Jake Coon submitted this one. "I have spent the last two summers of my life with the Blue Stars. As a rookie, I spent much of my season learning both my show and what the corps itself is about. I absolutely fell in love with the tradition of the corps. I learned why we have the same uniform, and the same corps jacket after all these years. The love for the history of this corps is overwhelming, and is very plainly obvious in the eyes of the alumni that make the effort to see your show year after year. "In this corps, it doesn't matter if the show at the end of the season gets you a medal. It matters that you do it wearing your buckle. My buckle is more important to me than both of my medals. It seems very dramatic, but it's very true, and it's what the corps means to everyone who marches it and understands the rich history of the organization. "It is our tradition to create a Star of David on the field, and this year we made it in the stands. Although it makes the corps look smaller, it keeps the members close to each other. In a smaller corps, you have no choice but to know everyone, and you create great friends that you might not have known in a 135-member group. "It's very convenient that we ended up right in front of the banner like this, almost punctuating the ending to our season. Through the two years that the same group stayed together, we had endured so much, that it seemed that much more meaningful when we achieved our goal of "Best corps, best show." Thanks Jake!
E-mail your Forzato submissions -- and we will get to them all, in time -- to
dave@dci.org along with where and when the photo was taken. Send some biographical information about yourself as well. We'll give you full credit. Also, let us know if you want your e-mail address included, to get feedback from other drum corps fans.
