Quote:
Originally posted by Jnadke
Some people didn't even bother clapping for the Regional Winners. It felt as if there was a tension in the arena.
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That is the one thing I have noticed. One of the things that really made FIRST special for me was that there was no tension between teams. It didn't matter if you had just lost to a team in the finals. You still shake their hand, tell them they did an excellent job and be happy that they succeeded because they deserved it just as much as your team did. However, I've noticed a change in that this year. Teams are "fixing" matches to seed in the top eight. Others are attempting to flip robots to gain an advantage in the match. This year, it has become evident what teams truly do practice Gracious Professionalism, and which have a win at all cost attitude.
At the Philly, the majority of teams did sit down relatively quickly after the winners were announced, but we at MOE had some fun with the award ceremonies. If anyone was there or watched the webcast, the camera showing the team members walk through the tunnel of judges showed the sea of green known as the Miracle Workerz in the background. We were doing all kinds of dances in unison for the camera while clapping our sticks, just trying to get the crowd to look a little more alive.
I just hope that FIRST does not regress further as time goes on. As much as I like the 2v2 setup over 4v0, it is causing the matches to become demolition derbies. Pinning has become a common practice. Robots crashing into one another at the top of the ramp, relentlessly trying to get robots on top off. Some are even targeting exposed electrical panels with their arms. This is just starting to look more and more like battlebots.