The finale visual -- woven Cavaliers and Madison Scout brass lines – was a testosterone sea of green. A beautiful ending to a rainy-thenrainbowed contest in Kalamazoo. The winning corps -- the Cavaliers with a 88.425 -- may not have had full advantage of ideal conditions at rehearsal because of an strong rain, but they were able to get to the stadium early, "And that made it lucky," said Jeff Fiedler. Fiedler watched as the corps set up for an encore. "Today's show was the result of the best production week we've had since pre-tour, and it was reflected in the score tonight. There were some small -- challenges -- in tonight's performance," he laughs, "And we have to work on certain aspects of timing in the closer (Sweet Home Chicago) this week, but it had a pretty good overall effect. Very energetic. I should say that our more experienced performers know how to channel their energy. During the encore, the pit gave a preview of their upcoming I&E piece based on a classical score by Beethoven. When asked about these talented gentlemen, Jeff eyes the longtime vet and teases, "They are the best-loading pit we've ever had." Laughter comes out of the pit. Then Fiedler continued, "Actually, seven out of 11 are vets. One is still in high school and three just graduated. They are truly magnificent musicians."