[Joe Johnson]

First of all, I really respect that everyone has kept this at a very high level. There are specific teams and specific behaviors involved and yet, to my mind at least, it appears that people have kept things from degrading into name calling and personal attacks. Thanks.

Second, even though I am a rookie, I am also an old dog in this game. This conversation is one that with a few details here or there changed could have been about many of the FIRST games throughout the years.

The question is almost part of FIRST's (Dean's?) DNA. FIRST has competing motivations. They want to tap into the excitement and passion of sports... ...but they don't want to import all the negative aspects that come with those passions. So FIRST continually tries to motivate FIRST participants to cooperate with each other (even naming a game Coopertition FIRST*).

BUT FIRST knows in its heart of hearts that it is the competition aspect of FIRST that is the workhorse pulling the wagon. SO...

In the end, FIRST is going to want us to PLAY TO WIN. Not win at any cost but trying to win the game is important to the integrity of the whole system. In my view, throwing games or playing 6V0 or keeping an alliance member from trying to do their best** is not in "the best interest of the game" regardless of how the ranking system is set up and therefore I think that this is not appropriate behavior for a FIRST team that "gets it."

That is how I am going to advise my team at least.

Joe J.

P.S. Do the folks in Canada REALLY believe that 1113+2056+ANY OTHER TEAM = CERTAIN VICTORY? I can't believe this.

Step up to the plate and take your swings man. Up your game in the off season if you have to but really?

As much as I love teams 67 & 469 (they're awesome) I have been competing with and against them for years. It never enters my mind that in any given year, I could build a robot that, when partnered with one or two of my fellow non 67 and 469 teams could give them a run for their money on any given Saturday afternoon.


*which imho was perhaps FIRST worst games ever. In fact, I use it as an argument for the robustness of FIRST FRC, if we can survive that game, we can survive pretty darn near anything.

**"best" is broadly defined. I don't think that a team that is out of the running for an alliance capt on Saturday morning has to try to maximize their score if showing that they can add to the winning effort by playing defense or balancing a bridge or doing some other special skill that is within the bounds of their grandma's being able to understand that they were trying to help their team win (perhaps in a futile effort but grandma's seem pretty tolerate of such things).