Omega

I mean while their will be an argument about military vs. Corps style at the 5A and 6A level you will see all corps bands in finals at this point. Notably shows can only be 8 minutes long, tend to use less electronics (that is relative of course) and have less props. But, many programs at the 6A level will give you a show that is not stretching the bounds of marching band on a UIL year like they might for a BOA year.

Okay one thing I forgot: the woodlands ballad almost had me in tears it was so pure! I loved it so so much!

Okay for the record I was blown away by Flower Mound and thought they would take second but I might have missed something but I thought they had it for sure.

So did Dobyns Bennett pull a Cedar Park? Waiting till the last second before doing something awesome?

As much as I dislike the reuse of the carts and as much as I think it will hurt them, I am getting chills just watching this show at home! Those kids can sure as heck perform their hearts out! I can only imagine what it must be like in the stadium!

I want us to discuss one thing here: when a good band like CP goes first at a UIL event they are literally the benchmark for everything. Because every judge has to ask "was that better than ___?" and as long as the answer is no they stay in first place. I wonder if CP has enough moments in that sjow where they can keep that answer a no the whole night. And if they can might we see a score of 5-8? And do we need to talk about the 2 and 1 rule?

So for everyone there, who are y'all's favorites to make finals based on who y'all have seen so far?

well let’s just end the contest now. If that sauce is not replenished I don’t think we can rely on the judges to accurately judge. Send em all home until this is fixed.

So do people like the full retreat for finals this year or not?

So I know we all have had doubts about Broken Arrow since BOA STL and I was wondering if those were still on people mind. I’m not sure how well BA will perform espically after how well Marcus, FloMo, Avon and TWHS all did at BOA SA even if none of them were in the top 3. That’s not to say BA won’t be in the top three but I’m thinking their road there may be a little more difficult than expected.

It’s also worth noting when discussing Cedar Park that their BOA SA performance was incredibly good. Not only were they the only 5A band in Finals also they also placed 8th above incredible programs like Bowie, Hendrikson and The Woodlands. 6 Judges gave them box 5 scores in finals as well and in Prelims they had judges put them above Flower Mound, Hebron, Vandy, and Marcus. Cedar Park appears to be doing what it did last year where the last week(s) of the season the show becomes a whole new and outstanding product. Now this is not to say Cedar spark is better than these bands, but is to say that Cedar Park appears to be competing with the top 6A bands, and it is looking like they are gearing up for a big day Wednesday.

So one of the fascinating things is that Cedar Park came out of no where. After a second place finish at Area I don’t think ANYONE saw them getting into the top 7 or winning 3A. While the rest of the results are crazy it says something that Cedar Park is the only 5A Band in finals an they were able to be in the top 7 despite performing 16th in Prelims before every other finialsist. Also where did Vandy come from! Man is finals going to be absolutely insane.

Okay so I know this is one of those dumb questions but what does the Chief Judge actually do?

Or two years ago when Leander won the area and CP and Vandy beat them at state. Area can be weird, and D especially. Also we should mention Rouse is going to state for the first time ever!

Anyone got the region 18 5A results?

I was not at all suggesting that sorry if it came across that way. I'm more reading into the point the Cedar Park may be the only 5A band we see in Finals just due to how well their UIL shows do at BOA SA.

Does anyone know what Grain Valley got a penalty for?

So just as a quick note: 2 years ago when Cedar Park brought their UIL show to SA they got 5th. now this is not to say they will get 5th again this year but this is to note that it seems the Cedar Park design team may know how to make their UIL shows perform well at SA. Also, and I know Richland won't be here, but it is looking incredibly likely that Cedar Park may be the only 5A band in finals.

I can Vista Ridge will likely not attend. They (speaking from rumblings I hear) talked about going this year but the consensus is to wait a few years for the program to improve some more. I would not be shocked to see if in twoish years Vista Ridge makes top 10 in finals at Boa San Antonio and then soon after that went. Vandegrift I could totally see going in 2017. And y'all should start watching Rouse. Their new director got them to 11th at their (maybe) first time at BOA Austin. 5 years from now I could see them in Finals at BOA SA. Side note: CP and Leander will likely not return to indy until 2020.

Well, oddly enough of the 22 (excluding timing) judges at GN 8 of them were in SA (36%). So 57% of the panel at SA judged GN. So it would be very improbable that 57% of the panel at SA judged differently in Texas than they did in Indy. I think (and I was at GN and SA) that CP put a much better show on the field in Indy then they ever did in Texas. Although it is also possible that 64% of the panel at GN did judge differently than the 36% who were at SA. Although I'm willing to guess it could not have been that different (just looking at individual judges scores).

It will be interesting to see how Glenn HS in Area B places as this is their first year, but they do have some pretty great directors doing some cool things over there so who knows?

We may be discounting Cedar Park here. They only finished .05 behind Leander last year at BOA Austin and did end up beating them at State UIL (5A). If the design behind their show is executed correctly, they could turn out to be a bit of a dark horse here and possibly take Music and GE. I'm just saying.