If that is true, Eric, then all the more reason for FIRST to be responsive in improving the rules. Maybe I have been naive in taking the stated goals of FIRST seriously. There is no doubt that Draconian penalties for slight acccidental infractions that in no way confer an advantage to your team ruins the competition for spectators, and they certainly don't make the participants happy either ... well, except for the teams that are lucky enough to escape these penalties and lucky enough to be in alliance with teams who manage to avoid such penalties.
Maybe every team should spin a big dial after matches as well, and have huge random numbers arbitrarily added to or deducted from their scores.
