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2007 Show Patches
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Patches are available at DCI.org
This page was last updated: Friday, August 10, 2007
Once again, Ben is planning on marching with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. As we saw last year, Drum Corps is a very exciting sport, that takes young people all over the nation. There were wholesale changes in corps staff this year, so we look forward to a lot of new ideas. This year the recaps will be loaded at the top of the page, just below the states box (below). Scroll down to see how the season has progressed!
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States the Scouts will tour in 2007 (new states are yellow). We'll cross each state as the Scouts travel through!
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Georgia
Illinois Indiana
Kansas
Minnesota
Missouri New Mexico
New York
N. Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Wisconsin
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The Scouts had their best show of the season (82.5) in Quarterfinals on 8/9/07, to place 15th, guaranteeing a slot in semi-finals on Friday. They took to the field at 4:34 p.m. to a thunderous ovation in the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, CA Friday evening, and gave it their all. Then, as quickly as it all had begun nearly 10 months ago, it was over. Tonight the Scouts scored a respectable 81.85, edging out the Crossmen by 0.25 points. This wrapped up 15th place, and ended the Scouts season. Now we'll anxiously await Ben's return from his second season of drum corps. We should see him Sunday, just after 2:00 p.m.. We can hardly wait, and hope he is excited about returning home, too. Marching won't end then, though. The Pride of Haltom is poised to begin two-a-days Monday. You go, Ben! We are very proud of you.
In the last show before heading to Pasadena, the Scouts placed 6th, in a field of 8, with a score of 81. Although they are comfortably above 80, the Scouts find themselves roughly 6 points behind where they were when they made finals last year. Compund that with the fact that several other corps are scoring much better than last year, and you find a corps that, barring a miracle, will perform for the last time on Friday in Semifinals. Though sometimes frustrated, the Scouts are proud of all they accomplished this season, and can begin looking to 2008 in Indianapolis.
The last week has not only been busy for the Scouts, but at home as well. Rather then post event-by-event narratives, I'll take this opportunity to recap the last week's events. In a few words - the Scouts broke 80! We expected it to happen on 8/1 in Lubbock, but rained ended the show before the Scouts could take the field. No, the elusive 80 waited until the 2nd, when our guys placed 4th in Albuquerque, NM, with a score of 80.15! Ben called during the week and said they are marching with new found energy, and feel really good about the show. They had even been visited by "Drum Major Dan", DM from last year's alumni show, which put a spring in their step. Now it's Sunday, and we look forward to having Ben back in just one week. Finals week will be a magical blur for him, regardless how the Scouts place in the standings. Here are scores since July 28th:
7/29 - Columbia, MO - 6th place - 78.75
7/30 - Broken Bow, OK - 6th place - 79.45
8/1 - Lubbock, TX - Rained Out
8/2 - Albuquerque, NM - 4th place - 80.15
8/4 - Tempe, AZ - 9th place - 81.275
The Scouts entered Indy in 16th place overall for the week ending 7/27. They are just a few points from reaching up to the top 12, so all is not lost - yet. It will take continued hard work to get there, plus a littl luck. Judges are not known to allow corps to move up much this late in the season. Time will tell how well the Scouts will do this season.
As for scoring in Indy, the Scouts placed 8th, with a score of 78.60,less than a point behind the Blue Stars (79.45). The Blue Devils (92.55) captured the championship for the 13th consecutive time.
Tonight's show was in Missouri, and the Scouts (77.15) placed 3rd of 5 corps. The winner was the Boston Crusaders, with a score of 85.30.
The Scouts (78.35) finished 4th in a field of 6 in Ben's first soiree into Kansas. It marked their highest score of the season, but lagged far behind the Blue Devils 92.75.
Drum Corps travel ended for C & R with a trip to Denton to see the Scouts perform in the "Red River Thunder". The Cavaliers (91.30) ran away with the show, leaving the Scouts is 6th place with a 77.25. Still, it was great to see the guys, and watch them get better with each performance. A joined us for a family reunion before Ben headed off for the last push of the season. Only three weeks until he gets to come home!
