A friend who is a former member of the Holy Name/ Garfield Cadets posted the foillowing (below)on their corps alumni website, regarding treatment of the Cadets at Pasadena.
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"We are part of a competitive activity. While competition may not be the primary component of the Cadet Experience; it is a valuable tool for teaching and learning a lot of life lessons. This year the DCI Championship Competitions were held in Pasadena, California. I was present for those competitions. The atmosphere was, to put in mildly, extremely hostile. Somewhere along the line a growing number of members of the drum corps community have lost their civility and self-pride, and become rude, obnoxious, and self-focused. Sadly, in Pasadena that group prevailed, and swept along with them a large number of people who in retrospect I would be willing to bet are now dismayed at their own behavior, and ashamed that they were a part of such a denigrating spectacle. I have been around drum corps for 57 years, and during that entire time I have never seen anything remotely similar occur. The most disturbing part to me was that many of the people swept along in the mob-like atmosphere that prevailed in the stands were wearing corps jackets, tee shirts, and other items advertising their allegiance. They did not seem cognizant of the fact that if they were members of any of the corps competing and they acted in the manner in which they were acting, they would probably have been thrown out of their corps.
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He also advised that many Cadets and their supporters were verbally abused and taunted in various places around town during their stay there.

This seems very extreme to me! Is THIS what drum corps is like now?

Even if you don't like the corps program (in the Cadets case .. "narration") it seems that we should ALWAYS respect the efforts and work of the young people and staff.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

The only time that I noticed any negativism in the Rose Bowl, itself, was when the Cadets' director, George Hopkins, came out onto the field, just when his corps was all placed and ready to go, to complain about the hash marks not being painted bright enough. He then removed his corps from the field and down the tunnel. Many in the crowd booed profusely, indeed; it was loud all right.

Personally, I wondered why he had the corps march out there, get all set to go, and then he walked out to stop it all. My feeling was that if he knew the markings were too light for his blood, then he could have (I would think) made that known to the authorities BEFORE marching his whole corps out there... only to have them march right back out again. It all seemed show-boaty and contrived to me, but, then, I don't know all the goings-on. It was aggravating for the crowd. The day was long and hot. The contest was moving along nicely. It all seemed that he was making a spectacle, a circus, a sham of the proceedings. If he could have gotten this whole thing cleared up BEFORE bringing his corps onto the field, I think there would have been no booing at all. This occurred on Friday night, semi-finals night. Certainly, the crowd was NOT booing the kids; no way! The kids did not get booed at all... including the night before this incident, nor the night after it, nor on this night, during or after their performance.

Know it or not, I am forever monitoring this sacred site. ha ha ha ha ha... Bill

I was wondering what had happened to Bill...

As for Hopkins, I'm sure he was showboating. His complaint was legitimate, and the situation SHOULD have been dealt with. In today's fast-moving corps, who depend on those field markings MUCH more than we did, it can be physically dangerous to not be able to see the lines. However, as Bill said, Hopkins should have addressed it BEFORE his corps set up. But that's just Hopkins.

As for the rude treatment of the corps, I can't comment because I wasn't there. While they should have expected to cause controversy with their show, they shouldn't be subjected to that, if it happened. But, as always, the kids suffer for staff decisions (THAT'S the history of drum corps). At least they weren't uniformly booed by 20,000 fans at the same time, as we were in the Cavaliers in 1975.

I still think, after watching the mid-season videos, that the Cadets may have had the best corps this past summer, but they unfortunately had to suffer from Hopkins' obsession with the narration. He has never learned that there is a difference between pushing the envelope and simply tearing it apart.

But American society has become ruder as a whole, so I'm not surprised that this behavior has infiltrated drum corps as well. We've never been immune from societal changes.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73, 78-79

I wasn't there either. Bill raised a valid point about dealing with the hash mark issue.

AND, it has been proven that George Hopkins loves attention .. and often does things just to get it.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

As George Hopkins walked off the Rose Bowl field, in the direction of the crowd, he was bood profusely, and that is the only booing I heard in the 3 full days there. But, they gave it to him, all right! Again, the kids were never bood, and for anyone to say that the booing was directed at the kids, is ludicrous. Hopkins demonstrated showboating to the hilt; that was obvious, and the crowd resented him for doing so and for taking the attention away from the kids. THAT is what all the booing was about, period.

I agree with Bob that the Cadets were remarkably great, as a corps this past summer, and so were the Blue Devils. If the Cavaliers were terrific, and they might have been (I think they were), they were also held back, in the scoring, by their adults' choice of program. It didn't show off the corps' skills enough, somehow. The Blue Devils' program highlighted the kids' abilities more than any corps' did. Well, that's how I saw it, and I saw a lot of live drum corps this past summer, and, as always, I'm right.

What happened in '75, Bob, that your corps was bood?

In 1975 the Muchacos, from Hawthorne, NJ, were suspected of marching an overage member. In fact, when all the facts eventually came in, it turned out they were marching MANY overage members. Anyway, it was the Cavaliers who initiated the complaint against them. While many thought it was to improve our competitive chances, a quick review of the position of the two corps at that time will show that is ludicrous - we knew we were going to make finals, and not much more (we ended up 8th), while the Muchachos were trying to give Madison (the eventual champion) a run for their money. Anyway, we had a member from the East coast who had attended the 23rd birthday party of a Muchacho member several years earlier (he turned out to be 26 YEARS OLD!). DCI checked, found the allegations to be true, and the corps was disqualified from competition. DCI was not supposed to let out who had "got the goods" on the Muchachos, but the word got out, and since finals were in Philly that year, when we were announced on the starting line, the entire audience booed us (at least it sounded and felt that way!).

