~ME~

...Seriously? MARCUS got 13th in ensemble music??? ...Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah don't know if I agree with that either. I mean, I expected bands like Coppell, Hebron, and The Woodlands to beat them in music, but certainly not 12 bands. But I have talked about how I strongly disagree with the finals results WAY too much, rather than how great this contest was so I'll shut up. They are trained professionals just trying to do their job and I'm not a professional by any means.

I thought they were great. Both top 6 in my book. I have absolutely no idea how Marcus and Bell placed so low. I'm pretty... um... shocked at the results. BUT Congrats to Vandergrift on their first finals appearance! They finally did it! Also, congrats to Cedar Ridge on their first BOA SA finals appearance as well! Good luck at Grand Nationals! And congrats to The Woodlands on their first BOA SA win!

A loooong time ago. I was pretty shocked, to say the least. The results had me raising eyebrows several times. I didn't really agree with the judging, but MY GOSH. The performances??? That was the best SA Regional ever, hands down.

I definitely think they have a shot. There are a TON of bands that I would say have legitimate shot at making it. There have been so many finalist caliber shows (including Churchill) that I am flat out stumped on who I think will make finals. More than I ever have been before. Going in to BOA SA I thought I had a good idea of who the finalists were going to be, but so many bands are incredible this year that I have no idea. Someone on the live blog just said this is like "Grand Nationals South", and I whole-heartedly agree. This has been by FAR the best prelims I have ever seen at any marching contest simply because of the insane quantity of finalist caliber performances. So basically, it's a situation where I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't make finals, but I also wouldn't be surprised if they did make finals. They were fantastic for sure! I guess we will have to wait and see...

No kidding! I already have seen 11 bands I would consider worthy finalists, and the first day of prelims isn't even over yet! There needs to be something more like 20 finalist spots instead of 14. Don't know how the judges will narrow it down...

I know right?!? It's SO frustrating! They do seem to usually show the preshows, but the field audio usually seems to be turned off until after Dan Potter announces the band. I wish they would just leave it on the whole time...

Good luck! Enjoy your last performance! You experience kind of a surreal feeling as you are getting ready for the final performance of your senior year. Enjoy every moment of it and have fun!

??? Haha what? Huge bouncy ball flails??? I'm trying to picture that in my head but I just can't. I need to take a look at that

So happy for Cypress Falls and Clear Brook! The fact that they both made finals is awesome!

Wow! No kidding! That closer is crazy! Props to Lake Ridge for having the guts to do that!

OOOHHH now that is interesting! I'm so mad I won't be able to go see this contest! I really want to finally see Marcus' full product! It has been bugging me not having a clue how they will do at SA and Grand Nats. I may not be able to see it until San Antonio, but I can not WAIT to see what Marcus has had up their sleeve! I remember someone mentioning somewhere that they hope Marcus is playing Sensemaya for their closer. If that is the case, I will be so excited! A snake charming show NEEDS to have Sensemaya in it, and hearing Marcus play it would be super interesting. Whatever it is, I think there's a pretty good chance Marcus will win Duncanville with that last addition. And as for Hebron, I find it interesting that they are already adding in a preshow this week instead of the week before SA... First, it shows that they most likely are finished with the actual show like everyone thought, but what are they going to be doing next week? Are they seriously going to dedicate all of it to cleaning, or... do they maybe have something extra planned for SA? Probably not, but I'm still a little intrigued... I also can't wait to hear how Flower Mound is doing! I still haven't had the privilege of seeing their show, but I'm really digging the white uniforms I've seen in pictures of them on the live blog. I am super excited for when I'll finally be able to see them live at SA! Coppell will also be sounding incredible at this point of the season. They are by far one of the best bands in the state musically. It's been 2 weeks since they won the music caption in BOA Dallas prelims, and Marcus is probably much stronger musically, but I think Coppell still has a shot at the music caption. At the very least, they will probably give Marcus and Hebron a serious run for their money. I seriously hope to see them in BOA SA finals where they belong. Seriously hope it doesn't rain for the sake of the competition and the bands' equipment. At the same time though, rain can potentially lead to some of the most memorable experiences for the band members as I'm sure quite a few of us know. Sometimes that's more important. But it's not like there have been a shortage of rainy competitions, so I still hope it stays dry this Saturday.

