[DampRobot]

Let me tell you guys a story.

When I was a freshman at my first regional at Davis, everything went wrong. A mechanical system on the arm failed, so instead of continuing our record of success in 2010, we sunk to the last pick of the first alliance. We were so excited to be picked by teams like 1323 and 1388, and thought we had just got our pass to CMP stamped. We were devastated when we were eliminated by a red card in semis, and the number two alliance, with 1868 (a NASA team), 766, and a local team no one really knew much about ended up winning the blue banner. The local team had a good minibot, and a working auto, but was so janky I didn't think very highly about them. Anyway, their team number was too high for them to be any good. That alliance must have just got lucky, I thought, as we drove home.

The next year, the same team was just as janky, but ended up seeding first at Davis. Their robot seemed to be held together by zip ties, plywood, and 80-20, but for some reason it could make shots from the key like no other team. They picked 971, the super polished and professional team, and won the regional for a second year in a row. At that point I was willing to give them some credit. Lightening doesn't strike twice, so maybe there was something to this team.

We actually got to play with that team at CalGames 2012, and I experienced the crazy drive behind this team first hand. They brought an intensity to the field I hadn't seen in a team that hadn't already won world championships. That run with them to CalGames finals lit a new fire within me: the desire to win.

In 2013, that team won CVR as the captain of the 6th alliance. Their robot was a lot cleaner (well, except for their wiring), and the thing picked up frisbees like crazy. They came into SAC with a new intake, played incredibly in quals, and seeded first. They were eliminated in quarters, but they had their ticket to CMP. I wasn't able to be at CMP that year, but I heard they had a pretty good run there. From the sound of it though, this success didn't leave them satisfied. Their robot did pretty well in offseasons too... I remember them walking away as winners at all three we went to.

By 2014, even people outside of California were starting to know about this team. No one was too surprised when they smashed through IE, making one of the coolest catches of the season in finals and winning the regional. This time at SAC, I wasn't too surprised to see that while their robot was just as effective and high performance and ever, it was engineered just as well as the best teams in FRC. They breezed through SAC with 971, winning two regionals for the first time in their history, and brought 971 and 254 (possibly the two best robots in the world that year) to an amazingly close finals match at SVR.

At CMP, they took 469 and 254 to a third finals match on Einstein. This was their second year in a row on Einstein as the (first seeded in their division) Alliance captain, and this time, there was no denying them. They were a world class team, and the question on everyone's lips was when they would finally win the big show.

Everyone knows how 1678 played this year, from the 3 regional wins to their can grabbers to Einstein, but not everyone knows how they got there. I've seen 1678 go from a janky 80-20 bot to reigning world champions in five years. But what's stayed the same is the phenomenal drive, dedication, and professionalism that I saw from this team. Inspirational seems like a cheap word for 1678's story.

By now, everyone knows about 1678's incredible record on the field, but I've also had the good fortune to be able to interact with them off the field. Their mentors and students were incredibly friendly and helpful to everyone, from rookies HPs who didn't know how to inbound balls to the world champions they formed alliances with. Their mentors were there for me, a student that wasn't even on their team, more times than I can count throughout competition seasons, offseasons, and build seasons.

I could not wish for a better team to crown one of our three world champions. Congratulations. Your meteoric rise as a team has truly showed me nothing is impossible.