[Conor Ryan]

I have an idea! Let's put a salary cap on fundraising for teams, then all the money they make beyond that goes into a general fund to support other teams with less money, after all they do it in sports. Then after we balance all the budgets we'll distribute machinery and mentors to all the teams (after being selected randomly of course).

Will what I just said even be considered? No. Because there are the have's and the have not's. Some teams have the capability to CNC their entire robot, some teams have a hard time getting access to just a drill press. Others have many mentors with a lot of know-how and knowledge, others have one, maybe two. The kit chassis and drivetrain is given to teams to help balance the playing field a bit, and it does. Some teams need a little more than just the chassis and drivetrain, and until those who do get it (or figure out a way around it), FIRST won't have a ultra-competitive playing field. This year what many teams to not be competitive on the field was what they had or (more often) didn't have.

If only FIRST was a professional sport......