I agree. *cough* 2007 and 2012 *cough*

I totally agree with you. I mean of course, there's always the small possibility they could still add some unexpected things like some changes or a post-show movement as I'm sure you know, but I totally agree it definitely seems like they have peaked from a show-design standpoint. And like you said, there is a lot of points to be earned in cleaning up the show. If there's one advantage they have over the other top contenders, it's that they now have WAY more time than the others do to clean their show before SA. If this were a 5A UIL State year, Hebron would be my favorite to win that contest by far (as a matter of fact, I'm already interested to see how state goes for them next year if they do have a year similar to this year). BUT this is BOA, and The Woodlands is going to be a flat out GE monster by the time SA rolls around, and the same goes for CTJ. AND Marcus and Bell's shows very well could be WAY better once finished, which would also make them serious top 3 contenders. As for Bowie, music hindering them from competing with the other 5 bands is a possibility, but that also may not be the case when SA rolls around. AND they do have the GE to compete with the other 5, so I don't know what to predict. But yeah, Hebron's success at SA may very well depend on how much the other 5 bands add to their shows and improve. Going to be one heck of a showdown!

I hate to be the guy that just responds to every little thing but I'm sorry, I couldn't help it with this one... I had written a huge rant in response to this special little post about how disrespectful I think it is to say you will shake your head if a band makes finals and how rude it is to openly say you hope a band doesn't earn a finals spot, but you know what, let's just try to keep this forum positive from here on out.

But in Cedar Ridge's defense, CTJ's roots were from one of the most successful and innovative BOA bands in that last decade. I'm DEFINITELY not saying that the Reagan split was an easy thing to bounce back from, but the kids were already hard workers from their experiences at Reagan, so as long as they got a good staff (which they obviously did), CTJ was kind of bound to do this well. I don't know much about the history of Cedar Ridge, but I'm assuming they had to build their program from the ground up. You could argue that CTJ had an advantage that Cedar Ridge never had. But at the end of the day, who cares? Both bands have worked extremely hard to get where they are today. It IS pretty impressive how much both of them have improved in such short periods of time, regardless of what their roots are.

Uhh... almost every post on this topic in some way mentions Cedar Ridge in a good light. The person you quoted even wrote "Will Cedar Ridge WOW everyone once again and place 6th?" The reason people aren't calling Cedar Ridge a 100% without a doubt lock for finals is because Cedar Ridge has just very recently become a serious BOA San Antonio finalists contender, which makes it very hard to predict how they will ultimately do at San Antonio. Another reason people aren't necessarily calling them a shoe-in for finals is Conroe was an early season competition. Late season results are often WAY different than early season results, because bands like Cedar Park, Reagan, etc. blow past bands that may have beaten them in an early season competition like Conroe. Bands have beaten regular BOA San Antonio finalists in early regionals several times, but they usually can't keep up with the rate those bands improve throughout the season. However, most people (including myself) very much expect Cedar Ridge to hold their own and not only make finals but do very well in finals.

^ That's a very good point. Considering how much better Hebron got between Conroe and Dallas, I was sort of assuming The Woodlands had improved just as much (especially with their history of scoring way better late season). But you are right. This super regional is wide open for anyone to win.

My finalist locks: Half of the list. But in all seriousness, as of right now, I'm pretty sure the top 6 will be Woodlands, Marcus, Hebron, LD Bell, CTJ, and Bowie in no order (trying to guess them in order would be hopeless). I'm sure other safe bets for finalists would be Reagan, Cedar Park, Flower Mound, Round Rock, and probably Westlake. And like everyone, I'm VERY interested in how Cedar Ridge does. They did extremely well at Conroe, but that was still an early season competition. So I'm quite curious to see how they will do... I didn't even notice Blue Springs was participating, that's pretty cool! I can't wait to see them perform! I really hope Coppell is able to secure a spot in finals. They were excellent musically at BOA Allen. I posted this somewhere else, but while it is a bit of a long shot, I think Keller Central has a real legitimate shot at making finals if they continue improving all the way to San Antonio. They really were excellent at BOA Allen and I was surprised with how good they were. I don't expect them to make finals, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Other bands I see possibly making finals are Plano East, Spring, Richland, Leander, Vandergrift, Anderson, Keller, College Park, Churchill, Mansfield, Henderickson, and Pflugerville. This is going to be one heck of a Super Regional. Each year seems to get more competitive than the last. I can't wait to see how this unfolds.

I'm 80% confident The Woodlands will win San Antonio, unless one of the other 5 bands adds tons of good things to their show and improves like crazy, which is still a realistic possibility (especially with Marcus and Bell). As for places 2-6, I have absolutely no idea. I'd probably be better off flipping a few coins and letting that decide rather than actually trying to guess the order. San Antonio has just gotten so insanely competitive at both the top of the pack and the bottom of the pack of finals. It's a shame that all 6 of these bands aren't going to Grand Nationals. They would all probably make it, filling half of the finals slots at Grand Nats in the process. XD

I seen Poteet yet, but I agree that they will most likely win. Cedar Park also has a very good chance of winning, obviously. I think another big question is who the third medalist will be. Dripping Springs is a very strong contender, but I was also pretty impressed with Centennial in 2011. I think they also have a strong chance of winning another medal. It's going to be an insane State finals!

