criscubes

I'm not sure how many shows are out there for finals and prelims, but I found a link to Farmersville. There's definitely bias on my end, but either way it was a beautiful performance and I'm proud to see my band perform at the Alamodome after so many years. Congratulations to all the bands that got to this level and hopefully we get yo see more bands next year. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Cm7s1zFmB/

I believe Pleasant Grove got 12th and know that Farmersville got 13th

it's hard to tell, their marching and visual was far behind some bands imo, but their music was sounding great. I'm not sure they should've gotten top 3, but who knows. If they can clean their marching, they definitely earned their spot in top 5 imo

No one is hating on North Lamar. They are doing great and I'm quite shocked you're taking the comments of then as hate. You yourself said everyone has an opinion and it should be respected. That alone there shows where you yourself stand. Respect the opinions of others and don't call their opinions hate. No one here is calling your opinion a hate on Farmersville so don't do the same to them. I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but it's extremely demeaning to other voicing their opinions when they respect your posts but you don't reciprocate. I don't want to or mean to be harsh, but if you are going to tell other to be respectful, least you can do is listen to your own advice. Good luck to you and hopefully all bands do great and meat their goals at state.

They're still being briefed over even after area so I'm excited to see how they perform. Rn my mind is still thinking they had a lucky run, but tbh they could turn some heads possibly.

I understand that North Lamar just finished their whole show. That there is hard to support though since they are having to heavily clean the whole end of their show while other bands who have had their whole show only have to clean bits and pieces leading to a cleaner show overall. I do think North Lamar has a shot at top 5, but Farmersville seems to have the edge over them even if they did lose at area to NL. Bridge City is still in the picture, but looking at their marching, I don't understand how they got ahead of either NL and Farmersville. It's going to be close that's for sure.

which bands over Farmersville and Aubrey? I personally don't agree with Aubrey being fourth, tbh I don't think they'll make past the top 10, but I'd say Panther Creek first and China Spring second, then I'd put Sulphur in third with Celina in fourth. I do predict Farmersville in fifth, but if not I think they'll definitely be top 10. I don't really see any other bands being top 5 though

Considering Anna isn't there and neither is canton how would that shift them around? One spot opened up in top 5 due to Anna's absence; you also have new bands like Gatesville and Aubrey from area b and Farmersville and Pleasent Grove from area C which have never been seen competing with bands from other areas. From what I know, Farmersville and Aubrey have never gone against Calallen and Davenport.

I see talk of Davenport and Calallen. Are they any good? I've never heard of them before since I've only ever really had to watch bands at my band's area. How would people place then in comparison to bands in area b and c since those are the two areas I come from?

These are just videos I found for comparison since I know some people couldn't be there and they are just seeing what looks like arguing all over the place. Same competition, same day. I couldn't find van alstyne or bridge city unfortunately, and sulphur and Celina are both understandably top 2 so no use for those. If you find videos of the other state qualifiers please share 🙏. I'd love to watch lumberton's finals run since I missed it and their kids were a blast to be with before retreat. Also, the video of North Lamar isn't the best, so if anyone had a better one please share if possible 🙏. I'd love to get a closer better angle of them but I can't find any.

You're right, I apoligize if I am discrediting NL. They are phenomenal and I've been a huge fan of that band. They were the first band I ever saw that left me in awe my first year in marching band. I don't mean to be rude towards them. I haven't singled them out though if you look at all my posts. I attempt to be as fair as possible on here.

I like placing myself from an outside perspective since it's more fair to other bands. Of course I can't avoid bias, but if it at all helps that's why I do it.

Of course we are happy, it's been ages since Farmersville made state and even then, that was for 3a. It's not just us though, VanAlstyne was dropped an absurd amount. That alone should tell you the inconsistency of the judges. I'm so happy we made it to state and get to show everyone what a small town like us is capable of doing and that we can compete against bands like Panther creek and Celina. But being a student who marches like many others on here, it sucks more seeing other bands discredited or misjudged. Either way, it's even harder when so many people unanimously agree and it appears so obvious, yet we don't know and can't have the piece of mind that judges were biased towards a band they like since that's all we see as spectators both students and parents. I can say for a fact we are happy we made it, but it's not just us, other bands were unfairly judged and it's hard to say it didn't happen when it's right there. I don't mean to be a Debby downer or hateful to other bands. I'm happy they get their chance to go to state and we'll be right there facing off against them with a smile on our face hoping to see them again next year.

