[AmyPrib]

Can we create a poll within this thread? I was going to do so, but then saw this thread already existed.

I like NOT mandating the 4th team to be played. It was made clear on day 1 that the 4th would be a "backup" and played at the discretion of the alliance captain. If you would prefer not to be in that position with the potential of not playing, it is your choice to decline the invitation. Sure maybe in one tiny way it sucks to not be on the field during elims, but come on.. you're still IN the eliminations (where many weren't) and should see the positives instead of negatives.

If it wasn't very much fun to sit on the sidelines and watch the alliance TEAM on the field, then maybe they weren't as excited, supportive, or encouraging as they could have been to the rest of their TEAM. I hope this doesn't sound harsh, but if I were the 4th team chosen, I would just be excited and grateful that I was picked out of the 40+ teams remaining on the sidelines. It's not like anyone was defaulted into the 4th position due to few teams - they were still CHOSEN out of a crapload of awesome teams.

I'd much rather be sitting on the sidelines cheering my alliance on than packing up my pit or otherwise. I now have the potential of earning my team name on the winners banner, trophies, and bragging rights (and everything else that comes with it) - and yes, I said earn - because a team can still do quite a bit without having their robot on the field. Each of those 4 teams likely contributed something to the outcome in robot or non-robot ways. Rather than say - yeah our alliance won IRI, but my team didn't do anything - just stop at the first part of the sentence and be thrilled.

The alliance captain did earn the right to make their choices regarding final strategy of who plays - hopefully with the input of their alliance-mates. Perhaps they would have had every intention of playing the 4th, but when on a winning streak, why mess up a good thing? Not that they don't have confidence in the 4th, but if they win the first match, they are taking a risk by putting in their "backup", esp if they feel like their on a good roll. It's just another choice in the grand strategy, which the alliance captain has the honor (and difficulty) of deciding. A key to strategy is playing the robots who are a good match together as well as against their opponents - not just because they are forced to play a certain robot. If we want to pull strategy out of the equation, and hold hands while skipping around the field (or something like that as someone once wrote), then by all means, mandate that everyone gets their big chance.

So yeah.. I'm for no mandating... (and before IRI, I was leaning more towards mandating).