[Madison]

I know I'm a little late in coming to this, so I apologize for that.

To be honest, I drove up to WPI to see Battlecry because I was really skeptical that this year's game could be turned into a competition. Though I commend WPI for trying, I don't think that the rules changes were comprehensive or thoughtful enough to really encourage competition.

Like Matt said, all we were seeing was the same teamwork with half the number of teams on half the field. There was no use fighting over goals at all, since their placement made that almost impossible. Toward the end, some teams tried to move the opposing teams goal, but it didn't really do much for the excitement of the game.

In my eyes, the biggest fault with the modifications lied with the addition of a second bridge, as well as the 'control' rules that governed the bridges. I think, though, that the mere presence of something like the bridge made competition difficult. Obviously, nobody would have balanced a bridge if those control rules weren't in place, but they also allowed a team free reign over the bridge, and all the opposing team could do was watch them go at it. How can you have a competition with rules that specifically prohibit competitive actions?

But then, I can't really think of anything that could improve that situation. The bridge is what disallowed competition, and without changing that element, this year's game has no hope of ever being competitive.