I am happy that the sort of behavior we're talking about here hasn't popped up here the PNW -- or, if it has, I've been completely oblivious to it. On the other hand, I've had a few teams tell me that my team and others like 1983 and 2046 and 360, to name a few, have made them want to be better. A lot of those teams are now better than mine is and that's exciting -- and a bit frustrating, too; not going to lie.
This sort of attitude seems to come from teams that are allowed to operate in a vacuum. The best in the world can be intimidating to approach, even if they really are the nicest people around, and so teams that only interact with them at competitions fill in the blanks they have about who they are and what they do with their own fears and inadequacies.
The best thing I think we can do -- even though it really is a TON of work -- is to stay engaged with other teams in our regions as much as we can. We are not very good at this on our own, but we are lucky to have a group of folks up here that are fantastic at bringing teams together and acting as a central resource for us. It is very hard to be angry with people you know and like; I know this from experience.
