[mrmummert]

Hello...

I've seen this before also...We are an average little small town team that luckly has done somewhat well. We've gone against and with
teams that have lots of resources and have done just as well. For some teams its all about winning matches and awards. For some teams its about showing the students what First is all about and sharing that with others. Teams that
have a "elitist attitude" or "better than thou" attitude are a turn off and
i generally ignore it while at competition unless something happens that is clearly way out of line. There is a old saying that what
goes around comes around and this sometimes happens to some of these
teams. To give a example at the Virginia regional this year on thursday and a couple matches friday morning our robot would'nt connect with the feild. A couple other teams made fun of us saying things like our robot was a piece of junk and such. Then after we were able to connect to the field and as friday afternoon and then saturday came and went we did very well (we went as far as the semi finals) and those who had made fun of us and mocked us fell silent. Some teams are humbled and learn and some never get it. Its unfortunate that this happens in a program that values cooperation and professionalism.

First is about teaching students about Science, Math, Engineering and
Technology and how it can apply to a students future and how it applies in the real world. In the real business world you have to learn to cooperate to advance and survive. I work for a large defense contractor (BAE)
who partners with other companies to do business. Sure there is a little
competition and one upman ship, but in the end we all cooperate. We have to. Don't let what other teams do discourage you from the goals you and your team are trying to reach.