[Jared Russell]

What an awesome three days.

So many people to thank, so many stories to share.

Drexel University: I am starting to realize that the venue itself is often a very underrated contributing factor to my enjoyment of a FIRST event. The DAC is just a wee bit too small for the people and energy inside, which is PERFECT. The entire building rocks all day.

Pete Kieselbach and the field crew: Thank you so much for making this what I believe was the best run FIRST event that I ever been to in my 10 years of involvement. When things are working great on the field, it spreads a sense of calm into the pits and into the stands, and everyone's day goes better. We brought plenty of rookies, parents, spectators, and new sponsors to this regional, and you really helped to make FIRST look great out there.

Lockheed Martin: Thank you for your new involvement and support of FIRST in the Philadelphia region! By supporting our team and many others at the regional (not to mention FIRST itself), you truly ensured that the program could reach as many students as possible. We hope our team made you proud! It is awesome to be able to go into work on Monday with the knowledge that my employer truly "gets it".

Team 87: Your robot is a heat seeking missile! We are so glad you guys were able to make it out there for SF 1-2, and you defended us as well as anybody has all year. We will wear the dents and bruises you gave us with pride!

Team 816: You guys really did have us on the ropes in the quarterfinals. See you in Atlanta!

Team 272: Sitting next to you in both the pits and the stands is an absolute privilege. You are one of the favorite teams of both myself and many of my teammates because of your spirit and enthusiasm, and the great and unique bots that you bang out every year.

Team 365: We did it (again!). Your robot's mid-zone sniping was the perfect compliment to our striking, and we bailed each other out time and time again. Miss Daisy had some chain problems early, but MOE was able to pick up the scoring slack. Later, when MOE was flipped, our drivers went on a rampage to empty the near zone. Good things happen when we are together. Thanks to John, Bob, Joe, Brian, and all the other MOE mentors that are an inspiration to us every year.

Team 486: You may not have been the flashiest robot on our alliance, but you were the most consistent. Your defense helped to open up the whole field so that MOE and Daisy had room to operate. And many thanks for helping get Miss Daisy back on her feet after we were hit by the rocket that is Diablo.

What happened in Finals Match 3: Early on, our driver noticed that the left side of our drivetrain was completely locked up. We had either jammed a chain, or rattled the axle on our input roller loose and into a wheel. Our driver - a rookie who is an absolute star in the booth - never gave up and tried everything he could to get it working again. Eventually, by thrashing the drive forward and backwards, he got the problem to rattle free - just in time to dive into the near zone and close out the match.