bandit

there is a great deal of speculation that there could be a very big Texas contingent next year with only 1 going this year, and next year is not a 6A state year.
 
I don't think we will know till after the first of the year and much of that is kept secret until they can get support from parents, boosters and administration.
 
the cost remains an issue and some of the programs whose names have been tossed around already have commitments for thins like Rose Parade, Macy's Parade etc. or just not interested in the cost per student.
 
I would imagine that rather than go to grand nats - we may start to see more Texas bands venture out to other regionals or SR like St Louis - 2 Texas bands this year - both in finals and got to go up against Broken Arrow, Blue Springs, and many other bands that you would otherwise only see in Indy. slightly shorter trip and does not add to the end of the season - it is prior to BOA SA.
 
just my thoughts

The level of competition here in TX is insane. Is there any other state with a contest with this depth? So proud of all these kids and how hard they all worked. Every one of them.
 
Also, do we know which TX bands are making the trip to Grand Nats next year? 

If I were to rank the bands TRULY and in my UNBIASED opinion.....
 
1. Keller
2. Waxahachie
3. LD Bell
4. Prosper
5. Duncanville
6. Coppell
7. Timber Creek
8. Haltom
9. Richland
10. Keller Central
 
Don't @ me

Lol Danpod. Seriously though, since apparently I was the one who set this in motion let me clarify as best as I can.
1) I mentioned Haltom because that is one band that has been hyped up by certain folks on this particular board.
2) But nowhere did I say that they aren’t a great band. They may very easily advance to State as could many of the other bands in this Area. And I will applaud them just as I would applaud all the other bands. It is a testament to the marching community that we all stand up when a band finishes performing.
3) my only point in that particular post was it is hard to differentiate between biased (and by bias I mean a natural bias toward your own program) and unbiased opinions (and let’s be honest, by now we all know who the Haltom supporters are) .
 
Honestly it’s great that y’all are so hyped up about the program. All the best to Haltom and all the other bands. They are ALL great and it’s going to be a fun Saturday.

To add another opinion- people are WAY overreacting on here. All someone said was that they weren't sure if all of these people putting Haltom first was because of bias and hype or if they actually have improved that much (a valid question considering the season they have when compared to the accomplishments of their competitors) and all of the Haltom people come out of the woodworks to attack everyone for "attacking" them.
 
I must admit I have always loved Haltom's programs and I have several friends who went there but I am among the group of people getting annoyed by the Haltom fans on here. I know I probably am not much to talk because my opinions can be obnoxious, too.
 
Do I think it is possible for Haltom to make it to state? Absolutely. They have shown they are capable of great things and their show looks like it has awesome potential. Do I have them in my own predictions? No.

Calm down?  "The lady/man doth protest too much, methinks"
 
My friend...I'm not the one upset because a band isn't getting enough hype.  If you care to read my early comments about Haltom, you would see exactly what I was talking about in my last comment.  I WAS hyping Haltom because they deserved it based on an incredible 2017.  However, I also tempered that with a big dose of "it's been one year of success"....I wanted to see how this year played out before saying they had "taken the next step" to becoming a perennial lock for State.
 
Numbers don't lie....if you look at the 2018 results, Haltom has not done that.  If you want to hype them...hype away.  If you're upset they are not getting enough hype this season, I can't help you...they have not earned the hype this season.
 
Qualify for state in THIS area and, yes, the hype will be justified.

See I’m still relatively new to this forum and I have a passion for bands . I went to birdville high school way back when and I’ve always had a love for haltom a shows. With that being said I go into contest to watch all band and never have biased . I just like some sound and design more than others. With that being said this forum should have so much arguing . It’s people opinion. Let people hype up groups . I try to get feedback to all group just because it interests me a lot and I have fun doing it . But if you are gonna complain about people so much “hyping “ a program than there is no need for you to be on a forum where band parents , alumni and student like to give there opinions and show there love for there bands . No matter what my opinion is or yours it doesn’t matter and what matter is the judges on Saturday and you they think should advance . With that being said yes prediction are opinion and you should attack someone for liking a program more than another . I love giving my opinion and that’s why I joined but y’all needa chill

Downgraded???  Come on....
 
You won't find a bigger advocate for Haltom than I was earlier this year but there's hype and then there's rational hype....Haltom has finished 5th in two contests this season and there are people placing them in first place in Area B.
 
Calling someone out for that is not "downgrading" Haltom....it's being realistic.  Richland beat Haltom at Mansfield....I don't see any "hype" for Richland here.  Shouldn't the Richland fans be up-in-arms?  Is Richland being disrespected? 
 
Of course not....it's realism.  I didn't see the shows last night but both made 1s....both are great programs...both should be realistic about the challenges they are about to face in a few days.
 
This will all play out Saturday.

