[Koko Ed]

I think one of the problems is one of FIRST's bests asset; Chiefdelphi itself.
People come here to talk about all things FIRST and often that talk is almost always about who has the best robot and who has the most bling. Not who is spreading the word of FIRST the best. Now is it the fault of Chiefdelphi or the elite teams because of this? Of course not. We're a competitive society and people gravitate towards the top achievers. So of course people are going to talk endlessly about teams like 1114, 111, 71, 25, 233 and such.
FIRST itself talks a good game and says it's not all about the robot but when you attend an event what do you mostly see? Robots. I see no sign of anything about the Chairman's award at any regional and all of the judging is done behind the scenes while the robots are competing, entertaining the masses. So if FIRST has issues with it becoming more and more like the sports they supposedly hold in disdain they have no one to blame but themselves.