As I've watched the games the last few years, I've noticed this phenomenon:
At the start of a regional, the game does look pretty lame. Last year, and at one regional this year, my team had me do scouting, so each match I focused on just one robot. I seemed to get a lot of really boring robots early in the regional--the ones that just sit there, or go in circles, or do other lame things. Face it, there a lot of lame robots out there early in the regionals. There are lame matches, too--one robot against three, for example.
But I think this is because many, if not most, teams are still getting their robots up to speed--if they're not still building them!
As the matches continue, the robots get better because they've been tweaked or fixed. The drivers get more practice. The autonomous code is finally capable of doing something useful. As a result, the matches get a little more interesting.
Saturday afternoon, when top robots take the field, with top drivers at the controls, the game can become very exciting. Every one is putting out maximum effort. There are less penalties, because people have figured out the game. The contests are a whole lot hotter (and, yes, this year, the computer scoring can make things REALLY tense, especially when the referees have to contradict the computer errors in the finals...
)
I think this is true in any sport. It's the pro and college games that get televised, not the 8th grade PE classes. Why? Because the better players are more fun to watch.
I first noticed this phenomenon in the 1984 Olympics when I went to see a sport I'd only read about
: dressage (sort of like dancing for horses). As a horse lover, I was eager to see it. But in the earlier rounds, it looked really lame. The riders appeared to flop around on their horses, all uncoordinated. I was thinking, "Is this IT??" It was so boring we left our seats for an hour or two. When we came back, it was like seeing a different show. Horses and riders were working together, and the gold medalist, a German man on an athletic bay horse, put on an unforgettable show with his victory lap. He and his horse worked perfectly together. That one performance alone would have made our time and money spent there worthwhile.