~ME~

They could be. I just haven't heard all of them called it.

I fearlessly predict that I will be hungry for some DQ after the Dallas, no I'm sorry, after the DAIRY QUEEN regional! XD In all seriousness, San Antonio is super exciting as always. James Bowie is returning to it after their absence last year, so that makes finals even MORE packed. Gonna be a great year!

I agree. I think the music caption will be between Avon and Carmel. They are both incredibly strong in that category. I'm super excited for both Bowie and Reagan, though. It will be neat to see Reagan in Grand Nationals for the first time since they split. And I'm sure they will do well. Their old-school-Reagan plume change feature with the clarinet and the EWI will no doubt get an INSANE reaction at Indianapolis from those in the crowd who remember the plume change clarinet feature from "The Journey Within" back in 2002. It will be SUCH a great moment. I think Bowie will fight for a top 5 as well, but it will be one heck of a fight. Can't wait!

Well, someone posted videos, so I'll put links to the finalist bands' performances on here. I saw plenty of others on the video list, so I think all of the bands that participated in the prelims are on Youtube as well. I also found other additional videos of Reagan and Hebron as well: -Marcus Hi-Cam: -Hebron: Hi-Cam No Preshow: Multi-Cam W/ Preshow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_MnjEkYl24 -LD Bell Hi-Cam: -Bowie Hi-Cam: -Coppell Hi-Cam: -The Woodlands Hi-Cam: -Westlake Hi-Cam: -Reagan Hi-Cam: BOA Field Level: -Berkner Hi-Cam: -CTJ (Johnson) Hi-Cam: I'll add more videos (Different angles, Multi-Cam, etc.) of each of these bands performing at San Antonio as I find them if any more show up.And thanks to clarineticorn for letting me know that these are the finals runs.

Ehhh In my personal opinion Coppell and Duncanville are still the top 2 bands from that area. I think the difference is that Duncanville and Coppell execute their shows better musically, visually, and have a slighty better overall sound from an ensemble standpoint, while Berkner is better at being performers and giving the audience something really awesome to watch (although they still are one of the best bands musically in the state in my opinion. They're a wonderful band that I have always loved to watch). I can't speak for Rowlett as I have not seen their show yet, but kudos to them for doing so well! They have caught my attention for sure! I think all 4 of these bands have a serious shot at making finals at state and placing very highly in finals.

Yeah. They would be an awesome band to see make a return to finals. It's been a while. I wonder how many people still realize how good they actually are. Such a high quality program. I do hope to see them back in finals someday. They're good enough for sure, but BOA San Antonio and State are just so much more packed nowadays (which is of course a good thing and a bad thing at the same time).

Well, that special contest that only comes every other year is little more than a week away, and now we have some knowledge about who's going. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty excited!

I still think LD Bell will be ready and finish 2nd, but it is a possibility that Flower Mound or Hebron could give them a run for their money depending on how well their shows play in a UIL format (at least this weekend, not so much in San Antonio). Also, I agree that Haltom will likely take that 5th spot. They just always seem to be geared more towards UIL than Richland and PESH. This area is ridiculous. At least 4 of the bands that advance from this area could be state finalists. That's almost half of the finals spots at state...Jeez...

ANYWAYS... I saw someone mention SFA again, and I have to say, those kids better be getting one HECK of a standing ovation after their performance (well in reality, everyone should). But, seriously, I do really feel for them. Gotta give mad props to the seniors in that band as well...they've been put in such a tough place for their last year. Like someone else said, for them to be doing as well as they are really speaks volumes about how great those kids are. I don't care what placement they get (good or bad), SFA is still one of the top ten bands in the state in my opinion.

Huh. Marcus really fooled me into thinking that was the ending. I wonder how their show will continue from that point when they're all inside the 2 sets of gates. That should be cool.

