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Trivia challenge--"Top 50 Drum Corps of the DCI Era" on YouTube

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Neon Vincent

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Nov 19, 2009, 4:57:12 AM11/19/09
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TRIVIA TIME!

A lot of you (hi, Sis and Jazzycat!) are following goldsmith1210's "The
Top 50 Corps of the DCI Era" series on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/user/goldsmith1210

Now that goldsmith1210 has posted 27th Lancers as the 20th corps, two
things about his top 50 corps list have become clear. First, there are
some DCI finalist corps that just aren't going to make the list.
Second, the remaining 19 corps should be pretty obvious to anyone who
knows their drum corps, although the order will still be something of a
mystery until the corps' videos are posted. I want to see if the few,
the proud, the remaining RAMDers have it in them to figure out both sets
of corps.

One two time finalist didn't make his list and isn't going to. Who is
it and when did they make finals?

Six one-time finalists didn't make his list and aren't going to. Who
are they and when did they make finals?

One drum-corps-rich state/province has no representatives on his list
and isn't going to. What/Where is this place?

Who do you think are the remaining 19 corps?

Bonus: In what order do you think goldsmith1210 is going to rank them?

Finally, given all the above, which missing corps do you think should
have made the list and which ones should have been removed to make room
for them?

I have the answers for the first four questions. I have a guess for the
fifth. The last one is up to you all. Enjoy!
--
Neon Vincent's Massage Parlours
http://neon-vincent.dailykos.com
http://darksumomo.livejournal.com/
http://www.journalfen.net/users/darksumomo/

Sis

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Nov 19, 2009, 11:11:58 AM11/19/09
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Very interesting trivia quiz, Vince. I'll be interested in playing
later on tonight. Obviously, the guy gave more weight to the years
spent in DCI than the significance of the impact drum corps made through
the years. Example, of course, is Anaheim. Huge impact. Low placement.

Will participate later. Why do you insist on cross posting this stuff
all over the place? I'm answering here only. Thanks for a topic I'm
quite interested in!

Jackie

Neon Vincent

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Nov 20, 2009, 12:49:47 AM11/20/09
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Sis <sist...@comcast.net> wrote in
news:he3qob$idg$1...@news.eternal-september.org:

Thank you. Like my new sock?

> I'll be interested in playing
> later on tonight. Obviously, the guy gave more weight to the years
> spent in DCI than the significance of the impact drum corps made
> through the years. Example, of course, is Anaheim. Huge impact. Low
> placement.

I agree. His algorithm seems to give a lot of weight to consistency and
longevity, which catapulted a some long-lived Division II/III corps into
the top 50 over some spectacular, but short-lived Division I corps.
Another example would be Muchachos. Their alumni were ticked off that
he ranked their corps 49th, behind the Americanos.

> Will participate later.

Looking forward to it.

> Why do you insist on cross posting this stuff
> all over the place?

1) Use some groups that I like so they don't go *poof* when the Big-8
Management Board takes a look at groups to discontinue.

2) The YouTube group is actually on topic for this thread.

3) Habit. :-P

> I'm answering here only.

No problem.

> Thanks for a topic I'm
> quite interested in!

Quite welcome. Got any guesses? Need any hints?

Dave Adams

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Nov 20, 2009, 4:24:27 AM11/20/09
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Des Plaines Vanguard, Bleu Raeders, Auburn Purple Lancers, Finleyville
Royal Crusaders, and Polish Falcon Cadets are five of the one-time
finalists.

-Dave Adams-

carlt...@comcast.net

unread,
Nov 20, 2009, 10:22:27 AM11/20/09
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On Nov 19, 4:57 am, Neon Vincent <neon_vinc...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> TRIVIA TIME!
>
> A lot of you (hi, Sis and Jazzycat!) are following goldsmith1210's "The
> Top 50 Corps of the DCI Era" series on YouTube.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/user/goldsmith1210
>
> Now that goldsmith1210 has posted 27th Lancers as the 20th corps, two
> things about his top 50 corps list have become clear.  First, there are
> some DCI finalist corps that just aren't going to make the list.  
> Second, the remaining 19 corps should be pretty obvious to anyone who
> knows their drum corps, although the order will still be something of a
> mystery until the corps' videos are posted.  I want to see if the few,
> the proud, the remaining RAMDers have it in them to figure out both sets
> of corps.
>
> One two time finalist didn't make his list and isn't going to.  Who is
> it and when did they make finals?