Their marching was definitely up there and really helped them out. Even though their music was 10-3-9, they were indeed very strict. Looking back at the videos I have found of the bands, I personally think in music the best was Celina woth Sulphur being close second, then I would put either Bridge City and Farmersville third for music placing lumberton 5th and then north lamar. I know Farmersville lacked dynamic contrast in their music compared to some other bands. Yes I do have bias towards Farmersville, but looking back at tape, their music was much cleaner than some other bands that were placed higher. That's just my opinion though. 🤷

so what do we think the top 10 bands will be?

Band just means a lot to the students. To many of then it's their only opportunity and it means everything to them. Sometimes it's easy to spot bias in the judges rankings and when that happens, it really hits to the directors, parents, and especially student who feel unjustified and miss judged. As much as one wants their band to win, I've seen upclose how much they bring eachother up on the field before and after results get announced, and seeing a fellow band get placed in a position that appears unjust just sucks. Obviously every band worked hard and every band wants to advanced, so feelings will always be high. I personally hate saying a band shouldn't be placed where they ended up whether I think they should be higher or lower, and I'm sure everybody on here does as well. We can only hope for the best and trust the judges are being as unbiased and fair as possible. Needless to say, congrats to all the bands and hopefully they all work hard to make the best of the opportunity they were given.

Yes, idk the amount, but many judges placed us 4th and 5th, and one judge placed us 12th or 13th if I recall which brought us down a lot. I understand that maybe judges see differently, but performing right after Celina in Prelims really didn't leave the judges much wiggle room for us, so it really felt like they used out band as a cushion for themselves. Later in Finals, since we were first to perform, it also felt like they used us as a cushion. I don't think we deserve a top 2 finish. We had plenty of spots to clean musically and in marching. It really felt unjust that we were the cushion for the judges, since so many of the other bands agreed we were up there and so many spectators as well. We are a small program and really we are just happy to finally break into state after 7 years and 2 consecutive years of being alternates in area B, OUCH.

I definitely think while Celina is clean, SS was definitely first imo. Celina is boring and doesn't march a challenging show paired with challenging music like the other bands in area C. If the judges really claim that bands in Texas play While marching and not march the play, Celina, as clean and balanced as they are, SS was just as clean and balanced and they were by far more technical than Celina. If the judges can't follow their of rules and standards, bands and students who care will not be happy even if they qualify or not. Students understand that every single band works hard and practice with the idea that judges will be fair and unbiased, but every year it feels like all they care about is volume and size, and their favorite shows. I'm not sure if it's true what was said, but if a judge really did refuse to place a band higher just because he felt like it while the other judges all unanimously agreed to place them higher, then that judge shouldn't be judging. I don't mean any disrespect to anyone, bands or judges and parents or directors, but when you notice the score cards are being ignored and the whole audience agrees, favoritism is so apparent, and it should raise a few eyebrows.

I think Celina definitely deserved a top 2 spot and so did sulphur. Even if they were placed in either spot, I would disagree. Maybe I'm playing favorites by automatically putting SS in first, but I think their show is a little more demanding than Celina and it's marched just as good and played just as good. I do think Bridge city is definitely a state worthy band from what I saw yesterday at finals and prelims, but other bands marched cleaner like Farmersville and North Lamar. I would personally swap the placements of Farmersville and Bridgecity. Although they both played really great, Farmersville executed their show cleaner and imo had a more challenging show. I'm not sure how I stand with the changes of the areas. It definitely sucks taking the state spot from bands like Paris and Canton. Some said that it's unfair to bands that got their state spots taken from them due to such challenging regions being moved into area C, but then I also ask. Is it fair for bands that have come so close for so long that have been a state contender for so long just to fall short? These changes have allowed more bands to advance per area. Area B now sent 6 bands I believe as compared to their usual 4. I'm not sure how that seems unfair and this year we get to see so many new bands at state that have been deserving of that opportunity for so long.

