[Karibou]

I'm not sure that that a separate thank-you thread really needs to be made, so I guess this is the place for my post.

I don't think that anyone on 1189 entered the venue this morning expecting today to roll out like it did. We ended the regular season with 4-16-4 record and a robot frame that had parts that were so bent, they looked like sine waves. We fixed up the robot for this competition, and expected to do significantly better than we did during the districts - we could actually drive around now. Even after experiencing several issues during the matches, mostly due to battery problems, we were ranked somewhere between 15th and 20th (I didn't check the rankings before alliance selection), which was pretty shocking to us. Everyone who was with the team (about 15 rookies, 13 veterans, and maybe 10 parents) was having a lot of fun, and I would have been perfectly content with packing up and cheering for our close friends 3096. All of us were beyond shocked when the #1 alliance asked us to join them.

469 and 910 - Playing with you two was a treat. I don't think that you can even begin to realize what you did for our team by selecting us. Morale has been boosted tenfold, even though we were subbed out after the quarterfinals. Being a part of that alliance made team history - we've never been finalists before. Ever. We've been semifinalists a handful of times, but we have never been part of a finalist alliance. This is the first award that, in our team's 8 years, we have ever received for something related to our robot. Saying that we aren't at all disappointed in the alliance's loss would be a lie - winning would have been fantastic, there's no doubt about that - but we still felt like champions, which is what FIRST is really about.

548, thank you very much for subbing in for us for the semis and finals. Your performance was great, and I was actually really surprised when you weren't picked during alliance selection.

I would also like to specially thank 910 and 2619's programmer for helping us get our kicker working before the eliminations. We spent a while trying to figure out why in the world it wouldn't work - everything was plugged in in the right places, the code didn't have any problems, everything was getting the right amount of power, etc. We're still not entirely sure why it's working now, but we really appreciate the thoughtfulness and help that you provided. 910 also provided a lot of insight on and off the field. It was wonderful working with you and having your pit right next door, and I hope that we will have the same opportunity in the future.

More thank-yous...to the volunteers (who I now appreciate a lot more after having been one at IRI) that made the event possible. To the host teams, for providing volunteers and for contributing so much to the event. To any team who let us borrow a part or gave us a cable or provided help (I don't know who these teams were, since I wasn't keeping track like I usually do). To Kettering University, for hosting the event and supporting FIRST like crazy.