>>Seneca Optimists

> Six one-time finalists didn't make his list and aren't going to.  Who
> are they and when did they make finals?

>> Des Plaines Vanguard
Bleu Raeders
Stockton Commodores
Auburn Purple Lancers
Finleyville Royal Crusaders
Seneca Optimists

> One drum-corps-rich state/province has no representatives on his list
> and isn't going to.  What/Where is this place?

>> Quebec

> Who do you think are the remaining 19 corps?

>>1 Blue Devils
2 Cadets
3 Cavaliers
4 Santa Clara Vanguard
5 Phantom Regiment
6 Madison Scouts
7 Star of Indiana
8 Troopers
9 Carolina Crown
10 Blue Coats
11 Boston Crusaders
12 Spirit of Atlanta
13 Crossmen
14 Blue Knights
15 Glassmen
16 Blue Stars
17 Colts
18 Freelancers
19 Velvet Knights

Sis

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Nov 20, 2009, 9:33:31 PM11/20/09
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carlt...@comcast.net wrote:

>> Who do you think are the remaining 19 corps?
>
>>> 1 Blue Devils
> 2 Cadets
> 3 Cavaliers
> 4 Santa Clara Vanguard
> 5 Phantom Regiment
> 6 Madison Scouts
> 7 Star of Indiana
> 8 Troopers
> 9 Carolina Crown
> 10 Blue Coats
> 11 Boston Crusaders
> 12 Spirit of Atlanta
> 13 Crossmen
> 14 Blue Knights
> 15 Glassmen
> 16 Blue Stars
> 17 Colts
> 18 Freelancers
> 19 Velvet Knights

I tend to agree with these top 19 except not in that order. However, I
can't see how Bleu Raiders and DesPlaines Vanguard do NOT show up at
all. Of course in the early years of DCI it was a whole lot harder to
work yourself into the top 12 than it is now, the sheer numbers were
against them. So who would I take out to accomodate Bleu Raiders? I
think probably Glassmen. I'd also love to see a list of the 13-20 corps
from the the earlier time period.


>
>> Bonus: In what order do you think goldsmith1210 is going to rank them?

>>
>> Finally, given all the above, which missing corps do you think should
>> have made the list and which ones should have been removed to make room
>> for them?
>>
>> I have the answers for the first four questions. I have a guess for the
>> fifth. The last one is up to you all. Enjoy!
>> --
>> Neon Vincent's Massage Parlourshttp://neon-vincent.dailykos.comhttp://darksumomo.livejournal.com/http://www.journalfen.net/users/darksumomo/
>

UInteresting.

Jackie

Neon Vincent

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Nov 20, 2009, 10:05:44 PM11/20/09
to
Dave Adams <dva...@aol.com> wrote in
news:9cd16756-913c-4c72...@r24g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

> On Nov 19, 1:57�am, Neon Vincent <neon_vinc...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> TRIVIA TIME!

>> Six one-time finalists didn't make his list and aren't going to. �Who


>> are they and when did they make finals?

<snip!>

> Des Plaines Vanguard, Bleu Raeders, Auburn Purple Lancers, Finleyville
> Royal Crusaders, and Polish Falcon Cadets are five of the one-time
> finalists.

Congratulations, Dave, you got four of them. Unfortunately, the Polish
Falcon Cadets never made DCI finals. They came in 13th in 1974.

One other person guessed Commodores as the fifth corps. No one has guessed
the sixth corps yet. Hint: it's a corps that made DCI Finals both before
and after a merger that changed its name. The merged corps did make the
list.
--

http://www.youtube.com/user/pinkusensei

Sis

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Nov 20, 2009, 10:25:05 PM11/20/09
to
Neon Vincent wrote:
> Dave Adams <dva...@aol.com> wrote in
> news:9cd16756-913c-4c72...@r24g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
>
>> On Nov 19, 1:57 am, Neon Vincent <neon_vinc...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> TRIVIA TIME!
>
>>> Six one-time finalists didn't make his list and aren't going to. Who
>>> are they and when did they make finals?
>
> <snip!>
>
>> Des Plaines Vanguard, Bleu Raeders, Auburn Purple Lancers, Finleyville
>> Royal Crusaders, and Polish Falcon Cadets are five of the one-time
>> finalists.
>
> Congratulations, Dave, you got four of them. Unfortunately, the Polish
> Falcon Cadets never made DCI finals. They came in 13th in 1974.
>
> One other person guessed Commodores as the fifth corps. No one has guessed
> the sixth corps yet. Hint: it's a corps that made DCI Finals both before
> and after a merger that changed its name. The merged corps did make the
> list.

