[Wayne TenBrink]

Wow. I can't believe I missed this thread.

Regarding the original question, we were fortunate enough to be in that position. We had heard rumors that 67 & 217 were going to pair up - passing up on 469. I was never convinced. We were advised by several people that we should pick 67 and then 217 in the hope that they would turn us down, just to break them up. That wasn't our style. Last year we lost to 67 & 217 in the finals and we wanted a rematch. A chance like this doesn't come around every day, and we were wise enough to take it.

When it looked like we would seed #1 we started talking to 469, and our scouts got together to compare notes. Having 469 as a partner completely changed what we were looking for in a third partner. While most teams were looking for defense, 1918 was going to play center zone support and we needed a front zone striker. That is probably why 2834 was still around.

We were struggling with overheated motors by the time we got to the finals and we really struggled to feed many balls into the loop. Our driver ran a good balance between trying to move balls and trying to slow 67 down. 2612 made every move a lot of work for us.

469 is a great team with a great robot. I have a lot of respect for them on and off the field. We never got to play against them in quals. Perhaps we will in Atlanta. I think they can be stopped by the proper combination of robots and a bit of luck. Who knows. Just like they do a lot better with proper help, it will take an alliance to stop them - not any single, great robot.

Regarding the depth & quality of teams in MI compared to other areas in the country, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. There is definitely a large core of great teams here that improves the quality of every other team that comes into contact with them. However, the FIM format helps us out a lot. If you look at how seeding scores improved week to week at the district events, it is apparent that the same teams finished the season a lot better than they started it. That pattern ought to repeat anywhere the teams get a real chance to develop their skills. For this year, however, I think the rest of the country will be in a world of hurt in Atlanta (with notable exceptions, of course). We'll see in a week.