Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

I'm probably blinded by homerism (and I'm well aware of our poor run differential and thus pythag projections), but the O's are adding talent at this point to a roster that has played well this season. Roberts just returned from injury and was hitting well (.318) until the Mets sweep (RA Dickey is clearly some sort of wizard). Markakis should be back early July and Reimold isn't that far behind him. The bullpen has been terrific, and the rotation could be bolstered by the return of Britton and hopefully TDL acquisitions.

For the first time in a while, I'm buying the Orioles.

2481 is criminally underrated this year. One of the best teams not at CMP.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

Kind of awkward to nominate your own team in this sort of thing.

You guys were definitely solid this year, but I wouldn't put you as the 3rd best. 1323 and 971 were definitely better performers.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

Sorry I should have been clearer. I edited my post to say "This is poor reasoning to determine the strength of a regional that has already happened."

Team recognition is a legitimate thing to look at prior to the regional, but looses its effectiveness after. When comparing the strength of the regionals that have already happened, it would be silly to not consider the numbers. This thread is about top 3 robots this year, so it is best to look at the numbers instead of team speculation.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

First, this is my LAST POST in a thread where a DIRECT REPLY to a given concern is being MISINTERPRETED (and I really hope that misinterpretation isn't deliberate). So, you better read this post right. If you don't understand this post, PM me and I'll edit it if I can. If you don't understand the quoted one, read this one.

Second, as I said, the post in question is in direct reply to a question. No part of the post is not in response to that question. The question asks, in essence, why do people say that KC (or, for that matter, any other regional) is weak when the facts say otherwise? So, I am deliberately not consulting the facts in my response to the question. This also allows the question to be treated as a general question. Do I make myself clear? (Please note: This does not mean that the facts are not important. However, for the matter at hand, they are at best irrelevant and at worst a distraction.)

The list of teams is a list of teams that have what you might call "name recognition". That is, every team on there (with certain exceptions--see original post) would be reasonably expected to be recognized by reputation, even by a second-year student on a team, in just about any part of the FRC world. These are good teams, and held up as such. I don't need to go into why--I think everyone reading this thread knows why.

The point I was trying to make, in direct response to a question about why a certain regional is considered weak, is that much of that consideration is based on the teams attending. If you get more than about 3-4 big-name teams at one regional, it's generally considered a tough regional. If you get fewer, it's generally considered a weak regional. Admittedly, this is before stats come into play, and among those who figure that the stats don't matter or ignore them. ("There are lies, d----d lies, and statistics."--Mark Twain) Look at the preseason "which regional is strongest" threads.

So, in summary: A regional can be considered weak, even when the facts show that it is not, based on the teams attending. This simply means that the teams there need to get out there more, get themselves better recognized, and let the regional strength consideration take care of itself.

[/quote]Again, this entire thread is about this year.[/quote] That's all well and good for the best 2012 robots (thread's original topic). When we're talking about perceived regional strength, sorry, everyone and their little brother is going to be factoring in about the last three years if not more. Which is what I was referencing. When we're talking about actual regional strength, then we can bring in the numbers and discuss. You'll notice that I haven't done so.



In short: I was NOT discussing facts, and never claimed to be doing so, but rather going over perceptions and why they may be held in the face of said facts. I think some basic psychology is a good thing for engineers to know, especially if they have to deal with people, but apparently half the FRC universe disagrees with me and says facts are the only way to go, in which case, sorry, I'll get back to making assumptions about certain physical effects (which is what engineers do for a living at times).

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

You guys completely changed the meaning of this thread. Just Stop.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

Agree. Discuss, but on a new thread.. that being said..

I wondering who people would think for the top bot out of Louisiana / Mississippi? (I myself am much too biased towards my friends across the region to make a fair judgement)

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

I know some Mississippi teams come over to Peachtree, but for the life of me I can't remember which ones they were. In general though, Mississippi seems to be lacking in FRC, though one of the Georgia FIRST board members was transferred there to develop FIRST in the state (and man, has he done a number here).

