[Abrakadabra]

Jess -
Thank you very much for the insider view. I know that you and the entire NE FIRST team work very hard to provide the best experience possible, and despite all the moaning we all do, I hope that you understand that we really do appreciate it.

Your impressions of the two days are interesting - I was a "live" attendee on both days, and I had pretty much the same feelings as you. On Friday, it was obvious that many teams had not yet read or did not understand the game rules, so that, combined with the zealous enforcement of the controversial G40 and other penalties, made for some very frustrating matches. In a way, I'm kind of glad that the webcast was down and that the "outside public" did not have those matches serve as their first exposure to Aerial Assault!

On Saturday, however, it appeared that the knowledgable teams were doing a good job of educating their less-informed alliance partners, and the true "Assisting" began. While penalties still weighed a little too heavy (IMHO), the result-changing ones were not as frequent as the day before, and by Elims, we were seeing what the game is really supposed to be.

We're excited to see what Week 2 brings - with new Rules clarifications from HQ, a few sheets of polycarb, and the experiences of Week 1 as a guide, things are really looking up!