Band_dad_of_2

As I said earlier, sleep on Prosper at your own risk....I think they're the sleeper here. At this point, I'm really concerned about Haltom...they just finished 5th at Mansfield. This is gut-check time for them. Earlier this week, I was wishing they had gone to BOA DFW to gauge how they would stack up against some of the other Area B bands. Based on this result, I don't know that they would have made finals. Richland finished 2nd. This is based on prelim scores because finals were rained out. I think I'm done predicting...I think I'm just going to take slips of paper, throw them in the air and see which ones land face up. That would probably be as accurate.

I'm getting reports that finals were cancelled and the top 2 were Burleson Centennial and Richland (based on prelim scores). Haltom was 5th.

/eyeroll/ Ok...semantics. How about we say "battle it out"? Better?

I know what you mean! And heaven forbid you have TWO kids in band!! Band excels but struggles financially...meanwhile, many football teams have little/no success and are flush with money. I mean, good for them but share the wealth, huh? Can we have one concession stand? Please???

Just messing with you... Honestly, I would have liked to have seen Haltom go to BOA DFW than Broken Arrow or Mansfield. It would have been a good challenge for them and a better gauge for their status/ranking.

Haltom Band member, huh? They'll have to go through Richland and probably Burleson Centennial but there's a good chance of them repeating....

They were 4 points out of the last spot and would have had to leapfrog Timber Creek. Concentrate on 2018! Win at Mansfield and show improvement over BOA HEB....that should be the focus. Finals11 Keller #14 Duncanville #18 LD Bell #24 Coppell #29 Plano East #32 Timber Creek33 Haltom

The Mansfield thread says Haltom is not going to BA any more an will compete at the Mansfield contest this Saturday due to weather concerns....has the BA contest been cancelled?

DON'T JINX IT!!! No rain....no rain....no rain....no rain....no rain....no rain....no rain....no rain....no rain

TRUUUUUUUTH!!!

Richland did well here last year so I would expect them to do the same this year....Haltom (last year's winner) is in Oklahoma this weekend so I would expect Richland to duke it out with Burleson Centennial and Timberview. I just don't know enough about the Arlington/Mansfield schools to make a guess about any others. I haven't heard a lot from Richland this year so I don't really know what to expect but if they bring their "A" game, I would say Richland is the favorite to win.

Precisely....like I said, HEB was an early contest. A lot will happen over the next couple of weeks. I wish Haltom was going to BOA DFW rather than Broken Arrow....that would have been a really good gauge on their progress.

This could be said about almost every band.

Or they could be overtaken by Prosper...or Coppell....or Waxahachie. (By the way, sleep on Prosper at your own peril) Who knows? Their finish at HEB surprised me. It's still really early so I hesitate to make any judgment based on one contest but the next contest will be important for them. It made me wonder where they would have fallen if they had gone to BOA Austin which was an deep contest for a BOA Regional....insanely deep and incredibly competitive.

Birdville ISD Stadium - North Richland Hills, TX - October 27 Birdville ISD Stadium - North Richland Hills, TX

Same here!! I called the day that the charge showed up on my card and asked them to reverse it and cancel.....nope. The charge was not even complete and they refused....really makes me think twice about doing anything with them again.

I thought my kids' band was the best. Were they? No....but they're really, really good!! Are they going to win State? No....the goal may be to win State but I suspect this year, if you ask the directors "off the record" just making State would be awesome...anything after that will be gravy. But it's like I said in an earlier post (maybe on this subject)...you have to set realistic expectations going into a season. Hebron, Marcus, FloMo, Leander, etc....those bands can set really high expectations. Then there are bands where simply making finals at State would be an incredible accomplishment....then there are bands were making State would be the accomplishment. It's one of the best things about the "marching community"....it's competitive but we all support every band out there. I learned this very quickly at my first BOA competition.....the Marcus parents gave a standing ovation to every school. Marcus....the standard-bearer for state championships. When I saw that, I knew my kids were in something special.

I don't know if you've noticed but they have been "talked about"....a lot. And by several people on the board including myself. But to the previous poster's point, there's hype and then there's over doing things...people are talking about Haltom as a growing program and their 2017 was very impressive but their BISD neighbors had two straight years of 1st and 2nd finishes...and they beat Haltom twice in 2016. There's no talk in here about Richland being a "lock". I have no idea if that's because they had a lot of upperclassmen the last two years, program changes, they're a "band on the rise" or what but there it is..... I'm really happy that you're hyped about Haltom...I'm excited to see what they bring this year and hope they are about to turn the corner to becoming a powerhouse. But, again, let's see sustained success before putting them ahead of their Area B bunkmates who are perennial state finalists like Keller and Bell.

Someone had to say it. No doubt that Haltom had a fantastic year....but it was one year. Are they on the rise? Quite likely. Are they a powerhouse of consistency like Keller or Bell has been over the last several years? No Let's see them put up multiple years of similar results and then we'll start talking about being a lock for state.

Please....allow me to clarify. So you mean because one person said their show (the first public performance of half of the show) was "boring" or "basic", it is?

Seriously...you guys realize this was likely the first public performances for these bands, right? If it sounds "basic" or "boring" in October, there might be a story here but can we hold the criticism for now?

The only thing I am relatively certain of is that Keller will be top in Area B....I love the respect given to Haltom but they finished 7th in area in 2016. A lot of the love for them recently is based on last year's results. Let's see where they finish in a few contests before putting them on top of Keller. Also, Duncanville and Richland are too low on that list, IMO. 1: Keller 2: Bell/Haltom/Coppell 3: Bell/Haltom/Coppell 4: Bell/Haltom/Coppell 5: Waxahachie 6: Richland/Duncanville (if 6 bands advance) On the Bubble Richland, Duncanville, Prosper, Plano East, Keller Central

There's no other area like Area B. Say a quick prayer before finals because this will be brutal. I see these schools battling it out for 5 (maybe...maybe 6) spots.... Keller - finished 5th at 2016 6A State Bell - finished 9th at 2016 6A State Haltom - finished 3rd at 2017 BOA Atlanta Richland - finished 6th at 2017 5A State Duncanville - finished 16th at 2016 6A State Waxahachie - finished 3rd at 2017 5A State Prosper - finished 7th at 2017 5A State Coppell - finished 11th at 2016 6A State And then you add Keller Central and Plano East? Come on..... That will be worth the price of admission.

My personal favorite story is when I was in high school way too many years ago....we performed a show at UTA (artificial turf) in a year where the crickets were worse than they ever were. I'm talking plague-like...really really bad. Every step taken was met with a crunch of crickets....Lord only knows how many brave crickets lost their lives that night. We had crickets on our uniforms, on our hats, on our instruments (along for the ride). The worst part was saved for the flags, though...part of their show required that they lay on the field. Those poor girls. We still talk about that performance....and the one where we performed in a driving rainstorm. That was AWESOME!!! As for my kids....my oldest was in a drumline contest where it was literally a contest for 2nd. They were so completely dominant that about 3/4 of the way through their performance, I looked at the dad next to me and basically said "it's over". My middle kid....that's easy. It was advancing to state her senior year. My youngest?????? That story has yet to be written.....

All I know is that about half way through the SCV closer, I looked at my kids and said "There's your champion....just shut it down....no one's beating that". A few takeaways.... I liked the Blue Devils show better than SCV but SCV's execution could not be matched. How 'bout those Crusaders!!!! The Cavaliers literally gave me goosebumps I can't say enough about that SCV closer......good grief. I have an middle schooler who has his sights set on SCV drumline. I will do everything in my power to make that happen for him but I told him it's up to him to get there.