In the aftermath, several interesting things came out. First of all, the rumor that the Muchachos beat Madison at prelims is false - their score, when eventually tallied, actually put them third. They WERE great that year - with that kind of experience, they should have been. But nobody was going to beat Madison. Also, they were the first of several Eastern corps disqualified for overage during the 70's. The next year, 1976, it was the Crossmen, then in 1977, the Bridgemen. The East hadn't won a title in a LONG time, and I guess they were desparate.

The most interesting, to me, was that when the albums came out, DCI had covered the boos with someone else's cheers, which REALLY made us mad! This was before videos were routinely available. But when the videos were produced years later, they left the boos on, so I have to explain this every time I show them to someone! If you ever see the video, you can tell how pumped our show was that night, because after each song there are fewer boos and more cheers. That may have been my most exciting performance ever, though it was far from my best competitively.

Now everyone is caught up - again - on this story!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73, 78-79

Here is a comment from Steve Vickers, the publisher of Drum Corps World, about that situation at DCI:

"There really wasn't any booing of the corps . . . it was entirely aimed at him (Hopkins). He's the only director who wanders around ON the field and paces on the sidelines during the corps' performances. Fans equate many changes in the activity with him . . . amplification and voice, strange music, wrecking a great uniform, trying to add saxophones, Sousaphones and who knows what else.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

While I agree with everything Vickers says, I'm surprised that HE said it. Isn't that kind of biting the hand that feeds you? If DCI were to turn on Drum Corps World, where would he be? Is there enough interest in DCA to sustain the paper?

I still miss Drum Corps Digest!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73, 78-79

Well, Steve said that me ME and I sent it to you! NOT to the world.

But all he said was that some people don't like George Hopkins. SURPRISE! So, how could DCI have a problem with that?

I like Drum Corps World and I also liked Drum Corps Digest!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

I have a recording of Blessed Sacrament from the 1963 World Open (Bridgeport CT) where there is booing as the announcer introduces the corps. I wonder how many of the fans at that show were wearing Garfield Cadet jackets.

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 1959-66 (Cadets 59-61 Imperials 62-66)

I suppose that some booing of other corps did occur at times, but I don't remember any of that personally.

I also doubt that any Cadet people would do that .. their organization was very "straight and proper" as I recall.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

Other than that 1975 incident (which was a very specific event), I don't remember hearing booing of a CORPS in my 11 years. However, I certainly remember hearing boos concerning SCORES. The corps were pretty supportive of each other, at least in public view. Now, outside the public eye (parking lots, dressing rooms, etc.), was occasionally a different story! One of the first things I was taught in the Cavaliers was how to take off the white belt and wrap it around my hand so that chrome buckle was on the outside...

And then, of course, there was McHenry in 1970, which has been discussed in another thread a while back. But I'm STILL waiting for someone from Norwood to explain the other side of the story!

Maybe that would make an interesting new thread? Talk about some ways corps got digs in on each other without being obvious about it to the public?

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73, 78-79

I was there and there were some negativity coming from a few isolated audience members, mostly smart comments. Never was there any kind of mass booing. One guy actually started to scold some people who were giving the corps crap for their perfectly legal use of amplification. He was telling those people to remember the kids who work so hard to do this activity. All in all, it made the Cadets show even more exciting.

In respect to GH having them paint the hash marks before he brought the corps on the field: One must understand that Hopkins is with his corps before the show and couldn't have seen the field conditions till he was wandering around the field before their performance. He is literally with the Cadets till they take the field (I've witnessed it at the past Madison DCI). As far as being a showboat, I'd say that that is an appropriate label for George. He loves to shake up the drum corps world and is always trying to get a reaction from the masses. I'd say he's quite similar to many cutting-edge artists. I personally think he keeps the activity fresh, but I know many disagree.

How many adult staff do the Cadets have? When a corps' time on the filed is getting near, they have several of their adult staff (proudly wearing their corps' apparel) go up high in the stands, a corps performance or two earlier. I see them up there all the time, as this is where I, too, usually sit. That staff has plenty of time to survey the field conditions before their corps ever comes on... PLENTY of time. George Hopkins is NOT the only member of the Cadets staff. Why does he have various assistants? While he is with his corps, they should be tending to ALL all the other details. If they don't do so, that speaks of poor corps communication, organization and management. Well, they all had their chances to check out the hash marks WAY BEFORE the Cadets ever took the field, including Hopkins--no excuses! If they didn't do so, tough! Those hash marks were as dull as they were throughout the entire evening, even when the very first corps performed. The marks did not get duller (not noticably anyhow). Once a corps' time-to-perform time clock starts, it is too late. They blew their opportunities to report any problems to the contest officials. They had all night long to do this! They MUST now get out their corps out there and they perform, period. George took his corps back off the field and received a two point penalty FOR TAKING TOO LONG, which is the rule. Why DCI backed off the next day and gave him his two points back is beyond me! I disagree to this day. The rule is the rule for every corps, including King George's corps. DCI lost credibility and respect. SISSIES!

OK, Bill - tell us what you REALLY think...

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73, 78-79

Well, a common point is that nobody seems to have much use for George Hopkins!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

It's really not that big. It was prelims and even with a 2 point penalty, the Cadets still would've made finals.

I think people need to relax and enjoy the shows more. Competition is only based on the opinion of a few people anyways.

I think it was one of the more enjoyable DCI Championships that I've seen in a while.

I wonder what would happen if they turned DCI into an EXHIBITION series and left the scoring out?

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

I think the competition is essential to drum corps. I just can only trust my own judgment on who's better than who.