The "Finals" is on Discovery Channel as I type.
35,000 "Fans" in a farmer's field, watching home made machines toss pumpkins for bragging rights.
Partying, lots of beer and BBQ.
Brought to you by Canon, Discover, and the Discovery Channel.
And DCI can't even find a way to keep PBS, let alone ESPN, happy?
Are you kidding me?
Those here who think the DCI BOD is doing things OK are right.
Just OK describes it well.
While corporate America supports chunkin pumpkins during prime time on Thanksgiving night.
R - I - G - H - T
We lost PBS because the FANS would call in during the pledge drive (when finals were typically broadcast) and then renege on their pledges....that is NOT a DCI BOD issue...that lies with us, the fans. Please stop blaming DCI for something that was not their fault.
The ESPN broadcast stopped purely for financial reasons....DCI can afford to produce the product, but buying the airtime
As for showing pumpkin chunkin', you have to remember that the premise is pretty simple...whoever shoots that pumpkin the farthest wins.
This is very different from what drum corps do on the field...in an activity that is, frankly, too large to get all the action. Sure, football games take place o the same field, but all the action is concentrated on the ball. In drum corps, it's all over the place...witness Crown 08's closer...there were multiple old-school drill quotes during the 1812 Overture segment...but you had to watch the vid a ton of times to catch 'em all.
It's similar to showing fencing to the uninitiated. I can watch a fast foil or sabre bout and see the action...but a noob gets confused right after they start going at each other.