Crossmen

[takigan]

Ok, so we all know Crossmen's relocation to San Antonio is a big mile marker for DCI and a huge mile marker for Texas-hailing DCI enthusiasts. Crossmen has just set up shop on top of a gold mine. We've seen what Texas musicians have done with Revolution; having set it apart as one of the top 5 Div III corps in the nation (and there's a LOT of them out there!). So I present to you the following talking points...

 

Do you think, with full access to some of the finest talent in the nation, the Crossmen will eventually, sometime over the next few years, ascend to 'Top 5' stardom? If not Top 5 (this is almost wishful thinking I'll admit)....what about Top 12?

 

And also...Could this relocation hurt Revo's ability to be competitive for championship titles as often as they are? ...As Crossmen could potentially take away a lot of the resources that allows Revo to be as competitive as it is (as they are sharing the same location), will this have any noticeable effect on them?

 

When I look at it on paper, with the incredible amount of talented students they could pull in locally, combined with all of the staff that makes Crossmen as good as it is plus the addition of new homegrown staff talent, and a promising Summer Production for the upcoming season....Crossmen should have the tools it needs to be competitive as a Top 5 corps. But when I look at the recent developments (difficulty finding Baritones and Mellophones, etc.) I start to doubt that possibility.

 

I don't know....what do ya'll think?

[thesnareguy]

It won't happen right away. I'll give them 5-8 years before they reach top 6.

[xbones7480]

  takigan said:

But when I look at the recent developments (difficulty finding Baritones and Mellophones, etc.) I start to doubt that possibility.

 

I don't know....what do ya'll think?

Almost every corps experiences these issues.

 

It's not that they never had a full hornline, it's that people that they have selected during the audition process end up dropping out for various reasons, and they need to fill those spots quickly before movein (spring training).

 

It is particularily difficult to find people this late in the Spring because many who have tried out for a corps back in December and January and got cut, have moved on to other corps where they made the cut.

 

It is also hard for the folks filling these last minute spots because they will have to catch up with the rest of line and learn and memorize their parts very quickly.

 

To say that the Crossmen can't get horn players would be incorrect. They simply had them and some dropped out. As you can imagine, this would be difficult for any organization at this time of the season.

 

There are also corps that lose people during tour or even a week before finals, due to injuries, personal reasons, or disciplinary actions, etc. It's not the first time a drum corps has had holes in a line.

 

I hope this answers your question.

 

Don't sweat it! The corps will be fine.

[Danpod]

I wouldn't say that they're in trouble yet, but this coming season is extremely critical to the future of The Crossmen. There has been a lot of hype, locally and nationally, about the "homegrown" talent that now has the opportunity to participate in a Division I corps in the state of Texas. There has also been a lot of talk about whether the move to San Antonio was a correct one. The Crossmen will have to have a pretty successful season to hush any naysayers. I'm thinking a top 10 finish at Finals will do it, considering that they missed 2005 and 2006 DCI Finals. With their show this year, the top 10 finish can be attained. It will be a challenge for The Crossmen but they have the right staff to make it happen.