[mitchKarch]

I think that this actually shows more gracious professionalism in FIRST than ungracious professionalism.

Like 217, team 4 was in a similar situation in our Inland Empire Regional. We could not figure out how to get a good intake system to work and if you watch the game replays, a good portion of them are us attempting to feed Frisbees into various intake systems. We were pretty much useless even though our other systems worked well (shooter, drivebase, hanging).

When most teams asked us how we were doing, we told them that we really wanted to get our intake down because we knew that we could do full court shooting if we could get it working. One of the teams which had been seeded, 1323 MadTown Robotics, saw this and quickly sent over several members to help us out. They knew exactly what needed to be done and how to do it.
Within an hour, we had a consistent intake system which allowed for us to shoot Frisbees.

Although it was too little too late for team 4 as an alliance option, we really can't thank RC and the MadTown crew enough for the help that they gave.

I see 217 in a similar situation. As it was pointed out several posts ago by Jon Jack from 1538, it was a gamble for them to pick 217 but they did everything in their power to fix that robot.

In 2006, team 4 did not receive our robot for GTR, but so many teams (including 217) made it their duty to come out and help us build a robot (which was famously called "One-day Wonder"). I think that gracious professionalism in FIRST is more about the community and how in a time of need, can make things work out.