Gehrig4

CTJ with a full minute pre show - I thought I missed the announcement. They fully had their first hit before the announcements. The sound was huge! Soft colors and a lot of dulcet movement in stark contrast to previous years. They can flat out march. wiley east with a lot of choreo- and props that actually were electronic! Smallish band but a lot of creativity.

We’re going to agree to disagree. You’re essentially saying bands that build great tradition should then only compete against similar bands that haven’t. A school scheduling against band as you say they have has made a choice. It isn’t for the arts. schools that prioritize the arts - hire the teachers. Allow lessons during the day. Build the facilities. All of it. just like athletics. They hire the coaches. Build the facilities. Prioritize the activity. Which then leads to interest and success. If you don’t want to compete against those bands - don’t. There are lower level showcases and non judged expos that kids can march in. you can’t say you want to compete and then say you don’t like the game. enjoy the ride. I’m sure the kids do.

all this says is there is a "open class" competition and a "world class" (or state class) competition. in the end, all were doing is focusing on the competition and not the experience. There's only one winner. But there's dozens of bands. if winning is the only outcome - (and not improvement, teamwork, and the experience of performing) there's hundreds of losers. I'm not sure that's the case!

exactly. if the 6a designation is 1500- google number of students , splitting that as they do in football might achieve what was being stated. That said, I think I like it just how it is. Band is just much more difficult to build. You couldnt do it by enrollment in the band - a school of 3000 has access to far more musicians than does one of 500. hat school of 500 had half th student body in band (250) and a school of 2500 had the same number. it would be (10%) of the student body. Why would that be fair to the school of 500? isnt it remarkable for a school to get people involved as a percentage of their enrollment? So that same school that has a 250 person band in a school of 500 - imagine that 1A competition. They would blow the roof off the dump. IMO

The other side of this argument is that the 6a designation already separates schools by size - the only way to do what you're saying is to do like football - 6a division 1 and 2. Bands like Coppell have a full JV squad getting 1's at Area - TC graduates 46 seniors, but has like 90 freshmen.. they march 280-290 now so they are about to get much bigger. Whether we like it or not, the bigger bands sound and look different. I do think those legacy schools we all know, and the more frequent bands in ascent (Prosper, Wakeland, TC, e.g) deserve credit for building what they have. We all know what a heavy lift it is. Success begets interest begets success.

If we dont stress about the actual placements, its really just comes down to who made it and who didn't. And that conversation begins and ends with the 4 (berkner) and 12 (Carroll) ordinals in finals. The rest of the bands were not really surprises. (I suppose Central not making it was, but Haltom was very good - so someone had to sit.)

Now go Read what I said about a judge spike.

Really loved @Vidal28 analysis - and I won’t simply echo - but I’ll give a simpler analysis coppell- it’s balanced. It’s challenging. It’s professional. They play with confidence. It makes such a difference. waxahachie - let me start by saying from the first time I saw this show I loved the music. It’s cohesive and full of moments. It’s thematic and bright. But let me also say that I truly think you don’t go from where they were a week ago to state finalists if there are judges on the field. 2nd place? Zero chance. The marching is nowhere near that level. But congrats to them. Hate the game not the player. bell- I didn’t wanna like it. But I did. I’ve seen this show three or four times now. When I first saw it, I felt it was trite , and even artsy pretentious. But last night- the sound was so full and dynamic and it was marched with great execution (and I had binoculars). They deserved their placing. Nice work tc- the thing that struck me was this- Timber Creek Is no longer a fringe band. They’ve beaten Keller over and over again over the last two years - they’ve three peated to state. This show is more challenging and dynamic than any of their previous - While we were stunned and shocked that they got in before - this time - would anyone have been shocked if they placed second? Nope. keller- first the good- The sound has improved tremendously through the season. Visually it’s better too. But that drill is crunchy and it was the weakest of the top five for sure. I also wonder openly if this is a band whose show selections have jumped the shark. If you want your audience to sign and hold out their pinky while drinking champagne - always remember they’d rather hear the flintstones theme. haltom - they walked on the field and I said - love the uniforms. Love the setup. this will be “cute”. Then they blew me out of my seat. I knew they made it at the end. If Keller had done this show with their musical ability - look out. So fun to see their kids celebrate through the gate at the end of the field. berkner- area always has at least one band with just utter joy. This was it. Look, they beat Carroll and central (who has to be heartbroken) and that’s not nothin. one judge made the difference as Carroll got spiked and Berkner got a very favorable ordinal. (4 vs 12). Remove the “Russian judge” and Carroll wins. (29 - berkner 32, central 34). Prelims were Carroll 23 , Berkner 29. (In music). if you want to cause chaos in judging - don’t show the points. again, hate the game not the player. you’d have to be salty this am if you’re Carroll- and you can see why. But it is what it is. We were lucky to have 7 bands go. Last two were 5 and 6. looking forward - I agree that Coppell has a finals glare to them - sorry haters. Wax tops out here- but could bell or tc move up? it’s sure a gauntlet at state. Yikes. But let’s play the cards and see. fun night.

