LostChoirGuy

Yes, I remembered about Prosper also moving up to 6A being in area B right after I went to bed last night and figured I would correct myself in the morning. That is three fantastic 5A state finalists moving up and Highland Park barely missed the cut off which would have been a fourth. Prosper grew so much over the past few years that they have nearly 3000 students now, so yes, they are DEFINITELY in 6A. It should be noted that Haltom is not new to being a top level band. I seem to recall both Haltom and Richland being regular state finalists back in the mid to late 2000s.

I think LD Bell is a lock much more so than Haltom. Keep in mind that a single excellent year at a few BOA scored competitions does not always equate to a great showing at UIL the next year. I think they have a good shot though. Personally I think Coppell, Richland, and Waxahachie all have the capability to beat out Duncanville. Timber Creek had a break out year also this year and they were one place from qualifying in 2016. I'm excited to see what happens here.

If everything were to stay the same, Richland would be in Area B, which is where Keller, LD Bell, Coppell, Duncanville, and Plano East qualified from in 2016 (if I am not mistaken). The other Area finalists that did not qualify for state that year were Timber Creek, Haltom, Martin, Mansfield, and Haltom. With both Richland and Waxahachie moving up to 6A and in the boundaries of this Area, if things stay pretty similar and with the excellent performances by several of those groups last year, I can see lots of these groups being very competitive. I know that that last sentence does not make any sense, but I'm too lazy to fix it so try your best to understand what I mean. haha

Unpopular opinion: while I enjoy BOA years more because of the diversity of shows, I prefer UIL show design to the gaudi (get it?) BOA props and designs. Shows with less clutter are way more interesting to me.

I was thinking the same thing. Most of these shows (rightfully so) were designed to highlight the strengths of each band. Few bands would do as well with another bands show, but I think Avon would have been excellent with The Woodlands show. Musically, the groups are comparable and I think that Avon could have mastered a difficult visual program that The Woodlands never quite cleaned fully. Reagan probably would have done well with Hendrickson's show and Vandy and Cedar Ridge's styles are similar enough that both would have done fairly well. I think the major crash and burns would be Keller (that show was too ambitious for FM, let alone Keller), Hebron (without the amazing musical program, their visual flaws would be extremely noticeable and the color guard just couldn't keep up with that show), and Bowie (the show would not have enough flair to make up for the struggles they would have technically with the music). I think Leander would do better, but ultimately couldn't clean such a huge show the way CTJ did. My rankings with the show they are performing in parenthesis: Avon (The Woodlands) Reagan (Hendrickson) Marcus (Cedar Park) Cedar Park (Marcus) Vandegrift (Cedar Ridge) Flower Mound (Keller) Hendrickson (Reagan) CTJ (Leander) The Woodlands (Avon) Cedar Ridge (Vandegrift) Leander (CTJ) Hebron (Bowie) Keller (Flower Mound) Bowie (Hebron)

My #1 thought is Hebron and Bowie are VERY different styles of bands. Loved them both but I dont think either group would do well with the other's show. I'll give some more thoughts later when its not midnight.

Which bands tend to do better at UIL than boa events? I know that in years past Keller was a more UIL focused group. I only mention them because I am more familiar with their history than others. Who else?

https://www.texasfootball.com/snapshot/ For people who want to look at the snapshot day numbers to get an idea of alignments but didnt know where to look.

