Grand Nationals 2018???

[Nny14]

Vista Ridge's emotional appeal with Avon/BA's visual package?

Awesome.

It's funny that you say that considering Avon and Vista Ridge have the same drill designer.

[TRBbaritone]

I really feel for Marian Catholic. I really enjoyed the complexity of their show but I feel like it was a bit too far out there for the audience (and probably judges) to fully understand. Gotta hand it to them, no other band will ever come close to the amount of times they’ve been in finals (34 consecutive years).

[CTJBandPops]

I really feel for Marian Catholic. I really enjoyed the complexity of their show but I feel like it was a bit too far out there for the audience (and probably judges) to fully understand. Gotta hand it to them, no other band will ever come close to the amount of times they’ve been in finals (34 consecutive years).

great point - I have always been a fan of their program - but that makes the point. while Marion deserves praise for making finals for 34 consecutive years (no easy feat in and of itself) - they had the chance to compete in 34 consecutive Grand Nationals - and their are not many, if any, programs outside the Indy area that have that ability 

we can call it grand nationals all day long but this is not an earned right to perform and based on the cost it is prohibitive to many outstanding programs.

 

Over the past 28 years - TWHS has performed 10 times between 1998 and 2017 - making finals all but once and winning gold in 2013 - More than any Texas program in that time

LD Bell appeared 9 times between 2001 and 2013 with a stretch from 2005 and 2010 where they won a medal every year including a Gold in 2007 (1 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze)

 

I see this as a reason that why we need to see the G Nats move around to ensure that the Grand National Champion is not decided by who is the closest to Indy and can go every year, but more about who has the best show.

 

we sent emails to help TWHS attend Conroe Finals - will we do the same to get support for a Grand Nats that offers a slightly more fair playing field for those that reside outside of Indy

 

just my thoughts

[LeanderMomma]

I came across an old post on MFA forums trying to compare SA with GN and which was better lat year. People were trying to compare with what they saw online and while streaming. I can say there was no comparison after being live at both and streaming to compare with another doesn't work. When CTJ turned around with that initial horn hit....it kicked you in the chest, it was felt and you knew it. Loud, clear, pointed and it went on from there. At Grand Nats last year....well it was quieter and people seemed to already know who was going to win and the shows seem to lack. Felt a bit like it last night as well. I have never really liked any of Broken Arrow shows in the past. Very well done, but not my type. Last night, that changed. Absolutely loved their show and thought they should take it all, at the least GE. People in front of me was commenting on the sound that Prosper had and I was thinking, wow, I got a load of that sound last year at SA with a whole lot of bands. They don't realized this is a hint of what they are missing compared to SA. At SA, seems NOBODY has a clue who will make finals, let alone scores or placements, because there are so many great programs and anyone can have a great run and anyone can oops, even just a little bit, toss the placements in a hat and try again. SA appeared to be a real competition, no holds barred, then assemble for awards, break ranks, congrat the winner and make new friends. Just my 2 cents.

We love it when Avon parents give their 2 cents, btw.

 

I am hoping that next year’s Grand Nationals will be more interesting with so many Texas bands going. I’d like to think it will be a fairly judged contest, and hopefully it will be. I also hope it will be an exciting one! I think it will, at least for Avon and #TeamTexas, because Avon kids will be happy to see the friends they made last year, and #TeamTexas will be excited simply because it’s Grand Nats and we’ll have stars in our eyes. Can you imagine how loud the cheering is going to be in LOS next November when Avon takes the field? Not only will the Avon parents be cheering, but the entire #TeamTexas entourage will be screaming for Avon as well. Now THAT will be exciting!

[MadisonBandMan1]

Like banddad84 said, I think a national competition should move around, say, every 4 years, and should be more accessible/affordable for programs to enter. It would even the playing field SOOOO much. Then if a program wins we can’t blame money or location.

