Blue Devils are world champions

The Blue Devils completed their three-day sweep of the 2007 Drum Corps International World Championships Saturday night, winning the final show of the season in impression fashion with a 98.000 and sweeping the Brass, Percussion, Ensemble Visual and General Effect caption awards.

After lagging behind the second-place Cadets for much of the season, the Concord, Calif.-based Blue Devils surged in the final two weeks to take the corps' 12th overall World Championship. The crowd included many alumni celebrating the corps' 50th anniversary at the Rose Bowl, practically in the Devils' backyard.

"I've been involved since '74 and this is by far the biggest show, the biggest win, the biggest performance ever by the Blue Devils", said corps director David Gibbs.

The Cadets took second place with a 97.025. "The corps did very well tonight and we're very proud of them", Cadets director George Hopkins said. "The season was an absolute success. Our season got off to a rough start but our conviction and hard work allowed us to make this show something that a lot of people appreciate and the kids enjoy, which is the most important thing."

Though the top three spots had been tightly contested throughout the Championships weekend with a Semifinals spread of about half a point, the Cavaliers settled slightly, taking third place with a 96.350. The corps also won the High Guard caption award. Despite unsuccessfully defending the 2006 DCI Championship, the corps had nothing to be disappointed about, said director Jeff Fiedler.

Phantom Regiment remained solidly in fourth place with a 94.850. The show's ending, a reference to Phantom's famed 1996 'Defiant Heart' show, was a crowd favorite throughout the weekend. The Santa Clara Vanguard retained the fifth place ranking it earned in a surprising jump in Friday's Semifinals performance.

Carolina Crown remained in sixth place and also earned the Spirit of Disney Award. The seventh-place Bluecoats finished a mere .1 point away from Crown with a 94.05. Carolina Crown, Bluecoats, and Santa Clara Vanguard flipped many times throughout the end of the season in a bid for the top six; just .125 points separated the three corps on Saturday evening.

Rounding out the top twelve were Blue Knights, eighth with a 90.275; Boston Crusaders were ninth at 89.100; Colts gained a place to finish at 10th with an 86.150; 11th-place Glassmen at 85.75; and Spirit from JSU with an 84.5. (Text: dci.org)

Results
1 â?¢ 98.000 â?¢ Blue Devils
2 â?¢ 97.025 â?¢ The Cadets
3 â?¢ 96.350 â?¢ The Cavaliers
4 â?¢ 94.850 â?¢ Phantom Regiment
5 â?¢ 94.175 â?¢ Santa Clara Vanguard
6 â?¢ 94.150 â?¢ Carolina Crown
7 â?¢ 94.050 â?¢ Bluecoats
8 â?¢ 90.275 â?¢ Blue Knights
9 â?¢ 89.100 â?¢ Boston Crosaders
10 â?¢ 86.150 â?¢ Colts
11 â?¢ 85.750 â?¢ Glassmen
12 â?¢ 84.500 â?¢ Spirit from JSU

Caption Awards
Brass Performance - Blue Devils
General Effect - Blue Devils
Percussion - Blue Devils
Color Guard - Cavaliers
Visual Performance - Blue Devils