Quote:
Originally Posted by Taylor
So what's different about this?
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All of those things you mention were provided to FIRST teams at no cost; they were each a neat bonus that did not appreciably affect the experience they have as participants in a robotics competition.
This time, their experience IS being affected so as to accommodate this performance. Now that the lunch isn't free, so to speak, people are thinking more critically about what is most important to them. The stakes are higher.
I am having trouble getting all riled up about it. While I'm fiercely competitive, the most valuable parts of FIRST for me have always been when we get to celebrate our achievements -- whether that was winning the event or making new friends. This concert could be a move toward making the Championship more of a celebration of our FIRST culture (again) and less about trying (and failing, in my opinion) to mimic sports.
At the same time, I also accept that some people think being on the floor of a major stadium is awesome. I never really felt that way. Upon reflecting about that some more this morning, I came to realize that the thing I enjoyed most about competing on the floor of the Georgia Dome was that it was, frankly, really quiet. That's probably not a ringing endorsement for branding this thing we do as the Super Bowl of Smarts, though.