2017 BOA San Antonio Super Regionals Predictions

[BrendanBand001]

RIP Dan The Band Man. Your videos will be missed.

[scoobydoo]

RIP Dan the Band Man

[scoobydoo]

I'm surprised it took so long to delete his account though.

[LostChoirGuy]

Oh I'm glad that they enforced the legal issues, but I was hoping to see a video of many of the performances this weekend. oh well.

[Kiddo2.0]

Ban the dand man

[TWHSParent]

Wondering if anyone else saw the Avon guy in costume? He came down and led their cheer during finals. Thought it was great!

[Danpod]

Wondering if anyone else saw the Avon guy in costume? He came down and led their cheer during finals. Thought it was great! IMG_0054crop.jpg

 

Band parent from Avon.  We were told that he goes to every contest.  Super cool!!!

[OneOfMany]

Band parent from Avon.  We were told that he goes to every contest.  Super cool!!!

 

He is absolutely at every contest. For years he has worn a hat themed to our show. When we did Black Gold, he had oil rigs. For Go Forth, he had a weather vane. This year he took it up a notch with the suit. We love him and his family. He brings us together whether we are in Avon or in a different state. Nicest man. 

[LeanderMomma]

I'm surprised it took so long to delete his account though.

Me too. I knew it was gonna happen tho. :/

[TWHSParent]

Sigh. I just hit my quota of likes for the day as well....

[Rudedog34]

One Brick/Just Another Brick, we're all family.

 

67 of the top Texas High School marching bands coming together for our annual family reunion along with our cousin from Indiana.

 

Avon Black and Gold,

It was a pleasure visiting with you in the stands and being wowed by your amazing program. Class act!

You will always be welcome in our home.

[LeanderMomma]

Sigh. I just hit my quota of likes for the day as well....

Don't worry. It's tough but just remember, This Too Shall Pass.

[TWHSParent]

Don't worry. It's tough but just remember, This Too Shall Pass.

 

  (The other way to like a post).

[LeanderMomma]

(The other way to like a post).

[AvonMom]

As an Avon mom, I followed this thread from the beginning. Until this weekend, I did not want to register here, because I felt this was a Texas site/forum. Who am I to share a view in something that is clearly not my space? This post, however, was the tipping point. Thank you so very much for your encouraging words to our Avon Marching Black and Gold family. You are correct: our kids are used to getting medals at BOA events; however, this experience is worth its weight in gold. Please accept our (more than 300 and counting, as I shared your post on Avon Town Chatter pages) heartfelt thanks to you and to all of the Texas staff, parents, students, announcers, etc. for such a warm welcome. It was both humbling and inspiring. 

 

If you'll allow me, I want to share a few other thoughts from the weekend:

• Flower Mound opened their home to our kids. The kids broke bread, played games, laughed, and just enjoyed each other's company. Our daughter is one of many in a group chat with kids from FloMo. These kids became friends. Avon kids and FloMo kids will hang out and compete again next weekend. How cool is that?
• Parents from various Texas bands made us feel at home and shared unsolicited encouragement when they saw our Avon shirts. 
• More than a hundred Avon parents made the trip to support our kids. Many more wanted to go, but traveling is cost prohibitive. Instead, they sacrificed their own experience for their kids. Again, humbling and inspiring..
• Now, let's talk about the San Antonio Super Regional. Not going to lie, I have never missed one of Avon's BOA events since our daughter's freshman year; however, this was beyond special. I finally understand that everything IS bigger and better in Texas. This was by far the BEST marching band competition EVER. I am truly looking forward to next weekend's Grand Nationals. Spectators are not going to be disappointed. This will be a showdown to beat all showdowns: Texas, Broken Arrow, Carmel, and many other fierce competitors from across this great nation. 
• Avon Marching Black and Gold parents (for decades) provide a standing ovation for all marching bands after every performance - prelim or finals. It was so nice to see many Texas parents do the same. Talk about synergy... yes, yes, and yes... all of our kids work so hard.  

More than two decades ago, Stephen Covey shared the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of his principles - sharpen the saw - came to mind all weekend. San Antonio Super Regional brought out the best in students across Texas and your Avon Indiana friends, too. They know and observed first hand - when everyone pushes the limit, leaving their heart and soul on the field, the competition strengthens, and everyone benefits. 

 

Thanks again, Texas. Our family (again, one of many) will never forget this experience. We are #teamtexas fans for life. Best to all of you as you continue your pursuit of excellence whether in Texas UIL, Grand Nats, or in your preparation for 2018. Mad respect!

