page three
the Cadets made their way toward denver, and our first meeting with the Blue Devils, and the Santa Clara Vanguard. We were hyped to finally see a corps other than the ones we had been touring with since mid-june. we stood at the gate ready to show everybody that we were still the Cadets, and we were still the best in the world. that idea went away about 8 seconds into the show when 8 people fell during the first effect of the show. it was not to be that evening...or any other evening for that matter. whatever the corps had in 1998 was gone in 1999. we worked harder than any group i have ever seen. our staff just kept telling us to push and push...it'll happen...you WILL get there...just keep pushing. we pushed and pushed and hurt and bled and sweated and pushed until we couldn't walk anymore.we limped into one of the last shows of the year at jacksonville state university in jacksonville, alabama. at the gate, hop told us that he had spent the entire day in the back of the staff bus watching old videos, trying to figure out what it was about the Cadets that made them so special.he decided it was the people- george zingali, don angelica, wesley johnson. it was the kids over the years devoting themselves to the relentless pursuit of perfection. it was everything we had, but there was still something missing. we took the field, and performed the tar out of our program that evening. we came off the field happy for the first time in weeks. we headed for madison with a good feeling, and a sense of accomplishment looming.
the 1999 Cadets entering the field in clifton, >
finals week is kind of a blur. we rehearsed hell's kitchen almost exclusively. we absolutely destroyed two fields at the high school where we stayed. we kept pushing till the end. the mosquitos in madison are the size of birds, by the way.
we went to the gate on finals night, and hop told us to throw everything we had left in the tank against the wall one last time. grab them by the throat, and don't let go till the last note. i remember this performance...everything about it. it was like we were suddenly elevated to the level of stellar that night. everything we tried to perfect during the season came off flawless. it was the best performance anyone could have dreamed considering the circumstances. everything came together for 11 minutes out of the season...it was overwhelming. the emotion after the show was the most magnificient thing i have ever experienced. hop told us it was the finest performance he had ever seen from the Cadets. even he was teary eyed. i prefer to remember that feeling as opposed to all the negative feelings from that season, but it is very difficult to forget the turmoil of 1999. if nothing else, we proved on finals night that we were in fact worthy of calling ourselves Cadets. in the end, there is nothing else more gradifying.