Ok everyone, I fess up. I wrote it and asked Kyle to post it for me. I'm not very well known around here, and I wanted to make sure this was received with as little bias as possible. As you can derive from the ending I wrote this a while ago, before kickoff. I never intended to post it, it was for myself. Watching all the squabbles over wins and penalties and points made me upset, I knew this wasn't the point of FIRST but it seemed every time someone tried to point that out they were washed away in a sea of anger and anti-GP sentiment.
I hope I got my message across to many people, and I appreciate your kind words. I didn't write this for the compliments, like I said I never intended to post it. I figured it would be a good reminder to people and by doing it anonymously I would spare any trouble coming at me over it.
On a side note, I'd like to point out an act of Gracious Professionalism I was part of this week. My team and team 358 and possibly others are doing a two-day public demonstration at Stonybrook University this coming weekend during I-CON (
www.iconsf.org). Due to refurbishing in progress, our 2002 robot is the only functional one. However we do not have any of the game pieces from the 2002 game. Also, all of our battery charging equipment is en route to Atlanta. I contacted 358 and explained our predicament, and within minutes we were promised access to chargers, precharged batteries and a goal with game soccer balls. I really appreciate their help, and it really pleases me to see a team so eager to jump to our assistance. Thanks 358.
And thanks again to all of you for your kind words, you're part of what makes FIRST so special.