[Tom Line]

I can certainly understand where the jealousy comes from regarding 217, 148, etc. The resources (monetarily and sponsorship wise) they have access to are the envy of many small companies, much less a FIRST robotics team. It can be very easy to get disheartened when you have to compete against those teams year in and year out, see their incredible robots, and (usually) lose to them.

That's where it comes back around to the mentors to remind you: you aren't team 217, you aren't team 148. You are your own team and you need to use your own yardstick to measure with.

I'll admit that we go into every competition eyeing those folks, knowing that they'll probably be the ones to beat. That highlights even more just how good they really are, because I bet almost every other team is looking at them the same way.

Improve yourself. Try not to tear others down.