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Unread 23-06-2002, 22:45
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#0047 (ChiefDelphi)
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Pontiac, MI
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ever tried fried ice cream? best of the best.

Posted by Daniel.

Coach on team #483, BORG, from Berkeley High School and NASA Ames & UC Berkeley.

Posted on 4/12/2000 4:53 AM MST


In Reply to: fried posted by Kyle Huang on 4/11/2000 10:08 PM MST:



Kyle,

I could sit here and write about how FIRST is not about winning or losing, how FIRST is about what you get out of it, how FIRST is about what you've accomplished – but I think we all pretty much know that’s not the case. Not really. FIRST, as Dean Kamen 'the man with the vision' wishes it to be presented, is more like a robotic sports tournament than anything else. It promotes engineering in a form most high school students are able to relate to: competition. FIRST is about winning and losing as much as hockey is about takin’ off those gloves. They don't go out there and make a big public announcement out of it, but deep inside we all know how it is.

So...that's what makes it the toughest thing when you put your heart and sole into something that doesn't get recognized. That you can go home from Florida thinking 'wow, I don't think anybody really knows I exist' -- this is an inherent problem in the system, and FIRST has tried to fix it with things like the rookie award, things like the controls award. These are specific awards that allow teams to go home with a sense of accomplishment. The fact of the matter is, you could go through those pits, pit by pit, and pick out something special and 'awardable' about EVERY SINGLE ROBOT. Team 483 would have easily taken home the “most artistic speed holes” award. And this goes for the animations as well. The problem with that, is that with our mentalities, the awards would be meaningless and hollow if every single team was getting one. Thus we are the cause for our own misery. It’s a shame.

And it’s not the only shame either. It’s a shame that autodesk had to pick a winner this year. There were so many worthy animations that I’m sure they sat around their little table worrying about their collective conscience when they made that choice. They knew that although they were making one team happier than they’ve ever been in their quiet little lives, they were sending home a handful of GREAT animators, each with a handful of nothing. No award, no recognition, nothing. Its too bad you had to be in that handful Kyle, cuz I know you wanted nothing more than to win that award. It’s completely understandable, to tell you the truth I wanted to win that award too and I hadn’t even submitted an entry =)

Similarly for the robot, the fact of the matter is, you went to Florida to play ball and that’s what you need to do. So much is left to chance that rolling with the hits and just having fun is really what makes a winner in this competition. It hurts the most when you fall just short of what may appear in your mind as certain victory, and that’s what makes it so hard to remember how close you were and how big of an accomplishment that is. You guys almost got picked from a pool of the near 300 robots to play as one of the elite few who make it into the finals. That’s no simple feat and I’d have to say there are easily over a hundred teams that are insanely jealous of that. That which you seem to consider as “not enough”. My team is no exception. We would have given anything to play as reliably and solidly as GRT could always be counted on to do. Getting almost picked is no easy task. So, GOOD JOB GRT! You built an awesome machine in a hole in the wall shop in a neglected corner of campus, and it rivaled the best. It’s more than I can say.

So...

Hold your head up, bring those grades up, and get off to college. You’re not the only one who could use some time off, and you’re frustrations are likely shared by a good percentage of empty-handed homecomers. To all of you who fall into that category: I challenge you to take a good look at your robot, your animation, the videos and pictures, and most of all take a look at your teammates. Forget the empty spot on your trophy shelf and think about that spot inside that all those things were able to fill for the time you’ve been involved with FIRST. Give them a good hard look and tell me there aren’t any good memories buried underneath all your frustrations. Tell me that, and I’ll tell you I don’t believe a word of it. FIRST has it’s problems but it’s a great thing. Hold on to that animation Kyle, ‘cuz it’s something you’re gonna be proud of for a long time. And if you’re not....remind me to give you a good beating next time I see ya. Alright?

I do sympathize...really.
-Daniel



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