[Andy Grady]

Ya know, when envisioning NERD, I knew and was hoping that similar entities would pop up around the country. There is nothing wrong with taking pride in your part of the region, and to the MAVERICK people, if that is what you are trying to do...more power to you. Keep in mind however that NERD was not meant to make a massive war with these other organizations. We are all in FIRST as one large group...the New England Region (If you look up New England in an encyclopedia I believe that it will state clear as day that it contains Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, RHODE ISLAND, and CONNECTICUT.)

New England has always been a very competitive region in itself. There have been (and still are) many fueds among New England teams. The goal of NERD has always been to try to drive away those feuds and create one strong group of many taking pride in our part of the country. I think after the past few weeks, seeing some of the NERDS in action, we will achieve this goal and I am proud of every single person who has donned the shirt (and even those who haven't recieved shirts yet).

You may ask..."Why have you been touting NERD all over Chief Delphi and making such a big deal out of this over the past few months if you aren't asking for some competition?" The answer is simple, all this exposure, all of this attention we have been trying to get, it is meant to try to get a buzz to make the idea more appealing to the New England Region...and yes, even try to help spring up similar entities like MAVERICK. I will say that this technique has worked. The NERDS we have gathered, and those we have not yet gathered but soon will have been amazing. They all love the concept and are working hard to make it into something that is more than a bunch of pictures up on a message board. To these kids and to these mentors NERD truely does mean something more than just a cool black shirt.

My point is to you Corey...good luck with your MAVERICKS, we wish you the best. I just ask that you don't step on what we are trying to do here. This isn't a war, this is something very legitimate thats going on...most of it which you dont see because its happening away from the Delphi site or from the public eye.

Thank you,
Andy Grady