IRI Discussion
 

So, the final match of IRI just ended, and it was an epic match, not to mention many of the other great matches during elminations. It's not often you see a finals match that's 5th vs 6th. Congratulations to the winning alliance: 2826, 1114, 245, and 4334.

Thoughts? Comments? I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed watching the eliminations. I was amazed by the loss of the 1st seeded alliance, and loved the triples done by the alliance of 1023, 51, 33, and 330.

Re: IRI Discussion
 

So happy that we just won!!!:)

I'm sorry, watching 4334 not only stop 148 from crossing the field, but pushing off the bridge and into the penalty lane, was worth the price of admission. That was the best piece of defensive driving I've ever seen, rookie or otherwise.

Re: IRI Discussion
 

Congrats to the Eh Wave for winning, and to every team that played for making IRI incredible to watch.

The chat on the webcast on The Red Alliance exploded at that time ATA pushed Robowranglers over the co-op bridge and across the field. What an amazing little robot, and intense driving.

Re: IRI Discussion
 

Being on an alliance with some of the hottest teams in Michigan was a fantastic experience. Thanks to 3322, 67, and 217 for a great time! Also, thanks to 3940 and 3357 for providing us with our first on-field triple balance of the year!

Congrats to 2826, 1114, 4334, and 245! Wave and the Simbots have been 2 of my favorite teams for a long time, and 4334 has a lot of potential in them. I hope that watching 4334 attract the attention of major powerhouses will convince many teams, rookie and veteran, to think about playing a specific role when designing their robots. It's unfortunate that 245 didn't get to play, but they still performed well this weekend.

Overall, I had a fantastic weekend. It was awesome meeting so many new people and I'm really sad that this was my last IRI that I will be attending as a student.

Also, I'm sorry 217 that we couldn't Co-op Balance with you during our match together. I hope we didn't ruin your hopes of seeding high. ;)

Re: IRI Discussion
 

I can honestly say that everyone on our team had a BLAST at IRI this year. Despite our numerous robot failures, we persevered to have 2 matches in which we were fully functional (that's just life sometimes). In one of those matches we got to beat our friends 233 from Florida (an incredible honor when they play off of Florida soil, not as impressive on it haha). In the other match, we were clearly the underdogs, we were playing against 118, 2056 and 1538. However, due to some good strategy and a bit of luck, we managed to pull out the win. That was the highlight of my driving career!! Defeating a division champion alliance captain and first pick in the same match was amazing!

On a different note, because the robot was not working as well as it had in the past, and because we had such a small group, we were able to just relax and have fun! On friday night we went bowling, and did this laser game, where you have to dodge lasers like CIA agents (hard to explain, but extremely fun). Plus, we were able to witness the absolute insanity that was the IRI elimination matches, and I can honestly say I have never seen more exciting FIRST matches.

We are honored to have been able to "get our feet wet" this year, and hope to come back next year with a fully functional robot.

And congratulations to 2826, 1114, 4334, and 245! That was a wonderful alliance!!

Re: IRI Discussion
 

I watched from the webcast, and I was absolutely thrilled watching this. I'm so sad that I wasn't able to attend in person, but two members from our team did end up going (and supposedly got to know members from 4334?).

Re: IRI Discussion
 

I think in my years of going to IRI I have never seen the top seeded alliance ever win. Has the top seeded alliance ever won IRI before?

Re: IRI Discussion
 

Yes. 2010. :)

Re: IRI Discussion
 

And, even then, as 359 can attest, it took a *long* time to do it! :)

Re: IRI Discussion
 

I was pulling for the 2nd seeded alliance to go all the way, seeing the results of quals 104. They were close too, if only they got their triple balance to work....

It was a great IRI to watch, and I loved how most of the eliminations went to a rubber match.

Re: IRI Discussion
 

We were watching with 2587 at their practice area getting ready for Texas Robot Roundup next week. We were biased towards the Texas teams but it was still amazing to see 4334 stop 148 like that. Just daring to catch the bridge was impressive to than push them back over it was unthinkable.

The number of qualification round triple balances was awesome. I still wish more off seasons would allow this. It's one of the most challenging and dramatic moves that we have ever had in an FRC game. I don't think anything pulls you to the edge of your seat faster than seeing two alliances triple balance only separated by one point and having a human player flip the match with a two point basket. That was astonishing.

Congratulations to Wave, Simbotics, ATA, and Adambots, that was an awesome run to watch.

Re: IRI Discussion
 

All this hype about the 4334 and 148 interaction. I just don't get it. It was probably the worst attempt at a co-op balance I saw all season.

Re: IRI Discussion
 

lol. We were joking about this a few other times as teams lingered on the co-op bridge. (I think someone lost comm on it at on)e point? It is a bit of an odd feeling.

In other news, 1640 always lo ves IRI. This was our best performance yet, and we always learn so much. Thank you to 45, 234 and 1024 and all the volunteers for an awesome event (and another fun field breakdown) and all the amazingly inspirational teams!

Re: IRI Discussion
 

I couldn't agree more, and yes, this was us at IRI. Our human player scored a two-pointer as we were triple-balancing. We were all hooked on the bridge hoping that the stinger worked, so we didn't even notice. However, we won the match by two points, ultimately thanks to the human player. What a rush!