[FIRST Fan]

Please don't try to pretend your little IQ whatever event is for kids or for noble reasons. I have no problem with battlebots as a business, but when you post to FIRST teams trying to LEACH off of FIRST for "customers" - which is all they are to you (they may have fooled you by giving you the title “education director”, when in reality your “corporation” is making a profit off of students & schools), you should be ashamed.

FIRST exists to inspire and help kids - your competition is a well concealed and integrity lacking event looking to PROFIT off of kids. The day you hold these competitions as a non-profit, then try to influence FIRST teams. Until them, show a little class, and don’t try to infect the FIRST competition with the bad ideals, bad messages, and profit goals of Battlebots. Please let FIRST be what it is without dragging it down to the depths of your "make money off of kids & schools" corporation.

I realize that there are those who care so much about making money that they will do anything, even try to make it off of kids & schools – but can’t you find better ways to make a profit? While FIRST is truly the Olympics of Academic Achievement, Battlebots is a nice little spectator event with all the use to society of a Family Feud episode between Baywatch and Americas Most Wanted.

Leave “impacting education”, and the “inspiration/motivation” of students to the numerous programs out there (not just FIRST, or FLL – but many others) who are noble & genuine in their quest to help students build a brighter future. Don’t belittle those organizations with your weak, dumbed down, insult to intelligence, WWF/XFL, 3rd class attempt to rip off FIRST to make a dime.
As passionate as I obviously am about this, this is not intended to be personal towards you (you probably really do care about education, just are being misguided by Vince McMahon or Don King). This is directed at your bosses and their corporation. Try to get customers from FIRST once your bosses are offering participants 2 million dollars in scholarships from universities (not TV companies) instead of pocketing 2 million (more, I'm sure) for their bank accounts.