Originally Posted by Taylor

What FIRST is missing is exposure. The type of exposure that creates top-of-mind awareness. The exposure that is enjoyed by major sports, created by massive marketing campaigns.

Newspaper articles, TV news features - they're all neat, and a decent starting point, but they're not enough. FIRST is missing the daily interaction with laypeople. The Make It Loud initiative is a step in the right direction.

FIRST is missing a fundamental change in its own philosophy. Celebrity on chiefdelphi does not equal celebrity in the real world. Having wild celebrations for two months - at college campuses during their spring breaks and an unoccupied stadium - then being largely dormant the other ten months of the year does not create the level of awareness needed to be what it needs to be. Districts and offseason events are a step in the right direction, but they're nowhere near as comprehensive as they need to be. I know of 20 offseason events, which is great, but really less than a tenth of what there needs to be - and I'm just talking about America.

What we have now is similar to the Indianapolis 500 or Kentucky Derby. It's a cool story once a year, but largely ignored and underground for the rest of the time. That is unacceptable.

When FIRST has its own magazine, we'll be on the horizon. When FIRST has its own television network, we'll be pretty close. When Vegas lays published odds on FIRST events, we'll be there.