[AvonDad]

I really feel for Marian Catholic. I really enjoyed the complexity of their show but I feel like it was a bit too far out there for the audience (and probably judges) to fully understand. Gotta hand it to them, no other band will ever come close to the amount of times they’ve been in finals (34 consecutive years).

We ran into a lady from Marion Catholic at a local Cracker Barrel this morning.  She told us they were still working on new drill the day before and things were running behind.  She told us they had all purchased their finals tickets months ago and a lot of them ended up selling and leaving.  She stayed, wearing her MC gear and was proud to say she was with Marion Catholic and wanted to watch some good bands.  That's admirable IMHO.  MC has used our facilities at the high school for years and its always interesting to pull up and see Avon practicing on one field and MC on the other side.  It brings it closer into focus on how so many bands feel at SA each year.  

[Guest]

 

Which, frankly, is no different than being dominated by bands from within 250 miles of Indy.

of which 3 made finals.

[Majellan]

I came across an old post on MFA forums trying to compare SA with GN and which was better lat year.  People were trying to compare with what they saw online and while streaming.  I can say there was no comparison after being live at both and streaming  to compare with another doesn't work.  When CTJ turned around with that initial horn hit....it kicked you in the chest, it was felt and you knew it.  Loud, clear, pointed and it went on from there.     At Grand Nats last year....well it was quieter and people seemed to already know who was going to win and the shows seem to lack. Felt a bit like it last night as well.  I have never really liked any of Broken Arrow shows in the past.  Very well done, but not my type.  Last night, that changed.  Absolutely loved their show and thought they should take it all, at the least GE.  People in front of me was commenting on the sound that Prosper had and I was thinking, wow, I got a load of that sound last year at SA with a whole lot of bands.  They don't realized this is a hint of what they are missing compared to SA.  At SA, seems NOBODY has a clue who will make finals, let alone scores or placements, because there are so many great programs and anyone can have a great run and anyone can oops, even just a little bit, toss the placements in a hat and try again.  SA appeared to be a real competition, no holds barred, then assemble for awards, break ranks, congrat the winner and make new friends.  Just my 2 cents. 

 

Avon has a great group of parents and students it seems.  Great post, it's interesting because I watched both San Antonio and the Grand Nationals on streaming.  It did seem very quiet at Indy compared to San Antonio, now I know they mix the audio to keep the crowd noise down in both so it could just be that.  It just seemed underwhelming to me in comparison to San Antonio, and San Antonio was not up to par this year because every band in Texas suffered from all of the rain.

 

I don't know what the setup is in St. Louis but that would seem to be a good location for finals, much more central, 4 hours makes a big difference coming from Texas.  Now someone mentioned MFA being based in Indianapolis, that doesn't matter....tell the execs to get on a plane.  That's easier than trying to send 300+ kids to Indy every year, I don't know how Prosper does it with their three contest in a week and a couple of thousand miles in 9 days.  Proud of them for doing as well as they did with all of that going on.

 

With the operation that MFA is pulling off at San Antonio already, they could easily swing staging finals away from Indianapolis.

 

Now I remember going to BOA summer band camp in 1987-89 at Whitewater, WI, I don't think they should completely take finals away from Indianapolis, there is alot of history there and as I said earlier there are not many situations that have as good of a inside band prep setup next to a domed stadium.  Still like the idea of a rotation though, I agree with Avon Dad, it gets a little stale having a feeling who the winner is when the night starts.

 

I didn't have a clue who would win San Antonio until the results were announced, I felt like it would be Flower Mound but cases could be made for Hebron, Reagan, and my favorite dark horse this year Vista Ridge.  Vandy didn't do it for me this year, so I didn't anticipate them winning even though I know they worked very hard.  Nevertheless I had the feeling from the start of the night that Carmel would win the Grand Nationals before i even saw them.  I agree with Avon Dad that Broken Arrow had a great show, I usually am not real fond of Broken Arrow shows, but this years show was a good one, visually and musically.....but in the end Carmel wond again by more than a full point at that.