Well said, my sentiments exactly. I feel like all other band competitions have paled in comparison to what we experienced this past weekend, marching band will never be the same for me. Looking forward to cheering on all the Texas bands headed to Indy this week and plan to be there bright and early Friday for Flower Mound.  #teamTexAvon

[Jane D'oh]

RIP Dan The Band Man. Your videos will be missed.

 

Why doesn't FloMarching make archived videos available to members? I wish they would. 

[MadisonBandMan1]

Because it's completely live streamed and not recorded.

[PSHSMom]

Hi All,

 

Finally have a minute to post just some random thoughts on the weekend.   I followed on my phone, but find it 
hard to post with my phone and my fat fingers and old eyes, LOL.  

 

We attended pretty much all day Saturday for the Prelims.   After LD Bell played my kids scoped out the best seats
and we sat there all day.   We were pretty much up as high as you could go, close to the 50, where all the
band directors/band parents ran up to watch their show and then ran back down when they were done.    We didn't 
attend finals as after  9 hours, although my husband tags along, it really isn't his cup of tea, and I also felt
that maybe with all the people attending, I would rather someone who really had kids in the finals could be there.
Also, with 4 of us, it saved us the cost of the tickets : )

 

So just some Random thoughts about the day.

 

1.  The Alamodome needs cup holders.  Really hard to get up and clap after every band when
I have to constantly put the drink down, and pick it back up so people could get in and out of the rows. 

 

2.   My kids really loved the Keller show as well as James Bowie.  I think the kid doing the back flips did it for them, LOL.

 

3.  The kids really liked the part of the Avon show where the kids thru there instruments in the air.    But they (or we all) hoped
they didn't practice that move on the cement parking lots during rehearsals.   Actually, as a parent, I just though, OMG,
do they know how much those things cost!  I think they needed a disclaimer that no instruments were harmed during
performance!   (But it was really cool!!)

 

4.  The Avon band parents around us were so nice!    Very complimentary of all the bands.    So many made the trip!   

 

Anyway, I think so much has been said already about all the talent out there on the field over the weekend.  I am sorry I didn't get to see all the bands, like CTJ or Leander, but I saw pretty many of them.   All of those kids from top to bottom are class acts and should be very proud of all they accomplished.  

 

And if anyone has a link to the Plano East performance that I promise not to distribute or share, I would love to see it again. You can PM me    Not that I think anyone has an illegal recording or anything.   (I did see quite a few people recording during prelims and was surprised no one stopped them).  

 

That's all for now! 

[OneOfMany]

One Brick/Just Another Brick, we're all family.

 

67 of the top Texas High School marching bands coming together for our annual family reunion along with our cousin from Indiana.

 

Avon Black and Gold,

It was a pleasure visiting with you in the stands and being wowed by your amazing program. Class act!

You will always be welcome in our home.

 

Thank you for welcoming us! We LOVED every minute of our visit, and we will be in the stands cheering for the Texas bands this weekend. 

[whitewing09]

My preliminary thoughts: 

 

1) I'll admit I wasn't a fan of Avon's show the first time I saw it (like two months ago), but I thoroughly enjoyed it live. Their color guard is staged so well and every movement makes sense with the show. I absolutely love their grandiose closer and the message that the show has overall. I'm rooting for them to medal this weekend.

 

2) FloMo: It was really interesting to see them flip-flop with Avon in prelims and finals. I guess these two groups are pretty on par. I love their use of colors; this show is a feast for the eyes. I also really enjoyed their musical selection. I'm very curious as to how they do at nationals. They had some rough spots, but nothing that they can't fix in the next week.

 

3) Marcus: I have to say that I haven't been a fan of their past two shows, but I actually really like what they've done with this one. It actually is very odd, but in a fun quirky way. The musical arrangement is just as fun as their visual package, which is a nice mix of colors and intricate body movements. I can't wait to see it again.

 

4) TWHS: This was one of my favorite shows for this season. They have such a demanding show, but it is such an interesting show and their ballad makes me feel alive. I'm excited to see it this weekend.

[BrassMom19*21]

How many bands are we gonna see next year that finish learning their whole show by the first competition? Definitely worked for ctj this year

 

Can you imagine the competition if we had not had Harvey this year? It did affect those schools on the coast that lost a good couple of weeks practice.

[Xenon]

Sigh. I just hit my quota of likes for the day as well....