The famous Scouts' Fleur formation!
C and her boys after the Denton show.
After catching the Scouts rehearsal in Dallas, we headed south to San Antonio for the Southwestern Championship in the Alamodome. I've lost track of the number of times we've seen one or the other of the guys perform there. The Scouts didn't fare too well (76.625), placing 8th in prelims. Only the top four went to the evening show, so our day was done early. Not so for the Scouts, who went back to their housing for more rehearsals. The highlight of our evening was seeing Ben lead the Scouts off the field after the show.
The Scouts are in Dallas today, preparing for the show in San Antonio this weekend. We got to see Ben up close and personal, and even got to spend nearly 12 hours with him! We took him home for a shower and laundry, then released him to spend some time with Nicole. Here's Ben during a brief rehearsal.
The Scouts posted their latest best score of the season (76.95), finishing 4th in Siloam Springs, behind The Cadets (89.65), Blue Knights (8315), and the Colts (80.50). They were ahead of Southwind (75.80) and Pioneer (69.85). After the show, they loaded up and headed to Dallas for some "floor time" as well as a free day on Thursday! Ben's grandparents saw the show, and said the Scouts were one of the best there, despite the scores. This supports the Scouts goal to put on a "fan-friendly" show every night.
A push into Tennessee found the Scouts in Sevierville, one of the many venues Alan hit when marching with the Bluecoats a few years ago. They continue to improve with the new show, scoring 73.80, finishing 5th, ahead of Southwind (72.75). The top 5 corps on the night were Santa Clara Vanguard (86.75), Carolina Crown (85.35), Colts (78.50), and Crossmen (74.30). This photo was snapped by a Scouts alum during rehearsals.
Photo by Chris Komnick
The Scouts did well, posting a 72.75, finishing just ahead of Southwind (72.55) in 5th place. Top finishers for the night were The Cadets (88.45), Santa Clara Vanguard (85.75), Carolina Crown (85.25), and the Colts (78.55). Ben was able to take a brief tour of downtown after the show with a few of his Scouts brothers.
We spoke with Ben a couple days ago, and he indicated the Scouts had completely revamped their show. This hard work paid off, as the Scouts (73.15) finished 6th, in a field of 11 in Atlanta. While their score was only 1.45 better than 7/10, it was enough to place them ahead of several corps who had bested them earlier in the season. Corps ranked from 7 to 11 were; Crossmen (73.075), Southwind (71.35), Cascades (70.65), Troopers (70.30), and Pioneer (66.075). Who knows, there may be hope yet that the Scouts will claw their way into the top 12!
The Scouts (71.70) continued their stranglehold on last place, finishing 6th in Salem, behind the Bluecoats (84.85), Carolina Crown (84.10), Blue Knights (79.20), Glassmen (78.00) and Blue Stars (75.05). In reading on-line sources, the lack of marching skill seems to haunt the Scouts at each stop. Only a month to go.
As you've seen elsewhere, we were on the road for the last week. We were so far out of the loop that we missed recaps on all of the Scouts shows. Here's where Madison has been in the last few days:
6/30 - Mankato, MN - 5th Place - 66.2
7/01 - Stillwater, MN - 5th Place - 66.6
7/3 - Cedarburg, WI - Rained Out
7/5 - Columbus, OH - 7th Place - 67.7
7/6 - Buffalo, NY - 4th Place - 69.7
7/7 - Allentown, PA - 8th Place - 70.05
We heard from Ben on July 5th. He said that although scores are low, he is having a great time. Season like this will test the moxie of young musicians, and, thus far, Ben is handling it admirably!
The Scouts took 2nd in theie home show, posting a score of 65.75. They were bested by the Blue Stars (71.00), and defeated the Southwind (64.50), Cascades (63.95), and Pioneer (60.30).
The Scouts continue to show improvement, scoring 66.55 in Oswego, IL. Still, they placed fourth, behind The Cavaliers (81.9), the Colts (72.95), and Pacific Crest (66.65). Friday night they return to Madison for Drums on Parade.