I think the top 5 will look something like this: 1:Marcus/Bell-Same as usual, assuming Bell is as good as always. 2:Marcus/Bell 3:The Woodlands-Don't think they'll beat Bell or Marcus, but they're at a different level compared to anyone else as far as BOA is concerned in my opinion. I don't think anyone other than Bell & Marcus can touch them. It's a shame Bowie isn't competing at this one. Excited about Grand Nats for them though! 4:CTJ/Hebron-If Hebron gets rid of their timing issues and doesn't fall prey to the Alamodome echo, they have a chance of pulling off 4th. But most likely, CTJ will finish 4th and Hebron 5th. CTJ is just so good. Either way, this might be a close one. Might. This is also assuming a band doesn't come out of nowhere and jump into the top 5. 5:CTJ/Hebron Other bands I think will make finals, but can't really guess what they'll place: Cedar Park-They perform like a top 5 band for sure. If this was UIL and Cedar Park was 5A, I would have them in 3rd. I just think general effect might hurt them. I still expect them to do extremely well, because they perform their show at such a high level. Reagan-After Conroe, I'm going to assume Reagan will get a pretty nice score in the general effect category. I still think their show could be cleaner, but they are well on their way to doing very well at this competition. Flower Mound-Their guard is great, they execute their show well, and they sound good. I would be quite shocked not to see this group in finals. I expect them to make the top ten like last year. Round Rock-5 words: INSANE drumline and incredible guard. They'll do well again this year. These guys might become regulars in finals for the next few years at least. Churchill-I admit I haven't seen them this year, but I trust they'll make it. Recently I don't feel like these guys have been getting the credit they deserve. Great band that knows how to march and play very well. Cedar Ridge?!?-I haven't seen these guys either, but if what everyone is saying about them is true, then this band is potentially a force to be reckoned with at this competition. We'll see in 3 weeks, but if they do come through, then man! Talk about coming out of nowhere super fast! Berkner-I don't think BOA Denton even remotely reflected how this band will do. I'm going to assume that by the time BOASA comes around, they'll be ready to come to the Alamodome swinging as always. Richland-Again, haven't seen them. But I think they'll do well once again this year. I've heard good things about them, but again, I haven't actually seen them. Vandergrift-I think it's finally their year. They did exceptionally well at Denton. I'll be pulling for them! For the sake of not taking up an entire webpage, here's the other bands I think are on the bubble and have a legitimate shot and deserve some serious attention: SFA, Spring, Plano East, Anderson, Pflugerville, Hendrickson, Coppell, Leander, College Park, Westlake, Haltom, Martin, Sandra Day O'Conner, Brazoswood, and Mansfield. Too many good bands for the number of finals spots. It's a shame. Good luck to everyone competing at this contest! It will be a fantastic one!

What I'm interested in seeing: -Flower Mound really impressed me last year. They had a wonderful show and their colorguard was excellent. Now that they've bursted onto the scene, I'm wondering what's in store for them this year. -Richland was awesome as well last year. Hopefully they'll be improving some more this year, because I would love to see them return to the level they were at when they made Grand Nats finals in 2005. -Legacy: Once again, another program that appears to be on the rise. It's always great to see bands get better each year. -Hebron had a...strange season last year. It might have been due to the issues they had, or it might not have. It will be interesting to see if they still have it in them now that it's a new year. -One band I haven't seen mentioned much is Keller. They are a VERY solid program, and I'm sure they'll remind everyone of why they are come Denton. Definetly a contender for finals. -Bowie: Do I even need to explain why I'm excited to see them??? -Marcus: It's always a joy to watch arguably the best HS marching group in the nation. It will certainly be a fun competition to watch, to say the least.

I don't think so, but don't take my word for it. They kind of do in a unofficial way, because it kind of gives them a first impression.

What an AWESOME show! Sensemaya is such an awesome piece; I remember marching it during the 2010 season. I hope I can make it to San Antonio to watch the end result! Cedar Park is always a joy to watch. You guys are extremely talented! I graduated so I haven't actually heard any of it in person yet, but I heard that Hebron is likely playing Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra for one of their movements. I know for a fact the kids are so determined after our devastating results at SA last year. I'm so excited for them!

Hey!!! I have a super cool idea! Let's go a year without pointless bickering about placements! Every band busted their butts regardless of the year they had, and in result, we gave the crowd one of the best BOA SA's ever. Those that made finals deserved it, And those of us that didn't have next year to prove ourselves, because words won't change anyone's opinions, regardless of what they are. We were all fantastic, so let's treat each other like the family we are as an activity! I think our directors would appreciate it rather than reading arguments if they were to see this for whatever reason... Anyways...Congrats to everybody on a truly FANTASTIC year!!! Let's keep pushing the competitiveness of marching band in Texas! It's taking an AMAZING direction!

Well said! I don't think anyone has a right to judge Churchill based on their bad luck. It takes an INSANE amount of work to keep a quality program through all of those obstacles. They deserve to be given props rather than talked about in a stupid lock/bubble conversation. It seems almost ignorant to say a band has "gotten worse" based on scores and placements. Just saying it was nice to see a nice comment like that ^. I feel for those kids.

Beautiful. Our competitiveness and pride can distract us from what really matters. Happens to me every once in a while, when I'll post a huge paragraph promoting my band and what our placement will be. I always regret it later.This truly is about the family-like bond with our families in our bands. Not to mention our one big family that we're all collectively a part of in this activity.

Like you said, Hebron certainly hasn't gone down the drain. But Arlington (and the early season in general) isn't going to show our true colors though. Our show this year is quite different than in past years, being that it was originally designed for grand nats, and is a MUCH more general effect involved show than previous years. This year is a huge risk for us as we take a first step into a BOA style show, with much more to learn than just music drill and the occasional visual added in. And all risks have a negative side, but if we stick to our guns while our show is a work in progress, it will pay off for us late in the season and in future years, especially if we do become much more BOA involved.