[robobandmom]

I had the pleasure of attending the Pittsburgh Regional with my son's team, and had some nice conversations with a few of 1114's mentors. I know my son's team had some discussions/interactions with students from 1114, all of which he described in positive terms. My son's team has had interactions with Simbotics at other events, and his team has always enjoyed rising to the new level of competition that 1114 brings to any event they attend.

During the first rounds of the eliminations, there was a human player that appeared to be attempting to damage their bot, or at least get it to drop a tube. They were awarded a red card for this, and rightfully so. I don't know if it ended there; I hope they were told that kind of stuff won't be tolerated. Maybe there needs to be a penalty that follows you to your next event...kind of like a Flagrant Foul in basketball. I didn't see any boo'ing in the stands, and I was only in the pits minimally so I certainly didn't witness anything there. I will say I attempted to talk to some adults from an unruly team that was near us in the stands. ("When your kids do this, this is how affects us.") We got nowhere with them. We shook it off, and our students just dealt with it showing the professionalism you expect from an FRC team.

I certainly hope to see Simbotics at Pittsburgh next year. They are an awesome team, with great drive and focus. I had a great time cheering them on during practice, qualification and eliminations. I know somewhere on this message board I read the following quote- “Instead of wanted to beat them, we now want to be like them.” I think it is a process for kids (and some adults!)…first they see greatness and are intimidated, they have to stick around long enough to appreciate greatness and recognize what can be taken from the experience.