Banned from the Stadium at Quarterfinals

Ghop Apr 11, 2026

******* As you can see, this is a reprint from April 11, 2026.

Over the past weeks, we have added quite a few folks to our subscriber list. We have over 1000. SO … before I go to bed … I wanted to send a little bit of Cadet stuff out.

This site has been all about the DCI Champs for a week or more, soI wanted to touch base.

For those who read this in April … sorry. For new people, enjoy.

Fresh writing is on the way… give me a day or two to get the DCI craziness out of my head.

ENJOY!!!!!

In 2003, the Cadets had a very good corps. We had a particularly good color guard.

As we made our way through the season, some things became apparent, one of which was that, depending on the judge and, I guess, the interpretation of what we were working to achieve, scores could vary to at least a moderate degree. It was concerning, but in such situations, you hope that these kinds of differences can be eliminated as the season moves on

The program was called “My Favorite Things”. It was a bit of a break from the theme shows and allowed us to pick what we wished to bring to the field. We ended up with quite a variety of musical styles and presentations, and it all worked pretty well.

Who the heck thought we would ever play Malaguena?

Why did it work well?

The performance level of the performer/the students was phenomenal, particularly the Guard.

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Some Judges like ya and some … not so much

As is sometimes the case, it became obvious that certain adjudicators were loving the Cadets, and others … not so much.

Of particular concern were the guard judges and, by association, certain visual ensemble adjudicators. We would be up, we would be down, we would be up, and we would be down. It really depended on who was judging

Yes, we were behind, but we were catching up to the Cavaliers and the Blue Devils. What seemed to make a difference was the visual scores, particularly for the guard and the visual ensemble. And depending on the judge … there was more of a carryover from one sheet to the other than at other times.

The Week Prior to Champs

I totally recall sitting outside near the food truck, and April Gilligan, the guard caption supervisor (and the Queen of the Corps) coming and sitting next to me.

She went over the problems with Jackie Gilley and William Chumley. She had concerns about Ms. Gilley. The problem … every time she saw us, she had us down and there was no question she would have us down again

I listened… and I already knew, but by asking questions, I had a little more information to add to my concerns before the assignments. Believe me, April was NOT HAPPY.

My Bible to John Phillips

The normal approach to debating judge assignments was to grab a judge or John (the judge administrator) after a show and go off verbally. I never felt it worked. It could get out of control. And who the hell remembered much. Years ago, I wrote a long review of each judge that I delivered to Mr. Phillips.

I was biased, but I tried to be fair. And I was as detailed as could be. John did read some or most of what I wrote (good bedtime reading, maybe) as he would quote me from time to time. He actually looked forward to my writing :-)

In 2003, Jackie and William were my main topics of conversation. It was clear they were going to put us in a precarious position that would undermine whatever chance we had of an upset at the end of the year. I believed I made my case.

And indeed, during that week’s travels, I ran into John at one meeting or another, and we chatted. He had read my missive and assured me he would be taking all into consideration

Now, I had been around long enough to know that everyone had their favorite judges, but, if it were shown that a particular judge was NOT at all aligned with the majority, it was possible they may not judge finals, they could end up on another caption, or …. At least as they build the panels, it would be clear that judge X was a liability for the Cadets (for example), so … balancing that with judge Y would be considered, and usually how it went. Believe me, I knew I was not alone in my politicking. And for all my years … I was NOT the most connected. I tended to piss off everyone at least now and then

All that said … I felt good we would have a balanced panel … we would have a SHOT at a Championship

WEDNESDAY NIGHT at the HOTEL – It GOT UGLY

The corps, per the agreement with Disney, had to do a parade at Disney on Wednesday evening. I was there, but once the corps was underway, I jumped in my car and headed back to the hotel. I knew the panels would be posted in the lobby that evening, and I wanted to see what was happening as soon as possible

I was in the lobby chatting, and someone said the assignments were up. I headed over.

I looked at Thursday and saw Jackie Gilley on guard and William Chumley on ensemble visual. Both folks …. Same day. Same show. The first show. In my mind, the most important show

Here’s a clarifying point: I always believed Thursday was the most important performance. It set the standard. It showed to everyone where the group was. If you did well and you did not get the score, people talked about it. If you did not do well … people talked about it. And if a group was rewarded with scores that were not deemed correct by the masses, there could be adjustments. In short, for all kinds of reasons … you wanted to kick ass and be rewarded on Thursday

Well, with Jackie and William on Thursday, we were screwed.