[IndyTarHeel]

Avon has a great group of parents and students it seems.  Great post, it's interesting because I watched both San Antonio and the Grand Nationals on streaming.  It did seem very quiet at Indy compared to San Antonio, now I know they mix the audio to keep the crowd noise down in both so it could just be that.  It just seemed underwhelming to me in comparison to San Antonio, and San Antonio was not up to par this year because every band in Texas suffered from all of the rain.

 

I don't know what the setup is in St. Louis but that would seem to be a good location for finals, much more central, 4 hours makes a big difference coming from Texas.  Now someone mentioned MFA being based in Indianapolis, that doesn't matter....tell the execs to get on a plane.  That's easier than trying to send 300+ kids to Indy every year, I don't know how Prosper does it with their three contest in a week and a couple of thousand miles in 9 days.  Proud of them for doing as well as they did with all of that going on.

 

With the operation that MFA is pulling off at San Antonio already, they could easily swing staging finals away from Indianapolis.

 

Now I remember going to BOA summer band camp in 1987-89 at Whitewater, WI, I don't think they should completely take finals away from Indianapolis, there is alot of history there and as I said earlier there are not many situations that have as good of a inside band prep setup next to a domed stadium.  Still like the idea of a rotation though, I agree with Avon Dad, it gets a little stale having a feeling who the winner is when the night starts.

 

I didn't have a clue who would win San Antonio until the results were announced, I felt like it would be Flower Mound but cases could be made for Hebron, Reagan, and my favorite dark horse this year Vista Ridge.  Vandy didn't do it for me this year, so I didn't anticipate them winning even though I know they worked very hard.  Nevertheless I had the feeling from the start of the night that Carmel would win the Grand Nationals before i even saw them.  I agree with Avon Dad that Broken Arrow had a great show, I usually am not real fond of Broken Arrow shows, but this years show was a good one, visually and musically.....but in the end Carmel wond again by more than a full point at that.

 

I don't know if you can say it was a foregone conclusion that Carmel would win. Their show, in my opinion, had no where else to go, while Avon continued cleaning. I felt it was Tarpon Springs and everyone else after watching their show after BOA-Orlando. Caught BA's show on YouTube and felt it would be a contender as well. Blue Springs came out of no where this season. Going into GN, I just felt like the field would be too strong for Carmel's show. I have questions as to why the judges felt Carmel's show was that much better than others.... just don't see it. The visual caption should not have gone to them but GE/Music, yes. The show is put together so well and the kids marched the _ell out of it. 

[Somethingbandrelated]

I’ve seen people praising the heck out of Carmels show this year, some even say it’s the best show theyve seen from BOA. I just cannot see it at all. There are a multitude of shows that, in my book, blow that out of the water.

[Majellan]

I can barely make it through Carmel's performance, again everyone works hard, but their show was almost as stale as a military marching band show.  I wish I could see them in person, perhaps that would change my mind, of course that won't happen because Carmel won't make the trip down here again.  I thought Carmel would win because they are from Indy, Now I don't know the secret ingredient that was supposed to lift them over Avon by a full point but i didn't see it from my vantage point.

 

When Carmel came to SA in 2003 Boa was really just taking off in Texas, some of the better programs were still just doing UIL excluding Westfield and Spring. of course.  The Houston area and Churchill were very competitive but it was nowhere like it is now at Boa San Antonio.  Would love for them to pull an Avon and take the real test in the Alamodome, in fact I would hope several out of state programs would come down.  Don't see it happening though, kudos to Avon and Camdenton.

[rototomtoms]

I noticed today that Prosper is on the list. This will not likely affect any of the finals spots.

Was scrolling through some older predictions comparing them to the finals results when I saw this. Although a very early prediction, it is nice to see a band defy expectations or at least surprise us! Props to Prosper and Go Team Texas!!