[IKE]

330 has been and will likely continue to be a very inspirational team for me. They are very clever at building awesome robots with very simple construction techniques and tools. They also understand the importance of branding and work that into their imagery. Other than 2009, you can look at a 330 robot and without any numbers, tell it is a 330 robot based off of color scheme and fabrication techniques.

Also, there are few moves during a competition that will get a crowd fired up than a robot falling over, and then self-righting and taking the win. While several teams have done this over the course of their history, 330 has likely more of these tales to tell than any other team.

For Michigan, I would compare 2054 to 330 for similar build techniques, and cleverness that works very well, and clear theme.

Some other teams that I find inspirational:
2337 for not only building cool robots, but for community impact. Their rookie workshop is incredibly well run and incredibly impressive. Many more senior mentors attend to get some great insights on the game each year.

27 has been mentioned elsewhere, so I will reference 503 for incredible impact via chairman's initiatives as well as their huge impact towards Michigan's FTC program.

There are several other Michigan team's I could mention, but to be fair, if you just look at the CA winners of the districts, you nearly have a complete list of teams that inspire me here. With so many events, we award so many District Chairman's awards that a lot of teams have really stepped up their efforts the last several years. With the award now going to 1 in 20 teams, some might argue it has made it less special, but by putting the bar within reach, I see a lot more teams making a grab for it.