Hello all! Firing the blog back up to hopefully stay connected to my friends and cohorts with the Cavaliers while also expending a good bit of energy working with Spirit of Atlanta this season to get our team in Baby Blue headed “back on the field, and back up the charts”.
It’s about this time every year I actually begin “preparing” for the DCI Season in several ways, and thought that some of my “preparation” might be useful to some of our new DCI parents. And if not, as with everything I write, feel free to ignore! So here goes…
1. FloMarching – If you want to really keep up with the season, a 2-month engagement with FloMarching.com will give you access to a lot of the bigger and more important shows that you’re just not going to be able to get to in real life. So here’s a tip to minimize your expense while maximizing your access.
If you’re going to be in Indy and see the shows there live, you can wait all the way until June 28th to turn on a $29 monthly subscription that you can cancel after one month. For that $29, you’re going to get the first show of the season all the way through the Atlanta Super Regional. Not a bad deal at all. To get the whole season, you’d need to bite off an additional $29 to see the few shows between Atlanta and Finals week. If you’re not going to be able to make Indy, you can subscribe on July 13th and see the meat of the season and Finals for $29.
2. Hotel in Indy – If you’re going to Indy, there’s a NASCAR race the same week as Finals this year and hotels are filling up quickly. Don’t wait. Rates will only be going up.
3. Predictions/Corps Progress – If you choose to watch a lot of people that are way over-invested in drum corps talk about the current season, register for an account at http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com . The “Forums” section has a message board for “DCI World Class Discussion”. Opinions are aplenty. One note of experience…I “lurked” on this board for a full couple of years before ever posting anything. If you post, and it’s a hint controversial, be prepared! But I do enjoy reading the opinions of seasoned drum corps fans, no matter how “homer” people might be to their own corps, etc.
4. My fearless ( and fairly obvious) preseason predictions. Always fun to take a guess at how the season will turn out without seeing a single show, hearing a single note, or assessing a single crowd reaction. Because it makes any predicti0n a silly wild-a** guess. And I don’t think I’ve ever put a preseason prediction on this blog for that reason…but here goes. We’ll check on this in mid-August to see how things shaped up.
Tier 1 – From reading the offseason blogs at DCP and Reddit, and observing momentum and ageout numbers from 2022, I believe that tier 1 this season will be Blue Devils, Bluecoats, and Boston Crusaders. Shocking, I know. Truly edgy predictions. 🙂
Tier 2 – This tier has more members this year than I would have put in years past. Starting with our Cavaliers, Carolina Crown, and Cadets. But honestly, I think this is the year that Phantom Regiment reaps some of the rewards of their post-COVID strategy and is in this tier slinging elbows too. And finally, you can’t ignore the improvement that Bluestars have made post COVID.
So just with those two tiers, we’ve already slotted 8 spots at Finasl.
Tier 3 – Mandarins, Blue Knights, Troopers ( who I’m personally cheering for to make a big splash again like they did last year ).
That has 11 of the 12 Finals slots taken.
Tier 4 – Crossmen, Madison Scouts, Pacific Crest, Spirit of Atlanta, Colts…These fine corps will be battling all summer to position themselves to make Finals.
Okay, Mark…real edgy….the same old same old. Pretty true….so let’s up the stakes and call a Final 12 in order for 2023 without a single step marched.
1. Bluecoats – They have the talent, the instruction staff, the energy, and the support to do what the Bluecoats do…excel.
2. Blue Devils – I feel I don’t have to explain this pick.
3. Boston Crusaders – Bringing more of what 2022 got them with minimal disruption to staff, lots of experience returning, etc.
4. Carolina Crown – When was the last time they finished out of the top 5?
5. Cavaliers – Huge staff changes but loving everything I’m reading about the show, the design, the staff, and the desire to put on a “love letter” to 75 years worth of Cavaliers fans.
6. Cadets – They’re back.
7. Blue Stars – Was highly impressed with their improvement in 2022 and nothing leads me to believe it won’t continue.
8. Phantom Regiment – Made a strong push at end of 2022 with a young corps. Their vector is pointed up.
9. Mandarins – Their vector has been pointing up since 2019. They might just inherit some SCV talent as well, now that SCV isn’t fielding this season.
10. Troopers – Troop barely got in the door last year for their first Finals in over a decade. I think they continue to grow on it.
11. Colts – One of my favorite Corps who continue to improve.
12. Madison Scouts – I think this is the year they rejoin Finals.
I know in one of the Parents of The Cavaliers posts, I caution against getting overinvested in scores. I stand by that. But it IS a competition. So it’s fun to put opinions out. Let’s see how they hold up in mid-August.
Coming soon: A laymen’s guide to understanding DCI scores. Trust me, it will help remove your competitive edge to understand how these corps are judged, and that ( in general ) the judges do a miraculous job differentiating between world class entertainment taking place 15 minutes at a time.
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