[Cory]

you are assuming that FIRST wants to be fair. Think about it. Wouldnt you rather have a much larger national than a smaller one. I think if you think about it, it may not be "fair" if they open registration to all teams, but why would anyone want to exclude someone if there is space, just because they didnt get to go because there was no space. Anyways, as much as I would like to, I don't see FIRST removing all qualifications for this year, simply because they have no idea how Houston will work out. One factor I just thought of is there may be space, but if there are 500 teams competing, you cannot hold the competition in three days, while retaining practice matches, 7-8 qualification matches, and 2x larger finals.
Anways, thats my two cents.