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It's funny that when the score or score gap is even higher for non-BD corps, that the audience doesn't seem to mind. Don't know if you remember (probably not)... in 94 when BD won (undefeated) after not winning since 86, the crowd loved them. BD has been pretty much unstoppable since then, and since then most people east of the west do not like them. Noone likes the group that wins the most.

If "your" corps can't win, then "your" corps should practice more and get better. If "your" corps can't handle being in a competitive activity, then maybe "your" corps should find another activity to participate in.

It's just ironic that the members on the field typically don't feel the same way as the audience. It's also funny that the audience has more to say than the people who were actually on the field. Even funnier when a majority of the critics out there never even marched drum corps, let alone at the level of the corps they are critiquing.

That was before my time for sure. ;) I think that if more people had really enjoyed BD's show they wouldn't care what the gap was. As it was, most people in the audience didn't care for BD's show this year so were kinda peeved about it. Like you said, "....in 94 when BD won (undefeated) after not winning since 86, the crowd loved them." This year, there was no real love by the majority of the people in the audience for the show unlike there was for some of the others.

This brings up an interesting point too. As you said, "If "your" corps can't handle being in a competitive activity, then maybe "your" corps should find another activity to participate in." I believe that there is a fine line to this mentality. It is certainly a competitive activity and I wouldn't have it any other way but when you lose sight of the fact that this is also supposed to be an activity that also entertains audiences, things can start to go awry. If a Corps puts on shows only to please the judges and the sheets, well then you lose the audience support which has always imo been the most important thing to do.

I don't want you to think that I'm ragging on Blue Devils either. Cadets have certainly been prone to do this as well albeit with mixed results. They either hit or miss. What my point is though is that you can both be highly competitive and still have wildly entertaining shows. This year, BD just didn't hit that mark for a lot of people. I'm not defending the booing either. While I don't agree with the score gap at all, I didn't boo. I just rolled my eyes and moved on crowning the Cavaliers as my champion for 2010. :-P

Don't you people feel bad if someone from BD were to see this? They put in all that hard work and effort just for everyone to be bashing them...

I think their gold medals deflect any insults that might hurt their feelings.

Agreed Prof. Besides, are we not entitled to our own opinions? I have the utmost respect for every Corps member and the work they do. Doesn't mean I cared the show though or agree with the score but that isn't a comment directed towards them. Every single person is out there working their butt off trying to do the best that they can and for that I applaud them.

There is an interesting discussion to be had about the goals of competitive marching organizations and I think IMcomJosh hit on it four posts back. All of the corps want to win. Its a competitive activity with scores and placements, after all. How a corps decides to win is sometimes not the way that a group of fans would like (whether a majority or not).

But because of the nature of the activity, I don't think you can blame them. Professional sports are also about winning AND audience enjoyment. If Peyton Manning did 20 hand-offs to his running back and the Colts won by 35 points, the Colts were successful in competition but the audience may not have been very entertained. If Peyton Manning threw 20 ridiculously huge passes to lose by 1 point, the Colts were not successful in competition but the audience may have been frenzied throughout the game. Ultimately, however, the team wants to win games because that's how they measure their success in that form of competition, and they want to be successful - we all do!

The same is true with Drum Corps, except that in Drum Corps (and all marching arts), somewhere along the line we started having these "one way or the other" arguments where you either perform for the crowd and don't care about the judges, or you perform to win and don't care about the crowd. But if you ignore the people that claim these "extremes" are happening, you can see that all corps care deeply about the audience, but at the same time an overwhelming majority of them are in this to win because, after all, its a competitive activity and its part of what makes marching arts enjoyable.

@bando - I doubt there is anyone on here that marched this past year.. but I marched in the late 90s and I can tell you from personal experience and from what I know from current members and back.. when BD gets boo'd, that is a good sign.. it means that BD is kicking ass. lol there is a saying the members have at BD.... FYWW. So the crowd can boo all they want, it will make BD fight even harder.

I do know that not all of the corps in DCI are out there to win it all, some corps have the goal to make finals, some corps are just out there for the fun and experience, and some are just out there to do better than last year. However any top 3 corps that has a chance at gold, is not going out there to lose. The members might say "we don't care about winning" but that would only be the case if they know they are going to win, or they know they aren't going to win.

It was kind of ironic, I marched BDB and BDA, went undefeated, won gold, won lots of shows.. it was great and all.. and I never really understood how people can march and be happy with not winning, or even knowing they had a chance to win.. but then I went and taught at SoCal Dream (DCA) for 2 years and ended up marching to fill holes, but we went to DCA and did the best the corps ever did each year, and ended up taking 3rd both years.. In its own way it was even more fulfilling and emotional than winning DCI.

I don't like every BD show, but as a corps and what they represent and how they do it is what is so great about them. I do know it is going to impossible to make everyone happy, but when you are a competitive corps going after the top 3 finish... in the end the judges are the only ones that really matter.

Just remember the old saying... opinions are like assholes..... lol