[jblay]

I think that the main issue is that you have the majority of teams who do all of their own machining and design and go into the competition feeling very proud of what they have accomplished and then they get destroyed by the best teams on the field and they find the things that the best teams do differently. They take these things like getting your robot machined by companies, having mentors design the robot, etc... and they blame that team's success on it because let's be honest it is a massive part of that success. They find it unfair that some teams get this and some don't and they feel that the playing field should be even.

I am not saying that these teams are right or wrong considering that in my time in FIRST I have thought the way of those teams and I no longer do, but what I am saying is that it is an issue with the naturally developing culture of FIRST and I don't know that there is a way to change it.