Quote:
Originally Posted by Jared Russell
Many of your points have merit, but statements like this make it hard to be sympathetic to them. A rational critique is usually more effective than a tantrum. |
My favorite part of this year's game is watching how many things are amplified. I know you know and I know I know what it's like to be a financially poor FRC team, and Brandon is in that situation right now. You know what? He threw a tantrum. However, this game is also making people ask bigger questions. How much are we supposed to go to "defend our kids"? I took over the drive coach position under fire from others on my team until they saw how rough this game can be on the teams. I don't want to puff my chest out too much, but I am there to protect a bunch of smart and talented kids from getting nothing short of screwed over by people who lack understanding of the game they are playing. They know the strategy.
Last year you could get by in a match when a partner committed a foul, one robot went limp on the field, or the volunteer referee clue whiffed on a call or 3. This year, when I go to a week 4 event and have to ask referee crews to check team updates from prior weeks before they misspeak at a driver's meeting, that is objectively NOT GOOD. When I have to stare at a glowing trashcan for 13 seconds, that is also NOT GOOD. When I see a question box 12 teams deep and a rulebook on tap and the foghorn sound effect is getting its biggest workout in half a decade, these are all not good things.
However despite our earlier than planned exit at our last event due to some unsavory no-calls, we still get to play one more time. 254 still gets to play one more time. Brandon's kids ran into overdrive over 7 weeks to put together a very fantastic robot (2nd overall pick at LSDR) only to get booted over a hasty and poorly thought out Team Update that came down the pipe half a week earlier. They don't get to go back and start planning for a surefire trip to MAR or World Champs. They may nto have a shop to go back to if the school district cuts the program if they see it as underperforming from last year.
Yeah, Brandon got emotional. He screwed up. He's not the only person who screwed up this year. People who have really dropped the ball this year are paid to NOT do that kind of thing, ever. You and I get to book our hotels under the arch while Brandon's team is asking why they even bothered trying to build a robust machine when the GDC suddenly changed the stance of "robust machines win" over to "play extra nice".
It's one thing to say that you went out there, left it all on the field, and made your team, your sponsors, your school, and yourselves proud. We didn't win an event, but I'm proud of my team. 254 has won 2 events, and I guess/assume you're proud of them because there's no doubt you guys pushed your own limits and earned your wins. 2495 went out, left it all on the field, and then some, but had the deft hand of incomplete thought wipe them out of the competition, probably for good, in 2014. I can understand that.