 

I finally figured where to set this, so the Quota has been increased!

[Danpod]

AND WE'RE NOT TELLING YOU WHAT IT IS EITHER!!!  HMPH!!!!!!!

[Rudedog34]

Does anyone else feel that azn's origional post:

 

"This is going to be one interesting year judging from last year's performance. ;)"

 

Set the tone for the season that lead up to the most insane S.A. Super ever?

[AvonDad]

It's been not quite a week and over 2300 miles later, our San Antonio adventure has ended.  I have been a reader of TXBands for a few years, but decided to actually "join" this year after getting the details that we were heading to Texas.  I needed to brush up on all the bands down there as I knew it was going to a great competition, but didn't realize how good.  I knew of a few bands after seeing them at LOS for GN and from "that" video site.  I already had a favorite show from there, Reagan's Beyond Perimeters.  I had no idea what UIL was, "8 Hr rule" or "non state year".  Its been quite a learning experience. Thanks for the encouragement from a private message to share my thoughts on the forums.  

 

Our days in SA have created memories to last a lifetime.  We were welcomed warmly everywhere we went. As my wife and I got to experience the Riverwalk. We had band parents from all over stop and greet us and chat for a few minutes.  For me, the band nerd, I found it very interesting to pass road signs like Round Rock and Leander, places I knew from band names, then see show shirts with all the great Texas bands everywhere.  Not just a couple here and there as I have seen at GN, but they were everywhere.   

 

Our kiddo had a blast. After some touring in Dallas and practice at Birdville, Flower Mound treated them very well with dinner and some fun times.  Friendships were made.  We recieved an odd text from our kiddo on friday morning that they beat Flower Mound!?!? followed by "...in tug of war".  After practicing at the Alamo Stadium they actually got to go to Prelims and just sit and watch some of the competition on Friday.  With our normal schedule, they don't get to do that and see other bands.  CTJ blew them away and they knew they had to bring their "A" game, which they did they next day.  The competition was fierce as there were so many great bands bringing their best and I don't think you can get much closer from 2-6 place than how it ended up.... We can ignore last years GN, but we now hold the record for the highest score for 2nd place.   I'm not sure if anyone ever predicted the placements for that night.  I remember seeing a post about someone getting a chicken and letting them pick the prediction and it would do just as good.  I also liked the prediction... 1st - Texas band or one from Indiana. 2nd - Texas band or one from Indiana...... I did read where there was a concern about our kids since they didn't medal after the long trip.  When I asked our kiddo that same question, the respsonse was... WE BROKE 95, I'm GOOD!

 

My take aways.... 

- I'd would do this again in a minute.  Being a band nerd, its was exciting to see all these great bands together in one place.  The amount of work, time, committment each and everyone of these kids have done over the season in their programs is incredible and each one deserves their own standing ovation. 

 

- Cheering for you own band as they take they field DOES happen outside of Indiana.  We began to wonder after previous competitions where other band parents were much more reserved.  I guess we are just a little loud so our kiddos can hear us on the field.

 

- I was glad about our musical "Tip of the Hat" to our fellow Texas bands.  I don't recall Avon ever changing their warm up before, and especially having the kids to wave a thank you to the crowd at finals performance was an experience for us as well.    

 

- I still miss stuff when watching the performance and I have an idea what is supposed to happen.  I keep missing the horn toss!  There was a massive trumpet toss across the gym floor in our WGI winds routine last year that made you gasp, so yep, they practice that wherever.  

 

- We got to talk to people about the meaning behind our show and how its a testament over how the program has been built over the years.  Our kiddos even signed their names on bricks outside their band room.

 

- We left with beef jerky, fudge, peanut brittle and discovered Beaver Nuggets!

 

- One complaint... Lucas Oil has escalators.

 

- watching practice from the shade in 90 degree weather is more fun for the parents, than from the stands in 30 degree weather the past weekend.

 

- discovered the Dan Podcast.

 

- Leander, Plugerville, Round Rock, Keller, Vista Ridge, Hendrickson, The Woodlands, Flower Mound are some that I remember we talked with personally. Texas left a positive impression with us and friends were made all around.  We would hope to somehow return the hospitality someday.  

 

- ....and we got to see history in the making with that OUTSTANDING performance from CTJ! Hallelujah!  

 

Thank you again for your amazing welcome and now on to Grand Nats Y'All!

 

*****************************

Edit: They posted a brief story behind our show this year.  I heard its a speech given to the kids each season and the meaning behind the bricks.