So while everyone is busy trying to answer silly questions like "What will next year's game be?", I have been hard at work (I actually spent way too much time on this) diving in to the history of FRC to find an answer to the real question on everyone's minds: "What color will the carpet be next year?". To answer this question I studied the past 15 games because what can you possibly learn from a mere 14 games? I even braved looking back through the what is known as the "Dark Years" of FRC (2004-2008), when FIRST did not provide carpet names. What I have come up with I am calling the "FIRST 7 year carpet color cycle theory". Every 7 years starting back in 2003, the field has featured three colors of carpet: a red, a blue, and a third color.
2016-FIRST Stronghold: "Scotch Pine"
2015-Recycle Rush: "Polar Express" and "Capital Red"
2014-Aerial Assist: "Ground Pepper"
2013-Ultimate Ascent: "Ground Pepper"
2012-Rebound Rumble: "Park Bench"
2011-Logomotion: "Ground Pepper"
2010-Breakaway: "Scotch Pine" with small amounts of "Polar Express" and "Capitol Red"
2009-Lunacy: "Glasliner FRP(tm)"
2008-FIRST Overdrive: "gray"
2007-Rack 'n Roll: "gray"
2006-Aim High: "gray"
2005-Triple Play: "gray"
2004-FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar: "gray"
2003-Stack Attack: "Saphire Night", "Pewter", and "Festival Red"
2002-Zone Zeal: "Black Coal"
2017 will be 7 years from 2010, so we will see this pattern occur again. Look at the facts, they're indisputable. Now that I have cracked this mystery that has puzzled FRC for decades, all of CD can sleep easy until kickoff knowing what the carpet will be and can stop worrying about silly things like the what the game will be.
