Well Tyler you should be home by now! Forget school, we want a single spaced four page report on your summer!
My thoughts on DCI this year...
The Rose Bowl is a beautiful stadium, full of history, but not a very good fit for Drum Corps. I waited over an hour just to get into the stadium on Saturday night, and another 45 minutes to get to my seat! UNACCEPTABLE! God forbid you had to go to the bathroom or grab something to eat or drink. I was very tempted to grab a sample of one of the hundreds of rose bushes they had near the concession stands. (Can you imagine having a "Rose bowl rose bush" in your back yard!)
I loved most of the shows, but Santa Clara and Carolina Crown stood out as my two favorites! Santa Clara was pure class all the way, and the Crown horse race show was hysterical.
Now my rant on one particular corps! The Cadets. I don't care if you want to talk during your show for the sake of art. It's not really my cup of tea, but hey if that's what you want to do go for it. I found it interesting that every spoken word that got a reaction at Thursdays show was taken out of Fridays show. Hmmmm Maybe Hoppy realized that his concept was not a crowd favorite.
But, (getting on a huge soap box here) what happened on Thursday night was something I have never witnessed before, and I've been around a long, long time. They were supposed to repaint the yard lines and hash marks on the field at every break, and at the final break apparently the yard lines got repainted but not the hash marks. Several corps marched with no problem, and I myself could clearly see the hash marks from row 61. Hoppy marched his kids onto the field, decided that the conditions did not meet his approval, and promptly marched his kids off of the field until the hash marks could be repainted. Not only was this childish and ridiculous IMO, but it put the image of the Cadets even further back on the west coast. This also had an impact on the Blue Devils who were waiting in the tunnel for their show, and the movie theaters who were broadcasting the show live all over the country! The whole show came to a screaching halt all because of the ego of one man! The Cadets were given the appropriate 2 point penalty (which mysteriously disappeared over night). The position Hoppy put the kids in the corps in that night was simply ridiculous. Those kids need hash marks to march that show like I need a bartender guide to pour a beer! I honestly don't know what to think of this man anymore. Oh well, it's over, and they marched their tails off. If they would have marched that show with no narration, I think it would have been a much better show, but who am I but just an old fart who is a life long fan and alumni of the Cadets. What do I know?
I was really disappointed in where the Bluecoats placed, seems like they lost a little steam in the last week, perhaps Tyler can fill us in on what happened.
Overall LA was fun, but it must have been a huge financial drain on most of the corps just in fuel. I'm glad we went out west, it was fun, but really, do we have to go to Indy for the next 10 years? What is there to do in Indy?
So the season is over for another year. Look for the highlights show on ESPN soon, I'm sure I'll post the date as soon as I can find it.
Till next season, stay safe, warm, and get ready for the 2008 season!
I'm looking forward to seeing some videos of the Troopers' performances.
