Jbl3770

my understanding is that the changes are in the prelims scores and placements..... is that the case???

IMO - visuals are the difference between UIL and BOA - BOA encourages visuals - props and body movements that add to the story being told - all the while maintaining the marching and music component of the show. done right it can only make a show better and draw in the audience.

I heard that CTJ planned to go this year - but did not due to the cost of the Tournament of Roses parade cost in Jan. I believe they are going next year - the Woodlands plan to go every non-UIL year so I would expect them to attend as well. I have also heard that Spring is kicking around the idea of returning in 2015. Next year should be a large Texas year at Grand Nationals.

my thoughts on the past few days - 3 things to keep in mind I am not a judge so my opinion is just that I have played many instruments in my 4 years in high school and marched 3 years with DCI I have attended all 3 Texas BOA's this year and was in the box for all 64 bands and 14 finalist in the dome. With that said - I watched the videos this morning for the finalists from last night. as someone that was sitting in a prime location last night - the audio/video feed does not do any of these bands justice. both from a musical and visual perspective - it leaves much to be desired. so for those that are second guessing the scoring - at the end of the day, I agree with the placements for finals as I thought that CTJ, Bowie, Leander and TWHS brought the best shows I saw and what you did not see on the videos was the emotion - the CTJ show appears to be designed just for BOA (VS UIL- as we will see in 2 days) Bowie in second and could do the same on Tuesday) - Leander was truly driven on emotion and great music. Woodlands left a great show out on the field and should be proud of what they accomplished. CTJ has only been around 6 or 7 years and has progressed each year. finishing 5th, 4th, and 4th the past 3 runs in BOA SA - this was their next step and they did so with a great show - only downside is that this show will not be heading to Indy. fun fact - 5 of the 7 judges in finals and not judged a BOA finals in Texas this year. no "favorites" to worry about Congrats to all the bands and to our medalist - I felt that this would be a year that would introduce some new blood to the old guard (Marcus, TWHS, LD Bell, Bowie) based on Leander's showing in BOA Austin and CTJ in Conroe, FloMo in Prelims yesterday adding to Hebron's rise last year in BOA Dallas and San Antonio. not to mention all the great shows that had very strong performances yesterday and leads to the question....who will jump up next year. All this will make for an even more competitive group in the years to come and next years BOA SA will be even better. At some point BOA will need to rethink the format in San Antonio - it is not just another Super Regional - this is Texas and Marching band really is bigger here. Stay safe on looking forward to UIL on Tuesday and what that might bring.

watched shows all day yesterday from the dome - the sound was phenomenal!! this is by far the best and most talent filled competition I have seen in the past 6 years that I have been coming to San Antonio. there will be some VERY good bands that will not make the finals - and finals will be insane.

while they do not judge it - if done right you cannot deny the impact that a good pre-show has on the audience and thus the overall effect. - I recall the 2012 BOA-SA and all the comments that were made on this blog about the CTJ preshow and the members coming our of the stands in the preshow - sets the tone for the show - I wish more would do them

I cant call who will be on top - but I just don't see Leander making that big of a jump. I have seen a lot of shows the past few weeks TWHS, Hebron, Bowie, Marcus, Bowie, CTJ, LDBell, Leander, to name a few - but I just don't see it. they have a great show (and I could be wrong) but I just dont see them making that big of a leap over so many other great shows - time will tell.

Sorry - I just don't see Leander in the top spot - call me crazy - and time will tell

many of the bands do not allow posting of videos - 1 - don't want the competition to see their show - 2. don't want to put up a show that is not yet complete

OK - This in not as advanced as the TXBANDS survey - but I took results to this point looking at the top 6 finishings - this is not weighted based on the actual placements you listed but the total number of you that predicted a top 6 finish may update later if there are more entries HEBRON 12 CTJ 12 BOWIE 11 MARCUS 10 TWHS 8 LEANDER 8 LD BELL 2 VANDERGRIFT, CEDAR PARK, BRAZOSWOOD, REAGAN - ALL AT 1 EACH just interesting to look at - i will keep you posted

I am sure that they assumed that Cedar Ridge would compete in Texas - Many are basing their predictions on the season as it unfolds. it is a compliment to Cedar ridge and not intended to be a slight.

you are correct - Bowie is always strong. I saw Round Rock and Leander at BOA Austin and their shows were very good and that was early in the season - I think that the SA show will be huge this year with so many strong shows.

