UNDERRATED TEAMS

[Nick Lawrence]

My list, in no particular order is:

610
188
1507
2168
2826
829
772
1477
842
1726

610 has been building consistently better and better robots every year, especially since 2008. Their 2009 robot SHOULD have been at world championships. Their 2011 robot went way under the radar at GTR-West, should have been the first pick... after all it was a finalist three times last year.

188 year in and year out builds solid machines. They've been finalists in their division at world championships twice in the last 3 events.

1507 came out flying this year, but have always built very capable machines. They did make their way onto Einstein in 2009 as well.

2168 is arguably one of the best robots that won't compete at world championships this year. #1 seed at both their regionals this year, only to lose to "communication" problems...

2826 goes unnoticed for one huge reason. They compete in Wisconsin, which has generally been 1714's territory in years past. They're certainly making waves now-adays though, but they still sometimes go un-noticed.

829 is a super capable team, who builds solid robots every year. They're also one of the best robots to not compete at world championships this year, which is a darn shame.

772 builds decent machines as well, but this year's machine has lots of potential to do great things. They also seem to have picked up a new sheet and laser-cutting sponsor recently, which should serve them well for years to come.

1477 is underrated in my opinion because they live in 148's shadow. Whenever people think of Texas FIRST, they think of 148. 1477 has won two regionals this year and another one last year, and is certainly as deadly as their fraternal "twin" 2415.

842 and 1726 are obvious ones. Never count out a Forbes. They also build very capable robots.

Just my $0.02 CDN.

-Nick

[treffk]

I may be a bit biased but I feel that all of the Greater Kansas City area teams deserve some recognition. I feel in recent years we have been building up to having powerhouse teams and a awesome and challenging regional. Even our rookie teams have been outstanding.

Personally I see the growth 1802 (my team) has made and how everything is finally clicking with my students. Every year they realize something that they need to work on and tackle it. It has also helped that we had more than 12 students this year. We had 40 students which is our largest team since 2008 when we made it to Atlanta with the help of 476 and 1806.

[Grim Tuesday]

Can't believe I forgot 1507. When you think of the Fingerlakes Region local powerhouses, you think of 1126, and 191. The Warlocks never come to mind. I think that's about to change, though, considering their robot this year.

[LeelandS]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

Can't believe I forgot 1507. When you think of the Fingerlakes Region local powerhouses, you think of 1126, and 191. The Warlocks never come to mind. I think that's about to change, though, considering their robot this year.

1507 is actually usually a pretty strong contender at FLR, stemming from their finalist finish in 2008, I believe. 2009 was, to me, their big 'BREAK OUT' year at Finger Lakes, winning the regional and making it to Einstein later that year. 2010, their robot was a great piece of machinery. Though it didn't win the event, it earned several engineering awards if I recall correctly. 2011 was a strong year you 1507 as well. Though they took a year off from Finger Lakes, they had a strong showing in Pittsburgh alongside 48, The Delphi ELITE, going down in the finalist to the ever-potent combination of 1114 and 1503.

1507's 2012 return to Finger Lakes showed them to be as dominant as ever. 1507 is one of the most famous teams to come out of Finger Lakes, a former highest rookie seed at champs (that I had to do a little research for), and (one of, if not THE) the most recent FLR team to make it to Einstein (if I'm thinking correctly).

This year, 1507 is at the top of the mountain for the Finger Lakes region, but they've been floating around there for the past few years, as the only team to receive the Highest New York Seed Trophy twice in the last few years.

[Kyle Love]

829.
2481.
...and I don't just say that because my team was on an alliance with them. The entire weekend it was obvious on how great each of those teams are and how it would be great to work with them. They are great on and off the field.

[akoscielski3]

Originally Posted by theawesome1730

I think I love you! You are the first team on CD to mention us as a hidden superpower. You did great at QCR, too bad none of us won at Queen City, not sure about you guys but we aren't even going to championships this year and maybe might not get an IRI invite either...

We are going to Champs, as we won Smoky Mountains Regional. We are hoping to get invited to IRI this year, but arent sure if we will get in.

[Ryan Dognaux]

I haven't watched many matches outside of the MAR region this year, but I would definitely want to throw 4342 a shout out. It's a great robot, their drivers handle their drive extremely well and they score a lot. I rarely see people talk about their robot on here, so good job guys.

[Littleboy]

2474 from Niles MI.
They have 2 great shooters this year. Both are accurate. A catapult for from the key and a normal shooter from the fender. They have been semifinalists twice, and winners once this year. They got unlucky in their first two events. They have the second highest OPR in MI.
Watch them, they are great.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Ryan Dognaux

I haven't watched many matches outside of the MAR region this year, but I would definitely want to throw 4342 a shout out. It's a great robot, their drivers handle their drive extremely well and they score a lot. I rarely see people talk about their robot on here, so good job guys.