Like many of you, I am very familiar with the geographic location of most of the best Texas Marching bands, but do not know much about where other bands are, except for the state they are in. I decided to make a Google Map that shows the locations for these bands based on their recent performance at BOA events (only bands that have been successful at BOA events since 2010 are included). This map can be accessed by all at the following link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QSRwJawuvbUZC6vuYPo5HnfsqQG_EO1B&usp=sharing I have divided the listed bands into 4 categories, and each band is only listed in the highest category they fall into. Those categories are as follows: 1. Yellow- Grand National Medalists and Super Regional Winners (since 2010) 2. Grey- Grand National Top Half Finalists and Super Regional Medalists (since 2010) 3. Brown- Grand National Finalists, Super Regional Top Half Finalists, and Regional Winners (since 2010) 4. Blue- Grand National Semifinalists (only top 30), Super Regional Finalists, and Regional Medalists (since 2010) I tried to reduce bias as much as possible to get an accurate idea of which parts of the country have a higher concentration of great bands, but I was only as successful as was possible given where BOA holds events and which bands attend which events each year. Still, I think it provides some really cool information. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me is the prevalence of Atlanta area bands and the great bands in the midwest being much more spread out than the bands in Texas and Oklahoma, which are very centralized around big cities. I took discretion in a few things, such as including Atlanta as a Super-Regional on a few of the years that I couldn't determine if it was or not. Also, Bands that changed names or combined with other bands (for instance Lawrence Central/ Lawrence Township) are only included once. Let me know if you find any mistakes, and maybe I will continue to add to this map in the near future! Hope you all enjoy!

I think colorgaurd adds a great element to a show and hopefully will not fade away. I would love to see more bands go the way of Reagan though and have a guard and a dance team. They are able to do some really nice things visually.

My 20-30 was quite a bit off. Other than that, just a few little switches.

My predictions: 1. Carmel 2. CTJ (personally I think they should be number 1, but it will be interesting to see what hornrank decides) 3. Broken Arrow 4. Hebron 5. Vandegrift 6. Avon 7. Marcus 8. Flower Mound 9. Tarpon Springs 10. Reagan 11. Cedar Park 12. Dobyns- Bennett 13. The Woodlands 14. Keller 15. Hendrickson 16. Castle 17. Wando 18. Blue Springs 19. Union 20. James Bowie 21. Cedar Ridge 22. Leander 23. L.D. Bell 24. Haltom 25. Marian Catholic 26. Round Rock 27. Ayala 28. Homestead 29. Vista Ridge 30. O'Fallon Next 10: Owasso American Fork Pearland Winston Churchill Center Grove Centerville Bellevue West Vista Murrieta Fort Mill Park Vista I still think Dripping Springs deserves a spot here, but since they havent done a BOA competition since the McAllen regional I don't think they will be noticed.

I like your list! I would have to say that Wylie should be in consideration, also! Probably around Coppell or Wakeland. If we are going off of past history rather than this year especially, duncanville should be on the list, and maybe Berkner. Also Aledo is another great group, though I wouldn't say they were better than those you listed. Argyle deserves recognition for their dominance in their class, too.

It should be noted that FloMo got 6th at SA, not 5th. With that small change, every band that competed at both events this year improved their position at GNats.

You put cedar park twice. Also, I just noticed that all six bands that competed at San Antonio had higher placements at GNats than SA. That's pretty cool!

I have to say, I'm shocked by Dobyns-Bennett and a bit surprised at Carmel, particularly that they won (tied to be precise) the music caption. I thought the music caption would have gone to Avon, Marcus, or Flower Mound for sure.

I like the idea! Might make more sense to simply be another feature on hornrank, though.

That was really enjoyable to watch! Way more exciting than just following the live blog, though I must admit my reactions were very similar. My roommate thought I was crazy, but I didn't care.

For semis or for finals? I definitely think they have a good chance at semis, but not quite for finals this year. Should still be a great trip for them though!

Wow! Dripping springs really bringing it! Too bad that Roma missed out, I think it would have been cool for them to make finals. Also, way to go Rouse! Top 6 were as expected.

True, yet few people ever talk about them. Like, they are fantastic and deserve some chatter every now and again.

Personally, I think Waxahachie is one of the most underrated bands in Texas.

Pearland definitely had a great year, we will see if they keep it up. Oak Ridge, Seven Lakes, and Clear Brook also.

Wow! Some of the texas bands moved up even higher than I expected! Jeremiah, you should have said you were looking for Utah results! I live in Utah right now and could easily find out how the bands are doing.

I agree that Highland Park is a good candidate for the last spot in finals. I was choosing between Rouse, Highland Park, Bel Air, and Tomball Memorial. I went with the last just on a whim.