O.K. - all 3 BOA regionals are completed - so it is time to start looking forward to the BOA super-regional and then the 6A UIL State results. Based on the BOA results - here are the top 5 as I see it for San Antonio - in no particular order Hebron CT Johnson Marcus Woodlands LD Bell thoughts????

I did not mis-comprehend - my issue was that you stated 3 options as to why CTJ won last night - the first 2 where based on bad judges and bad TW performances - the last option was a great performance by CTJ. as I have stated, the goal of this site is to promote the music performance agenda - and that should never degrade what is accomplished by those that have succeeded - CTJ deserved last night's win.

who the heck are you that you are "going to decide when you see the video" - because you obviously know more than the professional judges that were paid to be there? - and for the record - I have been grown up for a long time and have no problem hearing things I don't agree with - but you appear to think you are smarter than everyone else and missing the whole point that these programs promote. they are to promote growth and your comments are negative and slanted. maybe you need to learn to deal with things you don't like to hear.

Never counted out - they did not win "the Eagle" by chance - they will certainly be a factor in San Antonio and I am looking forward to what their final show looks like

you can never Count out Marcus - as stated earlier - they are a concert band on the field. I think Reagan has a show built for UIL and could certainly be a factor this year. Hebron will be in the mix. CTJ and Bowie as well. this year could be a very interesting state finals

mott point - and should not be mentioned - as this would have left them with a 2.45 win rather than a 2.75 win.

Really????? - so the class shown by the Woodlands HS - both in inviting CTJ to their campus to hang out after prelims and in watching and cheering for their encore performance is just "learning about the competition? and based on your comments the CTJ leadership should go back to their kids on Tuesday and tell them.... Congrats .. you have just won multiple caption awards for the first time in your 7 year history, you just swept finals captions for the first time ever, you just won your first BOA regional championship - don't be too excited because per your comments - it was "weird judging" and the "Woodlands had a week performance" - so don't expect this again????? get over yourself. CTJ and many others had to deal with the "weird judging" in the last San Antonio Super Regional when after prelims Hebron placed 1st and CTJ second and Marcus 3rd. the finals saw CTJ drop 1.25 points and Woodlands jump nearly 2.5 points - knocking CTJ and Marcus out of medals - I stand behind what I saw from the Woodlands - class act that supported a band that beat them - their cheers and support and Twitter/instagram feeds on the encore performance by Woodlands members leads me to believe it was genuine - and just what marching band and the spirit of competition is all about. Do not belittle what was accomplished yesterday with your idea of competition.

one heck of a night - was blown away by the quality of shows in the finals in Conroe - they might as well make the San Antonio Super Regional the Grand Nats. As I stated earlier - CTJ show has the potential to be huge for them this year and the growth potential is huge. I stuck around to see the encore performance - Hats off to the Woodlands HS for filling the stands and cheering for CTJ - true class organization. great shows by all -

I agree - there are some really great shows out there this year - looking forward to this weekends show in the Woodlands (hoping the rain stays away) - Good Luck to all the bands this weekend

while you are correct - Reagan placed 2nd at Conroe in 2012 - CTJ did not compete in the BOA Conroe that year. CTJ competed the week before at BOA Denton where they placed 3rd to Reagan's 10th place finish in a competition that had the finals cancelled due to rain.

you are correct - Reagan's only win over CTJ in the past 3 years was their placement in 2012 UIL (we all know how that works) - CTJ should finish this contest ahead of Reagan as well. Churchill will make the finals - but not get above 6th at best - great shows by all and they will all be top notch by the time they play in the dome.

I agree that Reagan, Churchill and Johnson are in a different league than the rest of NEISD - I saw both Reagan and Johnson on Saturday and again on Tuesday at FallFest. I think Johnson showed a much more improved show and the details in their show are the difference. Reagan and Churchill have good shows - but the sound coming from CTJ is awesome. I expect that all 3 will make the finals in Conroe (weather permitting) but I think that CTJ walks away second with a good show - they challenge the Woodlands and steal some captions with a great show (as they did last year) Goof luck to all the NEISD Schools - I think that all 3 schools will have awesome shows by BOA-SA and the 6A UIL

I am having trouble posting the picture that I wanted to share - this past weekend we played Football against our local rival school - our band decided to do their entire show after the game rather than at halftime. not only did the home AND visitor stands remain packed, our football team (who lost a hard fought battle) went to the end zone and sat there to cheer for the band as did all the cheer, spirit and dance teams. it was a great sight to see. Football is big in Texas - dare I say Marching Band is BIGGER???