In an up and down season, the Scouts were down, but just a little (65.05) in the DCI Chicagoland show. The top finisher Sunday was Phantom Regiment (79.7). To be pushing 80 so early in the season, the Regiment must have a whale of a show. Number two in Lisle was the Bluecoats, with a score of 78.2. The Scouts did finish ahead of Southwind (63.55) and Pioneer (57.15).
In an event dubbed "The Show of Shows", Madison (65.65) went up against the Phantom Regiment (77.95), Blue Knights (71.8), Colts (69.15), and Pioneer (56.05), placing fourth. Ben called after the show, and reaffirmed that all was well, and he's having a great time with the corps. As was usually the case, he didn't know what the Scouts had scored, or where they were in the pack. All he knows is that they are working hard, and are getting better each day. Their score reflects improvement, and is not that far away from their fourth show score from 2006, when they posted a 69.2 in Omaha, Nebraska. We hope to see the Scouts break 70 sometime next week as members get a better feeling for performing before live audiences.
The Scouts enjoyed a bright spot in this early season performance, finishing first in a field of three. While thier score (64.45) was still not great, they are improving. They bested shows by the Troopers (61.25) and Pioneer (55.7) in this small, regional show. It was good to see the Troopers back in action. They had taken off the entire 2006 season for financial reasons. In fact, it was the Troopers who rented much of the equipment to the Madison Alumni Group for their fabulous, show-stopping performance at the World Championships last summer. Ben called home Thursday afternoon and said he is having a great time, and being on the road is much better than staying in one spot.
It was another tough night for the Scouts, but the season is young, and the competition is fierce. Amazingly (to me anyway), the scores were in by 8:00 p.m. Central Time. The Scouts (61.1) were a distant fourth to The Cavaliers (77.1), the Bluecoats (75.45) and the Glassmen (66.0). Southwind closed out the show with a 59.35. That's quite a range from first to worst, and it looks as though The Cavaliers will be tough to beat this season. The Bluecoats may continue their rise with high scores this early in the season.
And the season is underway! After three weeks in and around Madison, the Scouts have packed up their gear and headed on the road. First stop, the Greater Cincinnati, OH area, for a showdown with The Cadets (75.1) and the Bluecoats (74.4). Our Scouts are off to a slow start, scoring 63.55. They placed fourth on the night, also behind the Glassmen (64.65). We've not heard from Ben since Father's Day, so we don't know what he thought of the first show.
Rehearsals Have Begun
This was taken June 7th at Verona High School in Wisconsin during a Scouts "in place" show. Ben's in there somewhere! We think he's eight from the left on the front row of horns. He's called a few times, and reports all is well in WI.
Wow, the off season sure went fast. Today (May 25th), Ben heads back to Madison for a the 2007 marching season. The whole thing will culminate with the World Championships in Pasadena, CA in August. Beginning next season, and lasting at least eight seasons, finals will be held in Indianapolis, IN. Anyway, welcome to this season's blog. If you need reminders about last season's fun, click on the Scouts 2006 button on the left.
As with last year, Ben started off with the dreaded haircut. While his hair was not nearly as long as in 2006, it had made it back to shoulder length. Here are before and after shots taken on May 24th.
The annual "Last Day of School" photo.
And after a trip to the barber.
We head to the airport in a little more than three hours. Ben's flight is at 2:05, and should put him at camp by 5:00 this afternoon. Keep checking back for updates on the Ben and the Madison Scouts all season!
Airport Update! Ben's 2:05 flight to Madison didn't get off the ground until 5:10 due to weather and mechanical delays. He did make it there safe and sound, and was taken by bus to Baraboo, Wisconsin (I don't make this stuff up), to the UofW campus. The Scouts will remain there until camp breaks in a few weeks, and the tour begins. Here are a couple of pics of Ben and other cast members as he prepared to leave.
Striking a pose.
Packing the car.
Ben and Ma
Ben seems to like this a little too much.