Championship Day

It’s the big day today! Koa’s Blue Devils will compete for the the top prize at the DCI Championship Finals!

But first, I started the day with a nice run around the canal area of Indianapolis. The 60°F / 16°C morning was too nice to sleep through! After that, Mariko and I did a bit of sightseeing at the Indiana War Memorial and Museum, which had an amazing exhibit of all the wars that Indiana citizens had taken part in… from the Revolution up to present day. I really liked seeing the old uniforms and shoes that they used to wear.

At the top of the building is a shrine. Very solemn and meaningful. Even though I am not from Indiana, I felt a sense of patriotism when standing in this room.

After sightseeing, we went for lunch, then some adult beverages at Metazoa Brewing Co. The beer was great, and it was fun to see so many dogs at this dog-friendly brewery. After that, we delivered some sushi rolls to Koa and the other Japanese kids who are in the Blue Devils. When they were in San Antonio, Mariko made bento and we dropped the food off for them. She knew that they would be craving Japanese food!

We went back to the hotel for a bit and then it was back to Lucas Oil Stadium for the finals competition. The Blue Devils were the favorite to win (I think all 22,000 attendees knew they would win), but the silver medal was up for grabs between The Boston Crusaders and The Blue Coats, who had tied in the semi-finals last night. Who would take the silver?

And guess what? The two drum corps tied again, and they were both awarded silver medals! It was a crazy moment. But I think they were both happy. And then, The Blue Devils received the gold, to no one’s surprise. Even so, I was so nervous for them!

After the ceremony, the field was cleared and The Blue Devils performed their encore “Victory Run”. The kids had so much fun during the last-ever performance of Tempus Blue. And the friends and family in the stands went nuts too! It was really fun! For this performance, the musicians were allowed to wear GoPros so Koa used ours to record his marimba playing, and a multi-cam view was put together as well. Check the bottom of this post for both videos.

It was a fun night, and then end of a memorable summer for Koa. Until next year!