Good point lol my bad on that but why are y’all so heated over this lol it’s funny how blown up this went

It seems you missed a lot of what happened earlier in this thread as well. The majority of the first 5 or so pages of the thread were taken over by a lot of Haltom hype from a couple accounts. I think people are just a little bit tired of constantly hearing about Haltom, as it really started to drown out the discussion before I, and many others, asked people to calm down a bit. There's nothing wrong with being excited about a band you support, but to constantly hype them as the best in the area, and then become very defensive when people question you is a bit immature in my opinion.
 
And for the record, I have never seen a band on this forum receive close to the amount of hype as Haltom has this year. Again, I mean no disrespect at all, just trying to add my two cents.

"Why just Haltom?"
 
I answered you're question, too.
 
 
IMO, Keller is the standard in Area B.   I'm sure there are Prosper fans here....I've seen Proper hype (I've hyped them, too) but none have said they would finish ahead of Keller.  Timber Creek won a BOA event....I haven't seen anyone from TC say they would finish ahead of Keller.  As I've stated earlier, Richland beat Haltom a few weeks ago in Mansfield....no one has said they would beat Keller.  In fact, I don't know of any predictions saying they would even advance. 
 
On a discussion board, you need to have more than just hype to justify why you think your band is better than them....if not, you'll be called out.
 
My suggestion to you would be to start a "Hype Your Band" thread....no criticism or discussion allowed, just hype. 

I’ve honestly realized tho is that no spot is safe and it could go anyway. Its now really performance based cause we know all of these finals groups can pull it out and take a spot but it’s gonna be who has the best performance. So with that being said I’m not going predict or say anything else until Saturday .

I don’t know whether to buy into the Haltom hype of today or whether it’s just hype. See, that’s the problem with folks promoting their own program constantly- it results in a feeling of skepticism when someone might actually suggest they’re good. I guess we will find out on Saturday.

I don’t know whether to buy into the Haltom hype of today or whether it’s just hype. See, that’s the problem with folks promoting their own program constantly- it results in a feeling of skepticism when someone might actually suggest they’re good. I guess we will find out on Saturday.

Remember, Duncanville and Coppell beat Keller at 2016 Area Prelims. I honestly don’t think anyone is totally safe. At this point, they’ve got to put it all out there. Sadly some very good bands are going to be very disappointed. 
Edited to add, I’m not saying past performance is a determining factor but just reminding folks that anything is possible

I don’t know whether to buy into the Haltom hype of today or whether it’s just hype. See, that’s the problem with folks promoting their own program constantly- it results in a feeling of skepticism when someone might actually suggest they’re good. I guess we will find out on Saturday.

Oh, dear. This is rather fatuous, no? Nobody here besides the band directors actually have access to the tapes, and even those that do only have access to their own band's. So how then can one point out "just what errors were made"? Instead, we have rather odd scores that don't seem to line up with any other educated person's assessment of the groups, including my own and my other band director friends.
 
Sure, respect the judges, because they do a thankless job, but let's not lionize them. They can, and do, make mistakes.

The criteria they’re using, which is on the adjudication handbook imo didn’t match up with the scores, it’s one thing if the scores matched the placements but its so inconsistent that it’s really hard to tell. I’m sorry but it’s hard for me to believe that out of the 30+ bands trinity had the 3rd best ensememble sound and they still didn’t make finals. It just doesn’t add up.

The Music Ensemble judge gave Hebron an 18.30.  I know that Hebron sounded great, but we can't deny that they had sound issues (whether it was their fault or not).  I'm not saying that they aren't deserving of 1st place, but that was by far the highest score given to any band by any judge.  Then they gave 2nd to Waxahachie and 3rd to Trinity?  And Coppell got 20th, Keller Central 25th, and Union 14th from them... I just don't understand.

Bizarre scoring. Just all over the place! Can we really even count this competition as any kind of fair judgement on the bands we saw today??

I am scratching my head at a couple of the finalists, and at the top five bottom five too. The judges must have seen something I did not see at the contest today.

I'm fine with the announced class awards. I do have some questions on top five bottom five.

Whoa.....no Coppell?  Wow.  By all accounts they had an amazing show today!  I had to eat crow for saying I wasn't always as impressed as others with them, and I stand by eating that crow with the show they put out there today.  I think they did way better than some who got class awards. 
 
To add insult to injury, that allowed Wakeland to slip into the top 10.  I figured either Wakeland or Waxahachie would make it, but if you had told me both, I would have picked someone besides Coppell to be out based on performances today.  I'm totally baffled by some of the class awards.  To me it feels like there's always some reputational bias at work sometimes.  I hate to think that, but if I am seeing obvious mistakes and find them distracting, then I wouldn't expect to see such high placements by some.  
 
Again...just my 2 cents.  I'm not a judge, which is probably a good thing!

They just added their ballad. Amazing trumpet soloist- I heard he got first at all-state last year.

I have seen a video of their opener from the front. And a standstill of a good portion of their show.