[DSM33]

on the topic of making FIRST a "spectator friendly" sport for TV and such i think the FIRST in Michigan special needs to be looked at. If following a team is hard to follow just check out their personal robocam on either side of the screen. If the scoring is too difficult to follow then look at the score in the top bar (although it seemed mysteriously empty this year)

also the game needs to be spectator friendly. 2010's Breakaway was perfect for that. Simple scoring. No weird multipliers. Overall very uncomplicated gameplay. not that this game should be repeated every year but i think some elements need to stay so that the gameplay is exciting as well as easy to follow.

another problem with airing a FIRST competition on TV: it's two days long. the only real way to do a competition justice is to do eliminations as it should avoid robots breaking down/deadbots, extended periods of time for field problems, and non-exciting matches with the best teams. Again, FIRST in Michigan kept it to the semifinals and that seemed to work perfectly.

Hopefully, next this special will showcase the excitement of the competition as well as showcasing life-changing stories of FIRST and concert/celebrity stuff. I think this special can only get better from here on out.