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

[Alan Anderson]

I seem to be a grumpy voice here. I apologize for coming across like that, but...

Originally Posted by Conor Ryan

...it did not cause the event to come to any sort of serious grinding halt.

It did halt things. Qualification matches ended an hour earlier than they would have otherwise and the dome was cleared out.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

I seem to be a grumpy voice here. I apologize for coming across like that, but...



It did halt things. Qualification matches ended an hour earlier than they would have otherwise and the dome was cleared out.

The matches that were not finished in the dome were finished at the pit fields.
No harm. No foul.

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

The matches that were not finished in the dome were finished at the pit fields.
No harm. No foul.

...and Newton only had two to play (one regularly-scheduled and one rerun).

[Bryany]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already (too many posts to read through them all), but I really wish we had a little more warning about awards being given at the concert. If we had actually won the Chairman's award, it would have been terrible not to have been there. (we and a lot of other students we talked to weren't)

[Andrew Schreiber]

My impression: Thumbs up, make some minor tweaks, do this again.

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

They told teams that no cameras were allowed tonight. That makes me think it will also not be webcast.

That was one of my complaints, were the teams that won awards allowed to bring in a camera or two to get pictures of their teams on stage?

Originally Posted by Bryany

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already (too many posts to read through them all), but I really wish we had a little more warning about awards being given at the concert. If we had actually won the Chairman's award, it would have been terrible not to have been there. (we and a lot of other students we talked to weren't)

Yeah, my second big complaint. I almost didn't go because I was under the impression that it was just a concert rather than an awards ceremony.


My overall feeling, and this is a 180, was that it was good for FIRST. If we could put all 4 fields in the dome (or just get bigger stands in the pits) I would actually be pretty happy with this. The music was a little loud and it all made me feel old but I think it celebrated FIRST rather than BEP.

Minor complaint: I didn't know who half those celebrities were... this is my fault for being old and lame and not watching TV.

[Chris is me]

I think many of the loudness complaints could have been dealt with by distributing ear plugs. Everyone sane who goes to a normal concert wears them! Why not here?

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I think many of the loudness complaints could have been dealt with by distributing ear plugs. Everyone sane who goes to a normal concert wears them! Why not here?

That said, the massage was nice on my back and feet.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

...the massage was nice on my back and feet.

I thought of that at the time, and wondered if anyone was enjoying it.

(Another piece of my curmudgeon side for your entertainment -- I discovered a few years ago that massages are very uncomfortable for me, and even make me a bit nauseous.)

[Mike Soukup]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

That was one of my complaints, were the teams that won awards allowed to bring in a camera or two to get pictures of their teams on stage?

I never heard the announcement that cameras weren't allowed. My wife brought our SLR in and took pictures all night; no one told her to stop. Before we decided to bring it, I read the back of the ticket which explicitly said that pictures & videos taken are only for non-commercial use by the ticket holder. That implied to me that picture taking was allowed.

I really enjoyed the concert. I think all of our students enjoyed it too. My only complaint is that they gave out the Chairman's award without anyone, including the eligible teams, knowing that they were giving it out. I know some members of eligible teams skipped the concert to work on strategy. Imagine the disappointment if they missed the presentation of the award to their team if they won.

[sanddrag]

I'd venture a guess that with a high-profile event like this, that FIRST made sure the winning team for the Chairman's Award was notified before-hand that their presence would be required.

However, this is just pure speculation, but it seems logical.

[LightWaves1636]

I liked the concert. It was fun. Although I'm still debating if it was worth the two fields in the pit because I would accept the fields in the pits if 1, better seating, and two, well this ties to better seating but allowed more dancing and team spirit down on the floor cause if you wanted to be next to the field, you had to kneel in order to watch the match so people in the bleachers can see too.

FIRST has been a special secret that my non-FIRST friends just don't get and hopefully this special in August ignites the culture change that FIRST was created for. We're even using the special as a sponsor recruiting opportunity, if a sponsor is on the fence about FIRST, we're going to heavily promote the special.

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I'd venture a guess that with a high-profile event like this, that FIRST made sure the winning team for the Chairman's Award was notified before-hand that their presence would be required.

However, this is just pure speculation, but it seems logical.

Several teams, including the Hawaiian Kids but also several other RCA winners (perhaps all?) were told ahead of time by judges that they ought to plan on attending the concert on Friday night.

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by Jared341

Several teams, including the Hawaiian Kids but also several other RCA winners (perhaps all?) were told ahead of time by judges that they ought to plan on attending the concert on Friday night.

From what I've gathered, all of the RCA winners that submitted at the CMP were given light blue wristbands to get onto the floor of the concert.

[Karibou]

Originally Posted by thefro526

From what I've gathered, all of the RCA winners that submitted at the CMP were given light blue wristbands to get onto the floor of the concert.

It looked like all RCA winners and HoF teams. However, giving them what was essentially a different ticket is not the same as saying "be there." But it is somewhat comforting to hear that some/all of the RCA-winning teams were encouraged to attend.

[1986titans]

I saw at least a couple people from RCA teams going in that had tickets saying something like "ON FLOOR" under "Section".

The only problems I had with the concert was the fact that the Chairman's Award announcement was most likely not a last minute thing to be put in there - they could have easily told every team. Having the floor of the arena half empty while people were up in the nosebleeds seems kind of strange too.