[Andy Grady]

Originally Posted by Dillon Compton

In response: I would have thought y'all would know better! I was actually entirely joking- I'm glad that MAVERICK exists because I'm mad jealous of NERD. If NERD opened it's arms to me, i'd be in 100%

I think alot of this "sourness", as it has been called, is good natured heckling- Honestly, if we were seriously going to egotistically, rudely, and generally sillily tout our region as the best one around, I'd hope we'd do it a little more effectively, and with a little more class.

Organizations such as these do inspire regional pride, and they are fun, methinks, and I agree that together they hold the chance to strengthen the east coast, and FIRST, as a cohesive unit, but I do think y'all are taking these comments a bit too seriously.

As I've said before, many a time; It is not the time, the place, the robot, or the sponsors that matter. It is not what fancy equipment you have access to, nor the size of your budget; FIRST is about people - students and mentors - working together to change themselves, and through that, the world.

I hope that MAVERICK and NERD are both entities that will help enact a positive change in the community, the members of the relevant organizations, and the world at large. I also hope that everyone on this thread learns to take a good-natured joke.

And, I know I will get castrated for this, but Chief Delphi is not life; just because we tease on here does not mean that we are individuals or teams lacking in GP in a more...tangible sense.

Good luck to all this season, and remember, laughing (and jokes!!!) are a good thing!

-Dillon Compton
Team 1394

Dillon,

I agree with you that sometimes people take things too seriously on these boards and that there are many times when people do have to learn to take a joke. However, you also must understand that everything that you type out on here, or put on a website isn't always understood as a joke...there is no sarcasm/joke button on the Chief Delphi Forums. When someone creates a website with the phrase "One day a MAVERICK is going to kick a NERD's @#$%" that can raise a few eyebrows the wrong way...especially when what we are trying to do is create some enthusiasm in an area that frankly could use some. Believe me...I love the idea that the mid-atlantic region would want to make a similar faction to NERD...I really do hope that it works out for you guys, because up in New England, we have been having a blast with this. All I am saying is that what you guys right now are seeing as a joke, we are taking pretty seriously up here because those who are involved at the moment, really do care about what is going on with New England and NERD.

I hope that we can all just calm down and relax and just have fun with this. That was the initial intent of NERD, and I hope MAVERICK as well...and like Jaine said in a previous post...maybe we can all join up some day, share ideas, and focus our energy on the true enemy....the midwest!

disclaimer: the last statement was a joke

-Andy Grady