When people hear I write about music, they often ask if I'm a musician myself. The answer is no. I've never dreamed of being on stage. I've never written a song. And I don't play an instrument … well, I don't anymore.

I was a serious band geek in my teenage years. I played French horn in concert band and mellophone during marching season. Practically all my friends (including my future wife) were fellow band members. I was enamored with band life, and I fully planned on playing throughout at least my college years. But I ended up passing on a music scholarship and attending a school without a music program. Except for the rare college football game and the distant echoes of drumbeats on autumn Friday nights, I've hardly given a thought to concert or marching bands over the last 15 years.

On Saturday, the Drum Corps International (DCI) Southwestern Championship re-awakened my long-dormant love.

The full-day event at the Alamodome featured all 20 world class corps in direct competition. Perennial powerhouse the Blue Devils continued its season-long unbeaten streak with a brilliant display of musical and visual creativity, with the Cavaliers a distant second. Upstart Carolina Crown finished third, topping Phantom Regiment for the first time in its brief history.

But the best part of the day was watching San Antonio's own Crossmen thrill the hometown crowd. Though a long-standing member of DCI's top-level division, the Crossmen (which moved from Pennsylvania in 2006) have rarely threatened the upper echelon corps. For this year's squad — including 24 locals out of 150 total members — the opportunity simply to perform before friends, family, alumni, and fans was guaranteed to be a highlight of the season.

The Crossmen competed in the middle of the afternoon's preliminary round, one of 12 corps vying for only four open slots in the evening's finals. They took the field to a boisterous reception and a stream of individual shout-outs from the modest though growing audience. To make the finals, which the Crossmen hadn't done in four years, they would need to post a season-best score. And they would have to do so right after watching one of their color guard members crumple to the turf with an apparent knee injury.

Somehow the Crossmen managed to keep their focus and turn in a solid performance. The "Planet X" program ended with corps members pumping their fists and celebrating while the audience responded with a standing ovation. But it would be another two hours before the Crossmen would find out if their best was good enough.

Preliminary results were revealed from the bottom-up. When the Madison Scouts were announced in 5th place, the Crossmen knew they made the evening's finals. Judges placed the Crossmen 4th thanks to high marks for visual impact. (If ranked on music alone, they would have placed 7th.).

By the time the evening session began three hours later, the crowd had at least doubled in size. Clearly the story of the competition thus far, locals and visitors alike cheered the Crossmen wildly as they led off the finals. I wish there was a storybook ending to relate, but there is a wide gulf separating the good corps from the great corps. Though the Crossmen performed admirably, they ranked 12th out of 12 in every scoring category. But the strong showing catapulted the Crossmen from 17th to 12th place in the overall season standings. And for one night at least, they were the talk of DCI.

The Crossmen will compete in the 2008 World Championships in Bloomington, Indiana August 7-9. The worsening economy unfortunately has forced DCI to cancel live television coverage of the finals, which were to air on ESPN2. But you can follow the Crossmen's exploits through their Daily Planet X blog or via DCI webcasts and podcasts.