Friday Night Entertainment - will.i.am with special guests

[Bob Steele]

It is official.......

From FIRST volunteer announcement:

FIRST is delighted to announce a free private performance for assigned FIRST volunteers by Grammy Award winning super group, The Black Eyed Peas, with guest artist Willow Smith, on Friday evening, April 29, 2011 at 8:30PM at the Edward Jones Dome. The FIRST Championship community is invited to take part in this extraordinary evening that we hope will be the basis of a potential future television special.

[Mrs.Drake343]

Originally Posted by Bob Steele

It is official.......

From FIRST volunteer announcement:

FIRST is delighted to announce a free private performance for assigned FIRST volunteers by Grammy Award winning super group, The Black Eyed Peas, with guest artist Willow Smith, on Friday evening, April 29, 2011 at 8:30PM at the Edward Jones Dome. The FIRST Championship community is invited to take part in this extraordinary evening that we hope will be the basis of a potential future television special.

Oh wow!!!!! Just adds to the absolute coolness!!! My mom is flying in and even SHE is really excited!!!

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Bob Steele

It is official.......

From FIRST volunteer announcement:

FIRST is delighted to announce a free private performance for assigned FIRST volunteers by Grammy Award winning super group, The Black Eyed Peas, with guest artist Willow Smith, on Friday evening, April 29, 2011 at 8:30PM at the Edward Jones Dome. The FIRST Championship community is invited to take part in this extraordinary evening that we hope will be the basis of a potential future television special.

Hmmm...I wonder if Willow's dad will finally go take in a FIRST competition.

[Billfred]

I'm going to make two separate statements here, and then banish this thread from my thoughts until Sunday.

1) To Will.I.Am and guests (whoever they may be): Thanks for coming--hope you stick around for the robots and the people.

2) To the people with the robots: It's the first time (or at least the first time in a long while) for a lot of things at this year's championship. Keep an open mind, and we can tell FIRST exactly what we thought of their plan on Monday morning.

[Koko Ed]

When I first heard about the whole two fields in the pit thing I was all bent out of shape over it. Because the field has been relegated to the puts doesn't mean the competition won't be any less intense and it doesn't make the event any less fun and it doesn't change the fact that I still have a job to do no matter where the field is located and I'm still gonna do it.
At least the pits won't be flooding (we hope).
Heck now I get a free concert out of it. Sounds like a good time. I think I'll go and have one. After a season of hard work I think I and the many volunteers and members of FIRST deserve it.

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

After a season of hard work I think I and the many volunteers and members of FIRST deserve it.

Agreed, but for the 352 teams at the event, their season of hard work isn't over yet.

I know we are struggling with how to handle our picking list meeting on Friday night. Do we tell students they cannot go to the concert? Do we rush it and do a bad job and do it in between the end of matches and the concert? Do we work after the concert untill 2 or 3 am and then get up at 6 am the next morning? Do we let students go to the concert and hope we aren't in picking position? Do we let students go to the concert and have mentors work on the list, which doesn't involve students or show them what it takes to be successful? I'm really not happy with FIRST for putting us in this position.

It's dope that there is a concert, but I don't think it should effect the Robotics Competition this much.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

It's dope that there is a concert

And it begins...

"We are what we celebrate" (or something like that). Why are we celebrating this man and his terrible music? Or perhaps we're celebrating ourselves, with his music? Or is he celebrating us?

In any case, is this really who we want as a role model? I don't see how someone who has never been an engineer has any credibility in telling kids it's important to become one.

Some think we need FIRST in every school quickly. To do that, we're bringing in "hip" musical performers? I don't understand the connection.

For a decade, I've listened to Dean's speeches at kickoff and elsewhere mentioning how many kids aspire to be musicians and never make it, and that we need more kids aspiring to be engineers and scientists. I'm not exactly sure what message this concert sends.

So let me get this straight, we now presumably have dangerously loud pits. If you're lucky, you might be sitting in a somewhat quieter dome this year. Then we go blast your ears out with a presumably way-too-loud concert on Friday night. It seems that would just make for a terrible Saturday.

Furthermore, based on what I saw during the Super Bowl from this guy and his "special guests", I would not attend this concert if you paid me. About the only thing they had to offer there were some nifty LED suits on all the dancers.

A successful program needs to be driven by and publicized with results (cough: Vex), not flair.

If the idea is to attract new people who wouldn't have been attracted to FIRST otherwise, again, bad move. Go watch the quality plummet.

I would never want a student joining my team because will.i.am said robotics is cool, or because he thought he'd get a free concert out of it.

I'm sorry if I'm not supporting the mission of FIRST here (which is what, now?), but this is not the same FIRST I grew up with.

[torihoelscher]

Originally Posted by Bob Steele

It is official.......

From FIRST volunteer announcement:

FIRST is delighted to announce a free private performance for assigned FIRST volunteers by Grammy Award winning super group, The Black Eyed Peas, with guest artist Willow Smith, on Friday evening, April 29, 2011 at 8:30PM at the Edward Jones Dome. The FIRST Championship community is invited to take part in this extraordinary evening that we hope will be the basis of a potential future television special.

Im so excited!!!