[JosephC]

I've generally been pretty happy to show the FRC games to my non-robotics friends. I even convinced about 15 of them to come to competitions the past 2 years. Several of them were so pumped in fact, that they watched the live stream today just to see what the new game was! To my dismay, all but one of the people who watched, said they would not be coming to competitions this year.

Robot on Robot interactions are a HUGE part in the success of spreading the message of FIRST. People watch Nascar for the crashes, they watch Hockey for the fights, they watch football to watch people get taken out. Its how these sports draw people in, and once you're in, you're stuck. Over the years, you develop favorite teams, and your wanting to watch just for the action, turns into wanting to watch for the gameplay.

FIRST is just starting the the past few years to get huge. Team growth has skyrocketed, viewership has skyrocketed, FRC is being broadcasted on live TV, even ESPN! Now is the time when people want action, we need to suck them in. And keep them.

This game achieves none of that, it takes the hardcore robot hitting other robot action away, and turns it into a science show. There's a reason that tackle football is far more popular than flag football.

And that, is why I don't like this game.