First of all, congratulations! It was great to see a North Carolina team get recognition on the big stage, and hopefully is a sign of greater things to come from our region.
900 (and 1519) was a common name heard in our strategy sessions week 1, as we noticed the tendency for unconventional robots to win North Carolina. Your full court launcher from 2014 is what fueled us to go with our crazy conveyor belt design. You guys didn't dissapoint, and watching your sleek design swerve around was great.
Now as for the cheescaking, that was inspirational stuff. I was keeping my team updated throughout your whole journey (just ask Chase, he's still in our Facebook group), and we were cheering you on every single step. So no, it wasn't 900's robot that got them picked. It was their guts, determination, boldness, and tenacity that made them a part of that alliance. And I'm okay with that. This isn't just a robotics competition, it's a human one as well, and 900 did what they had to do to make it work.
Having done a robot rebuild in one
day due to weight problems, we know somewhat how driven you have to be to do it. Its pretty cool.
In the future, I'd like a robot with the ability to manipulate game pieces to be more valuable that a light chassis, but this alliance was just playing the cards they were dealt. Don't hate the player, hate the game.