Re: North Star Regional...
 

You know, I never noticed that about QF 2-1, but it's fairly clear here (The second blue auto ball to be shot in): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDXv...mrF xzzitaxFL

You can actually see the ball drop well below the level of the goal, then bounce back up onto the platform behind the goal and roll back out to the field. I would guess none of the refs noticed it either, although in a match blue lost by 5 points that made all the difference! I certainly don't fault the refs for the call... I was standing right by the field watching the match (and paying more attention to blue than red!) and didn't realize what had happened either!

It just goes to show that everyone ends up on the wrong side of a ref's ruling eventually!

Re: North Star Regional...
 

Nome of us have ever said that winning was what FIRST is about. I'll admit that, yes, I expected our alliance to win, and if I had to bet on a rematch, i would say we would win.

The issue was never that we lost. The match fell apart when the field broke. The calculators held what would have been the game winning ball a foot away from the goal. Had they been able to get it into the goal, and everything else was the same, we would have won. When my teammate and I, both seniors, went onto the field to get the robot, i told him that I couldn't lose like that. I don't care about the outcome of the match, as long as we lose honestly.

This was not a real loss. I know that the refs took a long time debating this, and it was petitioned by all three teams on our alliance.

Finally, I want to say that I couldn't talk for days afterwards, and I remember the EXACT moment my voice went:
Hearing our number from 967 was the highest point of the competition for me, and I would lose with that alliance a hundred times, before I would win with any other: thank you 967 and 2175 for giving me one hell of a senior gift.

-Alex