Bills Blog- Yes, I’m already counting down to kickoff 2012

[EricH]

So if CARD takes off and becomes a full-on competition, do they get dome space?

Tetraman, I'd actually look at it more like NFL/CFL (Canadian Football League) or NHL/CHL (Central Hockey League). In each sport, both leagues are professional. But you NEVER hear about CFL teams or CHL teams unless you're in their towns (at least, for those of us in the US). Why?

Because they aren't the "flagship" leagues. CHL teams can affiliate with NHL teams, like a farm system. But NHL gets all the attention, even if the play is just about the same. For CFL, there are 32 NFL teams that command most of the attention in the US.

FRC is the "flagship" competition in FIRST. There are more FLL and FTC teams, but they are not yet the flagship program. Yet. As such, FRC should get a large portion of the spotlight. But, just as CFL gets a (albeit brief) spot in the halftime of Monday Night Football, FTC and FLL do need their exposure. The question is, how do you get them that exposure without putting your flagship program entirely in the pits (and by the way, all four FRC fields in the pits will be a great way to cause a lot of complaining about an overpriced event).

What is the solution? I don't know.

How about this: Every FRC division has a companion FTC division, playing right next to it. FRC spectators can watch FTC matches during field resets; FTC spectators can do the same thing. There *should* be enough space to pull that off with one field for each in the pits. This opens up FTC a bit; FLL could be substituted on one or two divisions if FTC is lacking in teams. Folks coming for the big robots see the smaller ones too.