I had DesPlaines, Bleu Raeders, Seneca, Royal Crusaders, DeLaSalle,
Purple Lancers.

?

Jackie

Neon Vincent

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Nov 20, 2009, 10:55:12 PM11/20/09
to
carlt...@comcast.net wrote in
news:76dfca09-dcd3-4580...@o23g2000vbi.googlegroups.com:

> On Nov 19, 4:57�am, Neon Vincent <neon_vinc...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> TRIVIA TIME!
>>
>> A lot of you (hi, Sis and Jazzycat!) are following goldsmith1210's
>> "The Top 50 Corps of the DCI Era" series on YouTube.
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/user/goldsmith1210
>>
>> Now that goldsmith1210 has posted 27th Lancers as the 20th corps, two
>> things about his top 50 corps list have become clear. �First, there
>> are some DCI finalist corps that just aren't going to make the list.
>> � Second, the remaining 19 corps should be pretty obvious to anyone
>> who knows their drum corps, although the order will still be
>> something of a mystery until the corps' videos are posted. �I want to
>> see if the few, the proud, the remaining RAMDers have it in them to
>> figure out both sets of corps.
>>
>> One two time finalist didn't make his list and isn't going to. �Who
>> is it and when did they make finals?
>
>>>Seneca Optimists

Bingo!

>> Six one-time finalists didn't make his list and aren't going to. �Who
>> are they and when did they make finals?
>
>>> Des Plaines Vanguard
> Bleu Raeders
> Stockton Commodores
> Auburn Purple Lancers
> Finleyville Royal Crusaders
> Seneca Optimists

Congratulations, you got five out of the six. I'll give you the same
hint I gave Dave: it's a corps that made DCI Finals both before

and after a merger that changed its name. The merged corps did make the

list. I'll give you another hint: you got the wrong corps in Seneca
Optimists (they were the two-time finalist who didn't make the list),
but you got the right city. That should really narrow things down.

>> One drum-corps-rich state/province has no representatives on his list
>> and isn't going to. �What/Where is this place?
>
>>> Quebec

BINGO! I'm surprised he hasn't got a bunch of Les Eclipses, Les
Etoiles, and Academie Musicale fans and alums grousing at him while
every corps in Kitchener made his list.

>> Who do you think are the remaining 19 corps?
>
>>>1 Blue Devils
> 2 Cadets
> 3 Cavaliers
> 4 Santa Clara Vanguard
> 5 Phantom Regiment
> 6 Madison Scouts
> 7 Star of Indiana
> 8 Troopers
> 9 Carolina Crown
> 10 Blue Coats
> 11 Boston Crusaders
> 12 Spirit of Atlanta
> 13 Crossmen
> 14 Blue Knights
> 15 Glassmen
> 16 Blue Stars
> 17 Colts
> 18 Freelancers
> 19 Velvet Knights

Congratulations, those are the remaining 19 corps.

>> Bonus: In what order do you think goldsmith1210 is going to rank
>> them?

You've already done that above, so it's time to start soliciting <Butt-
Head>Huh, huh, he said 'soliciting'</Butt-Head> rankings. I'll start
with both of mine.

First, the rankings he'd get if he remains absolutely consistent with
his algorithm.

1. SCV
2. Blue Devils

(BD has more championships, but SCV is the only corps to make every DCI
finals.)

3. Cadets
4. Madison Scouts

(He's telegraphed the above 4 with the order of the intro music for the
corps so far).

5. Cavaliers
6. Phantom Regiment

(All the Cavies' championships should put them ahead of Phantom by a
nose)

Now it gets a bit murky, as his algorithm seems to give a lot of weight

to consistency and longevity, which catapulted a some long-lived

Division II/III corps into the top 50 ahead of the corps I listed above.
I'll do my best to replicate it intuitively.