Agreed! These guys, 340, and 1056 are three of the best 2 point bots.

Also 357 is hot on their game right now. They will put up a strong fight at MAR.

[Blackphantom91]

3528 - Upnext They are only a second year team but with their innovative robots they keep putting out every year, (Ie fender bot and defense bot). They just got their first regional win as the number one seed in Oklahoma and were rookie all-stars last year they are pretty effective they are soon to be a rising star in first.

931- They may be year after year a one trick pony, but they pull it off extremely well even netting them wins. in 2010 with their pusher robot they were really fast in the front zone. In 2012 using the battery as a CG weight shift was genius and played great defense.

1939- Aside from their awesome team name this is a team who every year comes to KC regional to play, building great robots with unique features. never sleep on what they do.

1477- This may be one of my favorite teams in first currently, their awesome robot last year had my jaw drop and this year its dropped even further. 1477 may be in the shadow of the other two texas teams but they are a fighter and they proved especially this year they are no push over. Always like their robots and a nice team overall.

624- After playing with them then winning the Colorado regional with them last year they showed me that they are a great team, this year though "wow" they just kicked the wall down on what they could do as a team winning the bayou regional and contending shot for shot at lone star final one when a teammate was down just had me stuck on how good they are. even with their spirit of their team in the stand and the crazy hair they know how to build great robots. dont sleep on them at all!

[Blackphantom91]

ill add more after work.

[Laaba 80]

2169, KING TeC

They were the number 1 pick at both regionals they attended, winning Duluth, and finalists at Wisconsin. According to our scouting data, they averaged 6.75 balls scored per match on friday at Wisconsin, and shot 80%. They are definitely one of the top shooters this year.

As far as their overall program, they have now won the chairman's award 4 years in a row.

Once you get a chance to work with them you will realize they are more than just a bunch of silly guys wearing capes.

[Travis Hoffman]

"Though they took a year off from Finger Lakes, they had a strong showing in Pittsburgh alongside 48, The Delphi E.L.I.T.E."

JonDarr has done us zero favors in continuing to pre-pend "The" to our name when announcing us, despite us indicating specifically it is not part of our official name on the Team Info Sheet we hand in to him! I think it's burned into his brain.

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by Nick Lawrence

My list, in no particular order is:

...

610 has been building consistently better and better robots every year, especially since 2008. Their 2009 robot SHOULD have been at world championships. Their 2011 robot went way under the radar at GTR-West, should have been the first pick... after all it was a finalist three times last year.

188 year in and year out builds solid machines. They've been finalists in their division at world championships twice in the last 3 events.

1507 came out flying this year, but have always built very capable machines. They did make their way onto Einstein in 2009 as well.

2168 is arguably one of the best robots that won't compete at world championships this year. #1 seed at both their regionals this year, only to lose to "communication" problems...

2826 goes unnoticed for one huge reason. They compete in Wisconsin, which has generally been 1714's territory in years past. They're certainly making waves now-adays though, but they still sometimes go un-noticed.

829 is a super capable team, who builds solid robots every year. They're also one of the best robots to not compete at world championships this year, which is a darn shame.

772 builds decent machines as well, but this year's machine has lots of potential to do great things. They also seem to have picked up a new sheet and laser-cutting sponsor recently, which should serve them well for years to come.

1477 is underrated in my opinion because they live in 148's shadow. Whenever people think of Texas FIRST, they think of 148. 1477 has won two regionals this year and another one last year, and is certainly as deadly as their fraternal "twin" 2415.

842 and 1726 are obvious ones. Never count out a Forbes. They also build very capable robots.

Just my $0.02 CDN.

-Nick

Boy Nick, how very "Looking Forward"-sounding of you. Hmm....

I'm going to expand upon my original selection of the Girard RoboCats of 379 by noting that they are currently ranked 48th overall in OPR and have been extremely consistent over their three regionals this year. They were finalists in Pittsburgh, losing to us, and ran into some bad luck in the elims in their other two events, losing to us again in the Queen City quarters. I really wanted them to mix it up in the other half of the bracket.

I honestly believe 379 is IRI-worthy and seriously hope they apply.

I'm also going to give a shout out to our not quite twins, 3193 Falco Tech, who stepped it up BIG time in Queen City after some struggles in Pittsburgh. They are firing on all cylinders now and were great to work with as elimination alliance partners in Queen City. If you meet them in any offseason events, watch out, and look out for them next year!

I really wish both of these teams had qualified for St. Louis. Regardless, both of them should hold their heads high for having their best on-field seasons ever this year!

[JB987]

I was thinking the same thing about Nick's syntactic elegance