I think what he means is that the judges didn't do their job right. With zero disrespect to the bands that performed, they were all fantastic, in area c sulphur definitely took the win in my books. Bridge city was loud and sounded phenomenal, but other bands were out there that marched better and played to the same degree yet got placed lower. Panther Creek was about as clean as a 4a band could get and they executed their show absolutely beautifully, and the judges rewarded China Spring for being louder... I'm not at all saying the bands that qualified didn't deserve to go to state, but the judges didn't do a lot of the bands justice. It seems yet again, volume and size prevail in the judges eyes.

since it's a week off, I think shows are pretty set on general placements, so here are my predictions. 1. Sulphur Springs - They beat out Celina at princeton, and their show is better suited to place better based on the updated score cards as compared to Celina. I also think overall, SS has shown more consistent and largers growth from week to week as compared to Celina. 2. Farmersville - They may not be as clean as Celina, but I believe their show is more technical than Celina's which may give them the edge. They also beat alvarado twice in the same competition if I remember correctly which beat Celina and Canton. North Lamar seemed to be close to Farmersville at royse city, but I really just think Farmersville had a bad run since later that day at Celina, they beat out North Lamar in Prelims and Finals and was pretty close to winning the competition. 3. Celina - Very clean show and performed fantastically. I just think SS and Farmersville have more technical shows which will place better with the judges presuming the judges actually judge properly without biased to any band. I know they are a great band and won 2 championships back to back, but I really don't think that type of show will keep winning as we see 4a is starting to transition into more complex and intricate shows like 5a and 6a. 4. I think Canton will take forth just because they did compete very strongly in area b for many years and they did make state very consistently. I have seen them taper off and they got beat out by every other band I placed ahead of them even if it wasn't directly. 5. I think North Lamar will strongly compete with Canton for the 4th and 5th spot since they are both extremely great bands, unless I see a tremendous growth though; I don't feel comfortable placing them top 3 since those bands are just powerhouses this year, and we've seen those bands consistently above the rest this season. 6. Lumberton - I really don't have a definite band to take the last 2 state spots since the remaining bands are just so close. I will give it to lumberton though since while some other bands may be a bit cleaner, I think after this point in placements size will start meaning a little more to the judges. 7. Van Alstyne or Paris - I really can't give it to either band. Both bands are great and both deserve the spot, but they are just really close from what I've seen. Of course community is still in play along with Pine Tree, but I don't think they are as clean as the other two in many aspects of their show.

It's super interesting seeing the predictions from early on in the season comoared to now. Before, Celina was unanimously agreed to be 1st, but now it seems that they are favored second with either Sulphur Springs or Farmersville taking the first place spot. North Lamar and Paris were also placed pretty high as the season started but have seemed to settle at the lower spots as area approaches. Unlike other years, I haven't noticed Canton be mentioned a lot where as last year I would pretty much see their name in every predictions post. It seems this season has really mixed up compared to previous years and those bands that used to be in thw shadows of other programs are coming into the spotlight with something to show.

If I'm being full honest, their show in 2022 could've made state finals with very little difficulty, but they have been in old Area B since they moved into 4a in 2018 after getting 2nd state at the 3a level. You can find a video on yt for their 2022 show. They got 1st alternate 2 years in a row, 2022 and 2023, so yes they are a great band, but just absolutely brutal areas that they have been in and it placed them in the shadows of area B for many years.

Realistically, if this area were to take 7 bands to state, the top 3 spots are going to be Celina, Suplhur Springs, and Farmersville almost guaranteed although Farmersville could drop since they haven't been the most consistent this year. Canton, Lumberton, Pine tree, and North Lamar will battle out for the final 4 spots and Van Alstyne could very well be in that mix since they appear to be neck and neck with North Lamar. I do think the gap after top 3 is pretty significant if we were to say all the bands perform at their best.

I do think Farmersville should be put obove canton since Farmersville beat alvarado earlier this season and Alvarado beat canton. Sulphut springs did beat Farmersville yesterday at royse city prelims, so I think that's pretty accurate in placement, however it'll be interesting to see how they stack up against china springs. I haven't seen their show yet, but I'm sure they are definitely competing for those medals. The top 5 are neck and neck, anyone could really take them, although I think panther creek is pretty much sitting at that first place podium already.