I tried to find this thread a few weeks back when I started to get a bit annoyed with the number of people calling it Nationals. I was in FIRST when it was Nationals, and probably called it so for a few years after, but as International teams started joining us, I saw it as disrespectful (dont get me started on the speeches - "we need to make THIS country great..blahblahblah"). I know people don't mean disrespect, but think of the teams coming from outside the USA. We should be welcoming them and making them feel like they are just as much a part of all of this as we are (because they are!!!). We had a great time with our alliance partner the Brazilian team 383 at Boston (and were excited to hear they won CT!). And that is a reminder that this is an INTERNational competition.
Plus, its way cooler to say we won the INTERNATIONAL Judges award or INTERNATIONAL Rookie All Star Award... The Press and Media pick up on things that sound bigger than just a national competition. If you want more press, if you want more exposure for FIRST and if you want to respect the international teams, stop calling it Nationals, start welcoming everyone, and call it what it is... Championships
