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One of the most difficult parts of the summer is trying to explain Drum Corps to other people. I can talk about it until I’m blue in the face, I can even show people clips of it, but it’s just not the same as seeing it live. I can talk all I want about Santa Clara’s magic trick/costume change, but it won’t show over the internet. I can talk about Carolina Crown’s 72-member horn line, but you won’t feel it until your hair is being pushed back by the sheer volume. There’s a reality to a live show that I can’t sell on my own.

And I have no more live shows to send people until Finals.

Finals is another problem. From what I’ve gathered, my group still has two open tickets for Finals Week and I don’t want to offer them to anyone. Finals Week is for me, and the last thing I want to do is babysit others who aren’t committed to the experience. Add in the venue change and the fact that anyone who goes is stuck at the stadium until the show is over, and there’s no real way to get people involved.

I’d love to have my friends over this weekend to try and explain it, to try and show it off through the final live internet feed, but will it really work?

I’d put Bluecoats’ boxing show up there with a lot of entertainment I’ve consumed over the last year. It’s so wonderfully constructed, the narration actually adds to the program, and when they finally kick into the Rocky theme I want to cry. Carolina’s Crown “classical in a blender” show is a sight to behold, but how do I explain to non-initiates that the ending is a mélange of classic endings from the past? That the rifle feature in the company front isn’t just cool, that it’s fucking brilliant considering the show? How do I explain that Cadets are still as fast and furious as in the past, despite the soul-sucking conversation over it? How do I explain that I actually enjoy Blue Devils this summer?

I think that everyone who goes to a show with me understands the Troopers thing. Besides the bumper sticker, the decal, the rope drum rear-view mirror charm, and my corps jacket, they know it’s a big deal for me. I just can’t explain it to others.

For one weekend out of the year, I’m surrounded by other people who honestly get it. My DCI friends and I speak another language that is impenetrable to outsiders. Others talk about RBIs, I’m talking about injustices in the Visual GE Content subcaption. It’s the rest of the summer that sucks.

When I finally get a serious boyfriend again, he’ll have to suck it up but I’ve never had things sync with DCI. Before the weekend I’m alone in my obsession, and when it’s over I’m along again.

I hate it.

Yes, it’s my own fault. I blame the job, which isn’t a problem anymore. The timing just sucks this year, and since I’m tipsy I feel horrible about it.

I had better get on that Game Show to lift my spirits.