[Pamela]

I must say that I am not usually one to post in controversial threads, or to really disagree or argue with anyone on these boards, but this conversation here strikes a very personal cord with me.
Reading this thread I am deeply saddened, as a 166 veteran and ex-teamleader. As a leader I tried to install gracious proffesionalism and understanding of other teams in the FIRST community to my peers on the team. I tried to make them understand that Chief Delphi was a great place to network and get informattion and share ideas with other teams. I am thrilled to see so many new Merrimack members cruising the boards and posting occasionally, this is a good thing. Attacking another team that has helped you get where you are today is not.
Jess, the way you started your thread was admirable, you had an idea and you wanted input from others in the community as to whether or not your thinking was valid. It was a well placed question and poll in which you stated your thoughts on why things were, what you thought would improve it and put forth feasible options in your poll. This sparked off an interesting discussion between many people in the community. In your next post you reflected on what another had said then went to add in an example to prove your point. This is where you went wrong
To say that another team is not good enough is ungracious and uncalled for. I know you may not have meant to personally attack this team but you need to be aware of what you are posting and be responsible for your words.
I know Merrimack and Nashua have had our problems but please do not forget the wonderful things they have done for us. They are very deserving of their free ride to nationals. BAE Systems is there sponsor and is very much a part of their team. Do not forget this, you cannot seperate the sponsor and the team.
Nashua is a first class team in the land of FIRST, they are a shining example of what it means to be a chairmans team and the responsibilitly that comes with it. From lending a hand in the pits at competitions, to lending programers to less experienced teams for hours on end, Nashua excells at showing the spirit of FIRST. They began lego teams in their city and eventually spurred enough teams to host a state tournament. This year they even hosted a FIRST regional competition. For years they have been getting out into their community at Holiday Strolls and Youth Rallies to spread a positive message to their city. They even so graciously invited Merrimack to share in the joy of these activities. Every year Merrimack has hosted a 4th of July Demo, which Nashua, whether with students, engineers (Thanks Bryan Lee!), or a robot has somehow shown their support for our team. Out of this comraderie BAE Systems picked us up as one of their own teams when we were in trouble of not competing due to lack of sponsor. Nashua very gracioulsy shared their budget, resources, and space with the Merrimack team. As if that was not enough, the BAE team picked up partially sponsorship for many of the dying New Hampshire teams. As I said before, the sponsor is the team, without students like Chris C., Aaron, Tyler, and many others BAE would not have been so generous with their money, our team owes Nashua alot, please try not to forget it.
I am sorry this post is so long, but things needed to be said. I for one think Nashua is an amazing team, lets not lose sight of the wonderful things they have done because of a few bad attitudes. I hope the FIRST community as a whole can forgive Jess for her comments, I know her enough that she didn't intend on hurting or offending anyone. I just hope that the gracious feelings between Merrimack and Nashua can continue on, I would hate to see the spirit of cooperation between those 2 teams die.