7. Troopers (of all the corps remaining, they're the ones with the most
consistency and longevity; they've only missed competing at DCI in open
class/Div. I/World Class once and they're one of only four original
finalists still competing)
8. Crossmen (competing since 1975, finalists off and on since 1977)
9. Spirit of Atlanta (competing since 1977, finalists off and on since
1978)
10. Blue Stars (competing since 1967, but in DCI since the beginning;
all those years inactive or as a Div II/III corps will prevent them from
rising any higher).
11. Bluecoats (only in top 25 since the 1980s, finalist very
consistently from 1987 on).
12. Boston Crusaders (competing since the 1940s, in top 25 since 1976,
finalist since 1999).
13. Colts (competing in DCI from the beginning, in top 25 off and on
from 1976, finalist off and on since 1993).
14. Glassmen (could be higher, but shouldn't be higher than Bluecoats or
Colts on the basis of consistency--after all, they were a Div II corps
as recently as 1989 and their previous best finish before that was 24th
in 1983; great performance at semis that year, though).
15. Blue Knights (only started being a serious top 25 corps in 1984 and
a finalist since 1990).
16. Carolina Crown (great recent record, but young corps and only
finalists since 1995)
17. Star of Indiana (this will tick off as many people as having
Kingsmen down in 36th and Muchachos in 49th, but they weren't long lived
enough to deserve higher if he's consistent).
18. Freelancers (finalists earlier than VK).
19. Velvet Knights (long history, but only finalists for less than 10
years).

However, he might have learned something from his experience with the
Muchachos and Kingsmen and move some corps that had exceptional years up
in rankings. Here's my guess as to how that might look.

1. Blue Devils
2. SCV
3. Cadets
4. Cavaliers
5. Madison Scouts
6. Phantom Regiment
7. Star of Indiana
8. Bluecoats
9. Troopers
10 Spirit of Atlanta
11. Crossmen
12. Boston Crusaders
13. Carolina Crown
14. Blue Stars
15. Glassmen
16. Colts
17. Blue Knights
18. Freelancers
19. Velvet Knights

Not much different from yours, isn't it?

>> Finally, given all the above, which missing corps do you think should
>> have made the list and which ones should have been removed to make
>> room for them?

Sis attempted to answer this, but didn't understand what I had in mind.
I'll clarify in a response to her post.
--

http://www.youtube.com/user/pinkusensei

Neon Vincent

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Nov 20, 2009, 11:02:02 PM11/20/09
to
Sis <sist...@comcast.net> wrote in
news:he7mih$eu$1...@news.eternal-september.org:

> Neon Vincent wrote:
>> Dave Adams <dva...@aol.com> wrote in

>> news:9cd16756-913c-4c72-9c25-
d15dc0...@r24g2000prf.googlegroups.com


>> :
>>
>>> On Nov 19, 1:57 am, Neon Vincent <neon_vinc...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>> TRIVIA TIME!
>>
>>>> Six one-time finalists didn't make his list and aren't going to.
>>>> Who are they and when did they make finals?
>>
>> <snip!>
>>
>>> Des Plaines Vanguard, Bleu Raeders, Auburn Purple Lancers,
>>> Finleyville Royal Crusaders, and Polish Falcon Cadets are five of
>>> the one-time finalists.
>>
>> Congratulations, Dave, you got four of them. Unfortunately, the
>> Polish Falcon Cadets never made DCI finals. They came in 13th in
>> 1974.
>>
>> One other person guessed Commodores as the fifth corps. No one has
>> guessed the sixth corps yet. Hint: it's a corps that made DCI Finals
>> both before and after a merger that changed its name. The merged
>> corps did make the list.
>
> I had DesPlaines, Bleu Raeders, Seneca, Royal Crusaders, DeLaSalle,
> Purple Lancers.

DING DING DING! You missed Commodores, but got DeLaSalle. Seneca
Optimists was a two-time finalist. We (tinw) have a co-winner for this
question, since no one got all six correct. In alphabetical order, the
six corps are:

Bleu Raeders
Commodores
DeLaSalle Oaklands
Des Plaines Vanguard
Purple Lancers
Royal Crusaders

Now for the other half of the question--when did each corps make finals?
First correct answer breaks the tie!

Neon Vincent

unread,
Nov 21, 2009, 12:29:54 AM11/21/09
to
Sis <sist...@comcast.net> wrote in
news:he7jhr$e99$1...@news.eternal-september.org:

> carlt...@comcast.net wrote:
>
>>> Who do you think are the remaining 19 corps?
>>
>>>> 1 Blue Devils
>> 2 Cadets
>> 3 Cavaliers
>> 4 Santa Clara Vanguard
>> 5 Phantom Regiment
>> 6 Madison Scouts
>> 7 Star of Indiana
>> 8 Troopers
>> 9 Carolina Crown
>> 10 Blue Coats
>> 11 Boston Crusaders
>> 12 Spirit of Atlanta
>> 13 Crossmen
>> 14 Blue Knights
>> 15 Glassmen
>> 16 Blue Stars
>> 17 Colts
>> 18 Freelancers
>> 19 Velvet Knights
>
> I tend to agree with these top 19 except not in that order.

