[petek]

Guilty as charged. And I assure you, if I am in the stands, I will be standing up, screaming my voice away every time my team is on the field. You will also find me standing for award winners and exemplary competitiors - they've earned my respect and standing for them is the least I can do to show it.

I worked field reset at NJ and I can tell you, the drive teams hear it when their teams cheer for them, and it is devastatingly quiet when the teams are not cheering. IMHO, drivers and human players have tough jobs and can use all the support you can give them.

A "fable": two years ago , there was a team which didn't cheer. It was a big, established team with good funding, plenty of mentors and a good robot. They did not cheer for anyone, not even their own team. Their members didn't sit together - in fact you rarely saw more than a handful in the stands. A number of us noticed and shook our heads, feeling sorry for them that they had so little spirit. Then, last year, they got "religion". They sat/stood together, cheered loudly for their team and others, and it was obvious that they were having a blast. They earned our respect and we even started cheering for them, too.

So, to those who would complain about teams standing to cheer during competitions or show respect to winners, I would say: FIRST competitions are a celebration of success. They are three-day pep rallies and they are for the kids. If you want an unimpeded view you could arrange to be there early enough to sit in the front rows, or maybe you could sit in the upper deck. You could ask to sit in the front of our group - we'd be glad to have you join us. Just please, don't ask these kids who have put their hearts, their blood, sweat and tears and a large part of their lives into this effort, to sit down or be quiet.