[jdhawg]

Well, our team isn't at the Championship this time around, but after attending the past two years, here's what I think.

Regional competitions tend to feel quite a bit like a close-knit family reunion. You are seeing people you haven't talked to in a year, and it's a chance to catch up, reminisce with those teams you partnered with in the finals from previous years, and meet the new babies (Rookie Teams) in the family. Sure, there's the cranky old Aunt or the Uncle that shows up drunk, but you love them anyway. (Wait a minute, maybe that was at my last family reunion!)

The Championship event is like working for someone a month, then going to the company picnic with several hundred people you might have seen across the way, but never had a chance to talk to before. You will feel lonely and out of place if you just sit there eating chicken and not talking to people.

Here's some ideas for meeting new people and teams. If you stay in the pits, talk to your neighbors. I like to walk around and find people who are in their pit with the robot gone to the field. Strike up a conversation and you never know what kind of really neat people you might meet like that. If you are in the stands, look for a team with only a couple of people there and start cheering with them when they are on the field. Their drive team will wonder what's going on when there's suddenly a roar from the stands when the team is introduced instead of the squeak they are used to.