I was able to watch finals live, and I have a few thoughts about it: I've gotta say, Keller Central was a pleasant surprise. They have a great show and perform it very well. It's a longshot because they are facing so much competition, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were to make finals at San Antonio. They have really stepped up to the plate this year. Even after seeing LD Bell play live, I still have no idea how they will do at San Antonio. For one thing, the kids are certainly just as talented as ever. Those kids are FREAKS when it comes to marching. I don't know how they get such good technique that is consistent throughout the band, but they deserved the visual caption for sure. I'm not going to say anything about the show until I see it at San Antonio. I bet that it will be pretty awesome once Bell gets to Grand Nats especially. Marcus was incredible, and they were unbelievably refined like they always are. Their show is still a work in progress like everyone would expect. It seems to be building up slowly and quietly to something throughout the entire show, so I am extremely excited to see what that is later in the season. As for BOA San Antonio, I have no idea. Down the road, they could blow by everyone and take 1st once again. Or they could finish outside the top 3. And I can't wait to see these guys at nationals. I honestly think they are the most talented band in the nation, and I would love to see them prove it. And props to Hebron on their first BOA regional win (and their first caption wins I think?)! I for sure did not expect them to win, but after watching their finals performance, I knew Hebron was the best of the night. The last movement of their show is simply incredible. It starts with a crazy woodwind feature that made my jaw drop. The woodwind feature is followed by the whole brass section double tonguing while on the move, and by then my jaw had hit the floor. If they don't peak too early they could be serious medal contenders at BOA San Antonio. Or they could finish around the 4th to 6th area. San Antonio just seems to be more unpredictable than ever after BOA Dallas. Also, a huge congrats to Coppell on winning the music caption in prelims! I was so happy for them when I saw that. Although they've always been an incredibly successful UIL band, they always seemed to have trouble in BOA, even though they are clearly one of the best bands in the state. Their success at BOA Dallas definitely seemed to be a huge step in the right direction. I seriously hope to see them in BOA San Antonio finals where they belong. Also, I have to say the guy that was marching with a sling in one of the bands was AWESOME!

Geez... Conroe is going to be an incredible display of talent and show design. I can't believe those videos of The Woodlands, CTJ, and Hebron are EARLY SEASON... I can't WAIT for Conroe! I just can't!

^That was in response to The Woodlands video by the way. And CTJ is awesome as well... This is going to be an awesome, AWESOME season!

0_0 OH. MY. GOODNESS. GRACIOUS. Yeah I agree, they're definitely going to win Conroe! What an amazing show! That opener is INSANE, and the last little closer tid bit was GE OVERLOAD. I'm gonna go watch that again now...

The competition for 1st place and for the captions will be crazy. I think there's four bands that could potentially place first: The Woodlands, CTJ, Hebron, and Cedar Park. I'm expecting The Woodlands to win, but these early season competitions can be so unpredictable that it will all depend on where each band is at progress-wise at that point of the season. Just for giggles though, I'll give my thoughts on all four bands based on recent years: The Woodlands: Again, I don't think it will be much of a surprise to anyone if they win. They are a fantastic well-rounded band, and BOA is where they especially thrive. They've medaled at BOA San Antonio countless times, and they usually a strong early season band. Their show this year looks pretty difficult as always, but I'm sure they will be able to handle it. They are certainly the favorite to win in my opinion. Cedar Park/ Hebron: Has anyone ever noticed how similar these two bands are? It's kind of scary when you think about it! The entire reason I put these two together is because I have the exact same thing to say about both of them! I think they both have a good shot at taking the music caption from The Woodlands. Musically and execution-wise, these are two of the best bands in the state, and they both have a UIL state marching contest medal to prove it. But especially in the BOA setting, music is the only caption I see either of these bands potentially topping The Woodlands in, so I would be a little surprised if either of these bands won the whole thing. CTJ: Man! This band has made so much progress in such little time that it really is impressive! They've gone from being "that other band that Reagan split into" to really developing their own identity in just a few short years. They really have become an awesome band! I expect them to have a another successful season like the previous two years. Since they are still pretty new, it's especially hard to even try to predict how exactly how they'll do (which is almost impossible to do for any band anyways). I think they have a shot at the general effect caption, but I don't think they'll be able to top the other three bands musically, and I think The Woodlands will probably have the Visual caption locked down. Or maybe they'll sweep all the captions and win the whole thing! Who knows? But of course, all of these little guesses and predictions could very well be proved wrong when the competition is over and done. It will be an interesting one! Can't wait!