[Karibou]

Our team highly values our spirit awards. I wasn't around when we won our first one in 2007, but I know that every member on the team this year is proud of the two that we brought home. We still haven't quite gotten the hang of building championship-grade robots (but we're improving!), but we've mastered the spirit and image end. We ended Detroit 1-9-2, but we were still proud of our robot, drive team, pit crew, and everyone in the venue. Cheering, dancing, and being spirited was our way of showing that pride. Even when we're cheering loud and proud for our 38th-out-of-38 robot. I feel like my team has really shown that FIRST really, really, really, REALLY, isn't just about the robot, or performance on the field, but about the work that gets put into the team, during the 6 weeks and beyond. I feel like the spirit award exists because without it (or other non-technical awards, for that matter), there's no celebration of all of the effort that teams put into their season. With no award, I'm sure that the arena would still be filled with cheering and dancing and loud music, but it wouldn't be emphasized. I'm not one who believes that doing things solely for the sake of winning an award is a good thing (I don't agree with that at all), but I'm sure that "WE'VE GOT SPIRIT, YES WE DO, WE'VE GOT SPIRIT, HOW 'BOUT YOU?!" wouldn't exist if a team hadn't been trying for that award.