I did not look at any other assignments. I was crazy. I always felt we had a fair shake, but this time …. NO WAY. NOT AT ALL. We were doomed.

I found John, and I was a walking complaint. He had other folks around him. No one wanted to hear it. I continued. They moved into the bar area. I followed. I was still talking loudly.

At one point, the judge crew had moved to the other side of the bar – now I was yelling across the bar. No doubt people thought I was drunk. I was not. At all. I was infuriated. I saw, right or wrong, in those assignments the end of our chances for a championship. There was NO question … these two folks would have us OUT OF IT

Some friends calmed me down.

For one of the few times at DCI Finals, I had a hotel room, so … I went to bed. I may have been escorted to my room by a few hearty souls.

I do not know if it was a summer of no sleep, my thinking that we would be at least considered in adjudication assignments, or the Florida heat … but I LOST IT. YES it was all words but … damn …. I was about as mad as I get or have gotten

THURSDAY Morning back at Rehearsal

So, I was up early, was at the food truck for breakfast, and the day was underway. Most of the staff was at the parade that Wednesday evening so no one, or not many, heard of my escapades. I reviewed the schedule … talked to the kids … made sure we were on the same page, and well … that was about it.

And then the Phone Rang

It was Tony DiCarlo, the contest coordinator for DCI. Tony and I went way back to the days of DCE, when he was the director of the Boston Crusaders, and I was an assistant at the Cadets.

“Mr. Hopkins, this is Mr. DiCarlo”.

I asked, “Are there other people in the room Tony?” ( he never called me anything but HOP)

“Yes, Sir”

“Ok”

“Mr. Hopkins, it has been reported that you were in violation of the rules of good sportsmanship last evening, and a penalty has been assessed to the Cadets,” said Tony.

My heart sank. A penalty. Just what we need.

“You have two options. The corps will be assessed a 2- point penalty this evening, OR … YOU need to agree to NOT come into the stadium for the entire evening. If you are found to have come inside the stadium, the penalty will be assessed.”

“Huh” … Well, I thought, that’s not the worst thing ever. Not in the stadium… what the???

“Well … Tony, I am thinking I will NOT come into the stadium. I agree that I was inappropriate, but action should NOT be considered against the corps.

“Thank you, Mr. Hopkins,” … that was it -- end of discussion

Telling the Staff and Kids

I first told Marc Sylvester and some of the other staff who were still around the food truck. I told them the options and then I stopped.

Suddenly, Sully yells, “Which one did you pick?”

I answered, “ I was thinking I was worth at least 2 points.”

He stared.

The others were gasping.

Nah… I said… I’ll be hanging outside tonight.

Everyone kind of laughed. Some guys were pissed off. Others were kind enough to thank me for going to bat for the corps

As for the corps …

I apologized. I explained we could still do the corps song and all outside … they would just not have me pacing the sidelines, which I was known to do. They all kind of smiled. I think the reality of my standing outside started to settle in.

And yes …. I really did stand at a fence on the far side looking through a crack in the stands. Insane …

I was back in on Friday and Saturday. It was a little humiliating and a lot frustrating. It was not a good moment.

But …

Here is something worth looking at

THURSDAY

Chumley Gilley

Blue Devils 19.5 19.7

Cavaliers 19.8 19.6

Cadets 18.5 (5) 18.8 (5)

SCV 19.1 19.3

FRIDAY G. Chapinski K. Miller

Blue Devils. 19.5 19.6

Cavaliers 19.4 19.5

Cadets 18.6 (4) 19.7 (1)

SCV 18.8 19.1

SATURDAY T. Ochran D. Torchia

Blue Devils 19.9 19.8

Cavaliers 19.4 19.4

Cadets 19.3 (3) 19.6 (2)

SCV 18.5 19.2

I am just saying ….. I was not wrong. My self-control was a little off but I was going to battle for the kids, for the corps, and for a bit more of an even playing field. Not sure If I thought we were willing … but … when that panel came out … it was over. And we were going to be swimming upstream.

ALAS …

I did get to talk to the corps in the parking lot that was JUST outside the stadium entrance … so I was there :)

And the funniest moment … at the end of the evening, I had to call Tony and tell him I had to use the restroom. ‘

He sent an escort