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Am I the only individual who doesn't like it when people get preachy about "gracious professionalism?" Calling out this thread for sugar coating things for people who don't really need to be taught a lesson in what FIRST is about.
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I saw this quote in relationship to this thread, posted by the very popular "Robotics Memes" Facebook page. I do not believe this thread is sugarcoating things - I think it is bringing up something that is very often forgotten on this forum.
I deeply agree with J-Blondie's sentiment that FIRST is not about winning. It can't be: At a 60 team regional, only 3 teams will win. In fact, 60% of teams
will not even get to eliminations. Only 15% of teams will attend Championships. The people who browse and comment on Chief Delphi are the FIRST Fanatics. They are the people who belong to teams that work countless hours, raise thousands of dollars and end up doing respectably on Saturday afternoon. Remember that when making generalizations about the FIRST community, we base them on what we know, and we know what we see on CD, which is not representative.
But let's remember all FIRST participants, and what matters to them. The memories of long nights, troubleshooting, teamwork, leadership, mentorship, inspiration, and friendship are all experiences
everyone, not just the members of winning teams will carry with them in life. Those are the parts of FIRST that matter to everyone universally. The issues with one game will fade away after a few years. These other things will stay for life.
Often, all we talk about on CD is what is wrong with the game. Sure, there are problems with it. Bad calls have been made and they have decided regionals. This should not happen, and it hurts the whole community that this is what defined the year. It isn't so bad, however, that it has compromised the entire meaning of FIRST. I don't think it is worth the hurtful and non-constructive comments I've been seeing around. We need to remember what FIRST is really about. It sure isn't about winning.