmen, and personally I am relieved that they are in good hands with a super staff, design team, and seem to have a solid financial base. Not to mention they seem like people who care about KIDS.

(Actually, this type of move had been "casually" discussed going back as early as the end of 2003.)

I have been with the Crossmen for many of their ups and downs....have been in the role of everything from a 2nd baritone player, brass instructor, program coordinator, assistant director, corps director, and a fan. (And Drum Major for one night.)

I know some of the best chapters of the future of the Crossmen are yet to be written, and it will be fun to be a "fan" and watch it unfold.

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I can't believe people are still posting on this.

Bottom line....the "model" that the Crossmen have been operating under in recent years has not been functioning correctly. It is a fact.

After looking at it from the outside over the past year, it seems clear that a move had to be made.

This relocation to Texas is the best thing for the Crossmen, and personally I am relieved that they are in good hands with a super staff, design team, and seem to have a solid financial base. Not to mention they seem like people who care about KIDS.

(Actually, this type of move had been "casually" discussed going back as early as the end of 2003.)

I have been with the Crossmen for many of their ups and downs....have been in the role of everything from a 2nd baritone player, brass instructor, program coordinator, assistant director, corps director, and a fan. (And Drum Major for one night.)

I know some of the best chapters of the future of the Crossmen are yet to be written, and it will be fun to be a "fan" and watch it unfold.

You assume they are in great hands. I as a former Crossmen parent, volunteer, and fan I hope you are right. I do know that managing a division 1 drum corps is a far cry from managing a high school marching band. And I do know that at the end of the day it's all about money. Drum corps consume a lot of money and you better be able to raise it. That is the most important issue and it's not being talked about. If this very brave band director has the fund raising in place the corps will live on but if not the Crossmen will fold in Texas and that well meaning band director will catch hell from a lot of people. I wish him well.

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exactly...if it doesn't work out, i truly fear for this guy

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Pardon me if I sound crazy, but the reality of the situation is that this is what it is. Nothing anyone one DCP says will bring the Crossmen back to this area right now. Sure, that is what this forum is for, but the more complaining you do the more it puts the corps, the fans, and their alumni in a bad light.

They are based in San Antonio and it will continue to be that way for at least a year and most likely well beyond that. I am alumni of the corps and have also had the privledge to teach the corps. I personally think that it would be best if we would all support this decision because it is a reality. Let's get behind the corps and hope that something positive comes out of this. Who knows...this could be the best thing to happen to the Crossmen in history! This could be the beginning of the Crossmen that we all have been hoping for. I realize tradition is tradition, but sometimes tradition needs changing. The past situation, was not a healthy situation for the corps, the staff, or the fans. It wasn't a fair deal. It wasn't anyones fault...it was just the situation that the corps was in. Hopkins is not trying to just toss the Crossmen off to the side. I honestly believe he has the best interest of the corps in mind. Yes, it was becoming too much for YEA to handle, but never for a minute do I think that he would just get rid of the Crossmen without a lot of thought into where they would be going and what kind of a situation it would put them in.

Yes, the Crossmen have always been in the PA area, but they have also been a good drum corps...they just can't get over that hump to being great. Personally, I think this might be what they needed. And I'm sure someone will come on here and blast me for calling them "good and not great," but from personal experience (3 years marching and a year teaching the corps) I can definitely say that. It isn't a knock on the corps or those who marched. The Crossmen are exciting and fun to watch. They have something about them that no other corps in DCI has, but something needs to be done to get the level of planning and performance up.

Yes, it stinks for local kids that were planning on marching. Either way you look at it...135 young people will be getting an experience of a lifetime marching one of the most exciting corps around. THAT is what the Crossmen are about and they will continue to do that whether they are in Delaware County, Newark, Delaware, or the middle of Texas.

Only time will tell. In the mean time I think if you have the best interest of the Crossmen in mind as an alumnus or fan you should support them for what they are....and right now they ARE in Texas.

Go Bones.

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I wasn't saying the original poster was lame. I was saying this topic is lame because it's been beaten to death. To me, it almost seems like the people who are upset that they left aren't just upset anymore, but their degree of upsetedness is almost to the point of bashing the corps, the admin., the new director, YEA, Hopkins, etc. just by bringing up the subject matter. THAT is lame. PLEASE be supportive, that's all I'm saying.

Edited by SCVsopAaron
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Also interesting how some of the same people griping about the move are the ones who griped about them being under YEA!

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exactly...if it doesn't work out, i truly fear for this guy

Me too. He really stuck his neck out. But there have been others who have done the same. Names like Bonfiglio, Royer and Jones (to name a few) come to mind. Let's hope that he has the same degree of success.

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wow this topic is just getting as bad as g vs multi key

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I can completely understand why a lot of alumni feel this way. If Blue Stars moved out of La Crosse, I and a lot of other alumni would be really ######, and "Get over it" wouldn't exactly satisfy us. A corps' home is something that's close to the hearts of its members, and one of the satisfactions of being an alumni is seeing current members have the same experiences in that home as you did. Nobody's saying "I'd rather see Crossmen fold than move!" or "Texas sucks!" so the defensiveness is not necessary, but there's nothing wrong with being frustrated over a situation you don't like but can't fix. This thread is incredibly mild compared to a lot of the complaining about other issues we've seen.

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