[JesseK]

I think the 2nd Chance Bracket would detract from the Einstein speeches.

Regardless of how much they do or don't bore you, the speakers are important to FIRST. Additionally, sometimes they make a very good point that may add tidbits to a good 'elevator speech'. Finally, currently during Einstein speeches the only thing you hear are the speakers themselves and the crews who are breaking down the fields farthest from Einstein. Not only would 2nd chance matches delay the breakdown crews, it would add noise to the Einstein speeches and be disrespectful to the speakers since there would be 20-25% of their audience off making noise doing something else.

I'd rather they figured out a way to shorten Einstein's ceremony overall and increase the amount of offseason events. I'd also like to see the speeches distributed via CD/DVD to teams after Atlanta, and as a bonus include all of the Einstein matches with it. Those speeches contain FIRST's core messages as seen from the perspective of partners and thus should be heard by more than just the 350-400 teams who sit through Einstein.

I believe that "going home a winner" is more a matter of perception than anything else.