- the Finale was AMAZING. The shows were awesome (seeing our operator get hypnotized was something I would've paid to see), the music was loud, the dancing/socializing was fun, the food was good. I wasn't there last year, but from what I hear it was outside and spread out and just not as fun. I'd definitely vote for indoors again next year; just the atmosphere with dimmed lights and loud music and everything made it so much more fun.
- although this may have just been the outcome of having so many FIRST kids in one place, I loved the energy. Even after being eliminated fairly early
(grumble grumble), I went back up to the stands and cheered with some friends for teams like 1902 and 233, just for the sake of cheering and having fun (resulting in the loss of my voice by the end of the day)
- being able to go outside and just "chill" between matches and such was such an unexpected, remarkable plus. Whether it was playing frisbee with other teams, talking to people, or just laying down in the sun or by the fountains, the spirit and atmosphere was just great. I tried so hard to get some of the other people on our team out of the pits and into the fresh air for just 10 minutes, just so they could experience a facet of the competition that really was unique to FIRST
It was a fun event for a LOT of reasons, but these were the three major elements that I wanted to make sure I threw out there. Other personal things that were cool were getting Woodie's autograph, seeing Steve Wozniak (he was a judge!
), and getting the chance to finally play a match or two WITH the TechnoKats instead of against them (you guys are awesome, I'd been waiting for that ever since St. Louis). I loved the DARPA guy too, as well as Chad Hurley.