[skimoose]

First I have to congratulate Will.I.Am. He definitely lived up to his promise to make FIRST loud. There should be no questioning his commitment to FIRST now. All of the CD speculation after the Superbowl on whether that really was a FIRST logo on his headgear has been answered. Thank you again Will.

The special may not have appealed to some hardcore FIRSTers, but that wasn't the target audience. I think the program portrayed FIRST in a great light for those who know nothing about us. Having attended Championships and the concert, I was amazed by how much I missed seeing it live. It was great to be able to relive the whole experience. While you may feel that the special showed too much of the concert, that will bring in more students, mentors, educators, and more sponsors, and that music was what made this television event possible.

My only down side was that an hour just wasn't enough to cover everything. There was very little coverage of JFLL and FLL. I know these programs are robust and well established, but an interest story on at least the Champion's Award team would have been great. That's what I felt was missed most: Recognition for the Champion's Award (FLL), Inspire Award (FTC Hall of Fame), Chairman's Award (FRC Hall of Fame) teams, and at least some mention of the Dean's List Winners group. I think that would have helped complete the picture of what FIRST is all about. Those teams and students that "get" FIRST. Everyone loves the winners, but Dean has always said its not about the robot, so show what FIRST is about.

I also wish ABC/Disney had more belief in the project. They had a splash page on the ABC website, but I only saw three commercials promoting the special. Two on CNN the night before, and one on ABC Sunday morning of the show. So, I too would like to see the ratings for the show, I hope the numbers will encourage ABC or other networks to believe in FIRST and not just allow the program as a Will.I.Am personal project.

Our team watched the special as a group after our awards ceremony. Was the program successful? Emphatically YES! We all left just as inspired as we would be leaving the Kickoff Presentation each year. I could hear students talking about upcoming projects and other robot related things that they thought would be great to do. I heard parents, mentors, and alumni talking about the upcoming year and what's inspired them to volunteer and stay volunteered in FIRST.

Inspired... Yup, that's what the show was all about.