[Chris is me]

Let's be honest here. Almost everyone cusses sometimes. The kids certainly do, many adults do in the heat of FRC competitions. Even the FLL kids do. While it isn't very professional, and probably isn't something to show off to prospective sponsors and whatnot, letting out one F-bomb on Einstein is not the end of the world, and in the full context, I don't even think it was that inappropriate.

To truly understand why the quote was so powerful and, frankly, inspiring, you have to get the context, not just of Einstein but of Will I Am and FRC. Einstein is an incredibly scripted, drawn out event with lots of ceremony, speeches, and traditions. It is powerful, but gets old, and it's a lot of going through the motions. Will.i.am's involvement in FRC was initially regarded with a large amount of hostility and backlash. He began by saying the 2011 game was "dope", which older mentors interpreted as a drug reference, and controversial changes to the Championship format aligned with his attempt at helping via a star-studded concert at the event, leading people to believe he was responsible for these unwelcome changes (fields in the pits etc). But over time, his commitment to FIRST and his consistency have been slowly winning people over, that he's not just doing this for publicity or selfish reasons, but because he is genuinely inspired.

And finally, after his sixth consecutive year of supporting the FIRST championship, he goes off script to express his amazement and inspiration of the robotics program going on around him. He says it in a way that is exactly how one passionate high schooler might explain their amazement to a friend of theirs, in a real and true way that you can be absolutely sure was not approved or encouraged by anyone at FIRST. And the power of his statement, if not just a shock reaction, was reflected in the thunderous reaction in the Dome, louder than almost anything heard the entire day. Crass, unprofessional, and crude as it was, it was an incredibly powerful moment.

Now, this isn't to say this should be a regular thing; it probably shouldn't be our forward facing catch phrase, we shouldn't be singing it to sponsors, making team chants about it, etc. It can't become a huge meme like water games or corndogs that every 14 year old parrots to their grandmother (and I'm sure it will get out of hand, unfortunately). I really understand the points people like Andy Grady have been making about the speech and I don't disagree with them. But I genuinely appreciated such a refreshingly honest moment from this man, and I'm glad he was able to convey his awe and inspiration sincerely.