They are the top 19, trust me. On an intuitive basis, they're in an OK
order, although we know that goldsmith1210 is not ranking the corps
intuitively.

> However,
> I can't see how Bleu Raiders and DesPlaines Vanguard do NOT show up at
> all. Of course in the early years of DCI it was a whole lot harder to
> work yourself into the top 12 than it is now, the sheer numbers were
> against them. So who would I take out to accomodate Bleu Raiders? I
> think probably Glassmen.

I must have been too imprecise in my language. I meant which corps out
of the top *fifty* would you take out and replace with another corps,
not which of the top 19 would you replace with a missing corps. I'm of
the opinion that all of the top 19 deserve their place in the top 50,
although I could imagine that some of them don't deserve their place in
the top 19.

> I'd also love to see a list of the 13-20
> corps from the the earlier time period.

The best 13-25 corps and the very best Div. II/III corps are already in
goldsmith1210's top 50, although I could think of at least one Div. II
corps that didn't make the cut that is currently better than the ones
that did make the list.

In order to make the task easier, I'm going to list all 50 of the corps
that are going to be on his list and put asterisks (*) next to those
corps that didn't make Div. I finals. I'll use my second ranking of the
top 19 to start.

1. Blue Devils
2. SCV
3. Cadets
4. Cavaliers
5. Madison Scouts
6. Phantom Regiment
7. Star of Indiana
8. Bluecoats
9. Troopers
10 Spirit of Atlanta
11. Crossmen
12. Boston Crusaders
13. Carolina Crown
14. Blue Stars
15. Glassmen
16. Colts
17. Blue Knights
18. Freelancers
19. Velvet Knights

20. 27th Lancers
21. Bridgemen
22. Sky Ryders
23. Magic
24. Pioneer*
25. Mandarins*
26. Suncoast Sound.
27. Southwind*
28. Dutch Boy
29. Geneseo/Quad Cities Knights*
30. Kiwanis Kavaliers*
31. Schaumberg Guardsmen
32. The Spartans*
33. The Kilts
34. Ventures*
35. Seattle Cascades
36. Anaheim Kingsmen
37. Saginaires/Northern Aurora*
38. Marauders*
39. North Star
40. Florida Vanguard/Florida Wave*
41. Pacific Crest*
42. Oakland Crusaders
43. Avante Garde*
44. Black Knights
45. Capital Regiment*
46. Rochester Patriots*
47. East Coast Jazz*
48. Americanos*
49. Muchachos
50. Argonne Rebels

I'm going to further assist with the exercise by listing the Div. I
finalists that didn't make the cut by number of appearances and order of
finish.

Seneca Optimists


DeLaSalle Oaklands
Des Plaines Vanguard

Royal Crusaders
Purple Lancers
Bleu Raeders
Commodores

Then I'm going to add the Quebec corps that I've mentioned.

Les Eclipse
Les Etoiles
Academie Musicale

Next, some 13th place corps that didn't make the cut.

Polish Falcon Cadets
Watkins Glen

For good measure, here's a Div. II (now Div. I) corps that didn't make
the cut.

Jersey Surf

>>> Finally, given all the above, which missing corps do you think
>>> should have made the list and which ones should have been removed to
>>> make room for them?

In addition to moving the above corps into the top 50 to replace corps
you consider less worthy, you can rearrange the top 50. After all, the
Glassmen are above 27th. Really?

Have at it!

>>> --
>>> Neon Vincent's Massage

>>> Parlourshttp://neon-
vincent.dailykos.comhttp://darksumomo.livejournal
>>> .com/http://www.journalfen.net/users/darksumomo/
>>
>
> UInteresting.

Sis, what's interesting?
--

http://www.youtube.com/user/pinkusensei

vettepassesyou

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Nov 24, 2009, 2:16:45 AM11/24/09
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39th ?
North Star got hosed.

Sis

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Nov 24, 2009, 5:04:36 AM11/24/09
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flu...@msn.com

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Nov 24, 2009, 9:28:09 AM11/24/09
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On Nov 24, 2:16 am, vettepassesyou <usatrum...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 39th ?
> North Star got hosed.

I think it was a gift...;}
George

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