[Travis Hoffman]

My personal preference is that we try to separate the act of cheering from the act of standing. The conflict here between those with differing viewpoints is being caused by the act of people standing up and blocking the view of those behind them. I think everyone agrees that cheering and shouting and waving your hands and clapping are all healthy and GP activities. However, whether it is done with the best of intentions, considerate or inconsiderate, rehearsed or unrehearsed, standing up frequently DOES cause problems at times for people sitting behind you. Societal norms have been established which dictate that the "standing ovation" is somehow more respectful than clapping and cheering while sitting down. I tend to say pish-posh to stuff like this. If the most important thing to a team who just won a major award is to look up in the stands and count how many people are standing up in the seats to congratulate them, that's pretty sad - they should be jumping and cheering and celebrating their victory with their teammates. Now the CLAPPING AND CHEERING of the crowd - that's a truly great thing that can further fuel the emotions of the winners and make it a truly memorable experience - that's the key part of being respectful at these competitions.

When my team won the Regional Chairman's Award in Cleveland, and I went down to receive my medal with the rest of the team, I do not recall looking up into the seats to SEE if the rest of the teams were standing up and congratulating us; what I do recall is HEARING their cheers and very much appreciating those. I would not have personally been offended if every single person in the audience had stayed seated. If the arena remained quiet after the winning announcement was made, however, I certainly would have felt embarrassed and disappointed. Catch my drift?

While I completely understand why many people do it, I sometimes find myself rolling my eyes a bit watching teams stand up and sit down in unison each and every time an award is announced. Some might say the more you engage in an activity designed to celebrate and honor the best of the best, the more you diminish its significance. I personally possess just as much respect and admiration for an award-winning team whether I am standing up or sitting on my keister. I also tend to reserve my standing O's for the ultimate winners at an event (Chairman's, Champion, Engineering Inspiration). However, others have a right to think differently, and their methods should be respected, not ridiculed. I just wanted to present this alternate viewpoint as food for thought. For those who do like to stand up frequently, perhaps you can give a bit more thought to the concerns of the people behind you. As rational people living in a GP culture, I'm sure there's a good compromise we can all find together.

LOL why is this even a major point of debate? We must be bored. It's Spring! Let's all take a break, go outside, and do something non-robotic for one day.