Haltom really surprising with great visuals and a really nice sound. Almost a patriotic feel Love seeing them with this kind of effort. The run movement at the end was very cool. I honestly think this might have a shot.

And we’re back! Jj Pearce on the field now - Haltom and bell are all that’s left. 45 mins or so until awards

Starwar - glazer hater

Tell me you are under 20 years old without telling me you are under 20 years old. Kinda mid.

Including the judges. Lol

This is the kind of post everyone here hates. Ld bell hasn’t placed ahead of any of these bands. In any competition. They have improved from last year- but this bombastic attitude is just not welcome - and frankly it isn’t backed up on the field. Bell isn’t the 30th best band in Texas currently. Objectively. But they likely will place high enough to advance - and it will be deserved.

Much appreciated today with no live stream! You are the reporter on the scene!

This just in. This Area is a bloodbath. Hebron, Flo mo, marcus, Prosper all locks. so two spots for all the rest? Brutal. Mckinney Boyd, Rockwall, wylie east, sachese, probably a few others.... lovin land lord. Katie, Bar the door for finals.

I actually have them as my 10 seed.

Direct from the UIL alignment map. Crowley is 6a. I don’t know why they aren’t listed to march at Area….

12 finalists Going to be a late night! Get your naps in now!

The draw for area includes Crowley for 6a.

So, setting up a little drama - Here, to my study, are the top 10 rankings for the area B(of the 35 going to Area): 1. Coppell 2. Timber Creek 3. Bell 4. Keller High 5. Keller Central 6. Waxahachie 7. Carroll 8. Duncanville 9. Berkner 10. JJ Pearce so, 6 Bands for sure will advance to state. 7 maybe. See how big that last band is? 7 and you feel pretty good if you're KC or Waxahachie. 6, and you'll need some Right Guard. Its really 1-3 in one group - (Coppell, TC, Bell) 4-6 in another (KH, KC, Wax) and then likely run for the hills. The drama in this Area is likely to be the 6 and 7 spots. And remember, this is ORDINALS!!

I found the mistake. Crowley is listed as a 5a band in the results, but is actually a 6a band (as listed in the draw order) . They did get a 1. That makes 30.

I've counted it three times - I must be missing one somewhere. I have 29. Who am I missing? Region 30 Boswell, Chisholm Trail, North Crowley, Weatherford, Timber Creek, Keller High, Keller Central, Fossil Ridge (8) Region 5 Arlington, Bowie, Cedar Hill, Grand Prairie, Lake Ridge, Legacy, Mansfield, Martin, Paschal, South Grand Prairie (10) Region 20 Berkner, Desoto, Duncanville, Highland Park, Irving, JJ Pearce, Lake Highlands, Macarthur, Nimitz, Richardson, Waxahachie (11) Region 31 Haltom, Coppell, Carroll, LD Bell, Trinity (5) Schools that didnt get a 1 - Lamar (2), Sam Houston (3), Skyline (2)

My lord yes- THE DRAMA! In some ways it’s the real peak of the season!

There is definitely upheaval in KISD. While it doesn’t necessarily feel like the slip at Keller high is a permanent thing - it’s definitely enough over the last two years (they had never lost to the other KISD schools) to see that TC and KC are surging and KH has some challenges. You can see that TCs size and programs are much more complex and developed than in the past (likely owing to the state placements the last two years bringing more interest) and I would expect the same outcome over the next few years from KC, whose music program this year is really excellent and whose placement should draw more interest. this is no longer a one school district. If anything , the entire district is surging- even Fossil Is making finals at events —- it’s not Lewisville isd (but who is) but really looking forward to Area Finals next week - three could make state finals!