This will be a really tough competition, as there are SO MANY amazing shows competing. My mixed predictions aren't very sure because it could play out any way, especially after this weekend. Carroll also has a great chance of placing in both divisions.
I had the opportunity recently at the Franklin Central comp to see both Zionsville and Fairfield, and they both were amazing! I'm yet to see Center Grove this year, but I'm sure it will be spectacular as always! This should be a very intense competition.
Being interested in show choir records, I'm always curious as to how different groups stack up against each other. Often times when discussions of ranking choirs comes up, people like to discount this list or that list because one group ends up getting rated higher than a group they lost to. How can group "A" be ranked higher than group "B" if group "B" beat group "A" in their only matchup? The list must be completely invalid!
Of course the reason show choir rankings are so, so complex is because each group basically has their own unique competition structure when it comes to how many times they compete, how many groups they compete against, which groups they compete against, how many groups were in the division, so on and so on.
But to really drive home how nuts the whole "group A" vs. "group B" comparison can be, I took a look at Zionsville's record to see how they've fared this year. They have the one first place from FC this weekend, and also previously took third at Pike earlier in the season. So I was curious - who beat them? Then I went on a crazy adventure.
This year:
Zionsville was beaten by Marysville.
Marysville was beaten by Franklin Central.
Franklin Central was beaten by Loveland.
Loveland was beaten by Beavercreek.
Beavercreek was beaten by Center Grove.
Center Grove was beaten by Mt. Zion.
Mt. Zion was beaten by Glenwood.
Glenwood was beaten by Troy Buchanan.
Troy Buchanan was beaten by Carmel.
And Carmel has only lost to... Zionsville.
This is why trying to compare two individual groups in a sea of thousands with so many variables is near impossible. It also shows how amazing these groups are, and that on a given day any one of them could walk away with top honors. I still have no idea how to crunch all of these numbers in a way that makes sense to "rank" them, and it probably doesn't even matter. What I do know is that our community is made up of a tremendous number of creative, inspirational, and talented individuals that make this activity a whole heck of a lot of fun. And that's also what makes trying to figure out who will win so darn exciting!
Thanks for the post. It's so true. It also makes one think about "national" rankings and how meaningless they are. Each school only competes in a small number of events and, many times, they are local. How do schools in the east really compare with the south, or the west? It's impossible to say.
Just looking at the last 6 years their national comp presence doesn't seem like they're disadvantageous at all.
FAME Hollywood 2017: 2nd Place w/ Musicianship
FAME Orlando #1 2015: 5th Place
FAME National Finals 2015: 9th Place
FAME Hollywood 2014: 2nd Place w/ Musicianship
FAME National Finals 2014: 5th Place
I feel like the beauty of show choir is seeing all the different styles of shows. I do love how much energy Brea puts into their show every year, as I’ve never seen a group with that amount of energy!
I support brea I wish them the best at this event I just hope everyone gives there show a chance is on YouTube and from the snip of spellbound I saw I’m like their going to be amazing
Heart of America Nashville 2020
