Syracuse Trip Update - Dome Today, We Are Ready!

So here are some thoughts going into today’s State Championship Competition. We are totally ready, everything has worked to our favor. The weather has been super cooperative. We got two full run throughs in on each of the past two weekends while other bands barely got outside. Yesterday, the other bands had to do an indoor show and we luckily had a weather break and got a full rehearsal and run throughs outside at a great facility. We practice on an artificial turf field so we are used to that texture to march on. We are peaking, the most important part of trying to aim the band to a perfect perfomance at the dome.

We have been dealing with timing problems all year, the actual keeping the band together, due to the complexities of the drill, drum placement, field spreads, etc. and have solved all of those problems. The dome ceiling reaks havoc on every band, the echo coming off the roof is almost as loud as the actual band and can cause any band’s dome perfomance to fall apart. We have it down, we are used to looking at the drum majors, we have been practicing it all season so the dome should have minimum impact on our performance. Bands that have never had a timing issue frequently have a hard time adjusting. We have been adjusting all year. So we are as ready as we can be. We are marching great, looking great and sounding great. The entire band is in a prime position to be incredible at the dome. Now we have to perform.

Now here is the most important paragraph. Be ready for anything. This medium is subjective and judges simply “liking” or “not liking” the show impacts the scores incredibly. There is also a huge let’s say................ “tradition” thing going here. Bands have to pay their dues to move through the ranks and getting high scores takes time (read between the lines). But, we cannot criticize the judging environment. Some day they will crown us champions and we will be the beneficiaries of the “tradition” thing. Also, our neighbor, Mineola, is having an incredible year. Their guard is probably the best guard in the state and that alone could push them to 1st in our class. Brentwood and Sachem are also seeded to possibly get 1st place in their classes. They are all having great years. We should be ready and supportive of our neighbors. Whenever a Long Island band does well at the dome it helps us all.

So after we perform, and this goes with ANY judges performance, prepare yourself for any place. We could get 5th place, we could get 1st. There is simply no way of knowing what the judges will do. We have a fresh read, most of the judges haven’t seen us yet, which makes it VERY unpredictable. No matter what, we will go home at least 5th in the state. We will beat a ton of bands in the lower two classes, LS3 and SS3.

I’ve said this a million times and I will say it again. We cannot let 10 judges define what we are and how we feel about ourselves. We have accomplished great, amazing things this year. Look and listen to us, we are great! No matter how this day turns out we are “Champions.” No band in New York has made the strides that our band has in the past 7 years. Have fun! Be proud!