Also, to end the debates about the weak vs strong regionals: Peachtree is probably the weakest in terms of competition (save for 2415, 1311, and 1771), but that's because the FIRST culture here is a bit different. most teams here do it for engineering experience and such, and competitive play is not a huge priority for Georgia FIRST. Why did I mention this? To each his own interpretation of FIRST.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

At the risk of going off topic, I'm going to reply to this by saying that I don't think it's as much how we value FIRST as much as it is about how the relative playing field compares to a team's respective robot.

A lot of the playing field is fairly even, so I think when a team sees their robot as effective as 70-80 percent of the other robots, there's a sense of complacency.

However, with the rise of regional powerhouses, such as our "Top 3", this pushes teams to go out and get better to simply stay competitive, and I believe this pushes a region to become better.

- Sunny G.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

For NC I would consider 435 as having the consistently strongest robot over the years I participated. Next would be 587 and relative newcomer 3196. 3459, another new team, could also be considered after two years with strong runs.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

I hate to argue this, but did you not see 1986's performance at GKC and STL? They most certainly are the top bot in missouri this year.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

As well as some would argue 1730.

I think for all these different states, it depends on how you view the definition of "top 3". Some would consider that as more of an analytical question based on elimination results. Some will think it means purely how the robot was, maybe if it stood out, how it preformed different tasks, etc. This is why there is such a debate between sets of teams for Illinois and Missouri.

-Nick

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

1730 should definitely be in the Top 3. They had amazing robot and should have done better than they did. I will be looking forward to seeing their robot perform next year :D

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

Yeah, 2012 was not our year. Woodie Flowers curse I believe :P. Next year will be better I'm sure.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

All 3 of those teams DID perform that well in 2012.

I genuinely ask the FIRST community not out of complete bias, but out of the fact I am not aware of all powerhouse FTC and FLL teams worldwide...Are there any other states that had 2012 success comparable to Florida when combining all three levels of FIRST?

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

2012 is not over. See you at IRI. :)

I think yours will be the only team in the field representing Missouri.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

Ontario FLL team the Strawberry Saviours placed second overall at the North American Open in Carlsbad, California, where my team placed in the top 8 last year :D

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

I know FTC 4220 from NJ did very well at CMP. They won the Inspire award, were finalists for a few other awards, and were the CMP finalists. They won two state championships and were finalists at another.

I don't know much (read: anything) about FLL in NJ so I can't comment on that.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

Who knew little old team 1208 could be such a topic of controversy. Thanks for thinking of us.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

Okay, now of course 1985 and everyone from St. Louis knows you guys Eric. You guys are great and will continue to remain high in the rankings, both with great robots and with great students. We enjoyed competing with you all year. Such a positive and gracious team.:D

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

colorado would be us (159), 1619, and maybe eagle corps (don't remember number)

I'm not really sure what the third pick should be possibly 662, but they really weren't that great this year

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

Not going to speculate about the top 3 robots in Arkansas, though Team 16 would probably make the list. :rolleyes:

Because they are all my teams - I am just so excited that there are actually more than 3 to choose from!!!

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

Eagle Corps is 1158

I didn't get to attend Colorado this year but it seems like 2996 is always near the top. Must have had a down year not to make your top 3 in spite of captaining the winning alliance as the number 1 seed.

Yeah, I think the world champs might have a spot at the top of that list. :cool: From our time spent at the Ozark Mountain Brawl it looks like the competitive level in Arkansas is on the rise. Someday soon #1 may not be a slam dunk.

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

Thank you, Aaron. Competition is a good thing!

Re: Top 3 Bots in YOUR State
 

No one has done New Hampshire yet! I'm thinking..

1. 1519 Mechanical Mayhem
2. CHAOS 131
3. For old time's sake.. 40 Checkmate