1999 came around, and the decision was made for the two of us to go to Finals in Madison at UWM, along with Bro's best friend, Chun. We had already gone to local DCI shows, and Bro pretty much followed Santa Clara Vanguard around whenever he could. I had bought the 1998 videos. We had gone over the edge already, it seems. Boy howdy, did we not know what was to become of us.
We went to Madison during Finals Week and soaked it all in: the Individual and Ensemble competitions, the spectacle of what it was like to be in DCI "Mecca", every single bit of it. SCV had been trailing their crosstown rivals, the Blue Devils, for much of the season. We had our SCV gear on hand, and we were ready for the time of our lives.
Finals night came around, and it was like a dream. Nobody loves their drum corps as much as the people of Madison, Wisconsin. The local news was all abuzz because the Madison Scouts were really doing well with their show "Jesus Christ Superstar". They were in 7th place going into Finals night, so they wouldn't be shown live with the top 6 corps. However, the local channels showed them later on anyway, which is good because they ended up in 6th place. The crowd was electrified by the whole thing, and the three of us were all wrapped up in it.
SCV played and we went crazy, yelling "VANGUAAAAARRRRRD!" along with the other fans. The Blue Devils played their "Rhythms" show well, too. The scores were announced, and they were the only 2 corps that hadn't been named yet. The tension built. Then the announcer said "There is a tie." O.M.G. The two corps from California (Bro pointed out Nor Cal, but I tried to ignore him, which obviously didn't work because I'm typing it here) won! Many of the people in the audience booed, as SCV's rise to the top really should have led to having their own gold medal, but that's OK.
Do you know what happens when there are 2 champions? TWO ENCORES. It was awesome. Vanguard did their show again, and played their signature song, "Send In The Clowns". I was in tears. (The drummers were kneeling while listening to the horns play the song, and I knew at that moment that they were thinking of one of their own, who had died in a car accident on the way home from a drum corps camp weekend earlier in the year. Art was in all of their hearts, as well as in the hearts of the fans). Blue Devils did their encore, and they were all swagger, as usual. SCV's drum majors lined up the corps and they saluted BD during retreat. It was so, so Vanguard, very respectful.
What could be better for our first finals than for our corps to actually win the darn thing?! We were hooked. Every year since then, Bro has attended Finals, no matter the city. (I missed one year for a stupid reason and am still upset about it). It was the beginning of an era that I hope will never end, since it seems that the next generation of D'Saints has already been indoctrinated: Brady now asks if he can go to drum corps shows with us. While wearing an SCV t-shirt. And it's to see the shows! Olivia is well on her way, too. Look at this picture that I stole from Bro's FB album! (It's my current wallpaper for my laptop).
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| Yup, that's a Duplo SCV Corps Member! |
What has me waxing nostalgic about this tonight? Well, the fact that DCI just made the 1999 SCV show their Download of the Week. I love the description that Michael Boo wrote about their show.
This next clip is already at the link shown above, but is here for posterity. Finals 1999. I'll never forget "Inventions".
Indianapolis, here we come!
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