Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 6:44 PM
If you're talking about how individuals respond, some of us ignore trash talk, while others go on the attack. It was true when I was in corps, as well as now. Now I'll give you an example of how the corps officially responds when the shoe's on the other foot, and we get beaten. In 1964, after having won the VFW National Championship title for 3 consecutive years, we ended up in 3rd place, with the Kilties winning 1st and the Royal Aires winning 2nd. After recovering from the shock, we took our turn to march off the field, saluting the winners as we paraded in front of them.
Outside the stadium, we lined up to wait for the new VFW National Champions. When the Kilties came marching out of the stadium, they saw this long green corridor of Cavaliers waiting for them. Did we BOO? Did we HISS? Did we kick their butts??? Nope! We applauded them, like true gentlemen do when they lose.
No other corps ever did that before or after, as long as I was a marching Cavalier. Even though we no longer held the title of National Champions, we were still a National Championship corps and acted like one. Now that's CLASS! It's one reason out of many that makes you still proud to be a Cavalier even when you lose.
But you just have to understand that some people get frustrated when they can't beat a champion fairly and squarely, and the less mature among them feel obliged to mouth off. That's the opposite of class -- that's crass.
Curt
