Is FIRST missing something?

[AlecMataloni]

There might be a bit of a rivalry between us (111) and our friends, the Thunderchickens (217). We've met twice on Einstein so far: once in 2009, and again in 2011.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by AlecMataloni

There might be a bit of a rivalry between us (111) and our friends, the Thunderchickens (217). We've met twice on Einstein so far: once in 2009, and again in 2011.

And yet Wildstang would have no qualms about asking Thunderchickens onto their alliance, or accepting an invitation, if that would make for a beneficial combination.

That's the difference in rivalries in other sports - no alliances. In FIRST you want to beat teams; some teams you may even want to beat worse than others. Yet you need to remain on cordial terms because later in the weekend you may be working together.

It's one of the things that makes FRC unique, and in my opinion, better.

[CalTran]

I'd say that every team has their own rivalry going with another team somewhere. It's certainly not anything like college or pro rivalries, or even high school rivalries, but I think everyone has got a team or two that they face at a local regional and strive to do better than.

Karthik, being mentioned, he also had a pretty good 2056-1114 history speech at GTRWest last year.
There's also a friendly rivalry between the teams down in Texas, particularly 118 and 148, though that might just be an off the field prank rivalry...(Who says 148 is all serious and no fun? )

[Saberbot]

Originally Posted by dcarr

I'm curious - are there any well known examples of scenarios where rivalries between schools in athletic sports have carried over into FIRST?

Our school, Saguaro High School, has a nationally known rivalry with 3019's school, Chaparral. Our football game is televised every year because both stands are always completely full. In the past, there has been violence surrounding the game, and most years there's some act of vandalism between the two schools.

Regardless of the rivalry in every other program (including other science competitions) our robotics teams work closely with each other. We share a mentor, a bit of build space, tools and a lot of knowledge.

I remember last year at the Arizona Regional one of our programmers was over in their pit helping them right up until they had to go into a match against us.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by iVanDuzer

Oh, rivalries exist. Most of the time it's between teams from the same city, especially if there's collaboration. You get students from occasionally rivalling schools together, and there's bound to be a bit of competition to see who can do better, not just against each other, but overall.

Karthik has a great speech about the big Canadian rivalries too (188 vs 2056/1114). GTR 2010, F1.

My vote for most-storied rivalry? Gotta be 67 vs 1114:
2007. Curie Semis. 67 (1732+48) tops 1114 (469+1523) in 3 matches.
2008. Einstein Finals. 1114 (217+148) becomes World Champs (over 67+16+348).
2010. Einstein Finals. 67 (177+294) becomes World Champs (over 1114+469+2041).
2012. Archimedes Finals. 1114 (2056+4334) squeezes out a win vs 67 (2826+4143)

Fun fact: the last 2 times 67 met 1114 in the Champs Elims, they also had to beat 2056 (Einstein Semis 2010 (2056+1625+3138) and Archimedes Finals 2012) That's the birth of another great rivalry right there.

And what makes FIRST great? 2006 GLR Included 1114,1503, and 67 on an alliance together that took gold. The first time these two teams ever faced each other in actual competition was Match 8 at that event. What a start to this explosive "rivalry" http://www.thebluealliance.com/match/2006glr_qm8

[Siri]

I think the main difference in rivalries between FIRST and conventional sports isn't the inclusion of GP or coopertition; it's simply a structural issue. We play so many teams in such a short amount of time for only 2-minute matches. The stands aren't split across the field between two rivals; they're filled with people from dozens of different teams who may or may not know each other. For the vast majority of our playing time, we don't know who we'll play, when, or with whom before the last day or two. There are exceptions, primarily based on geography (rival schools or colleges), heritage (same or friend/family mentors) or history (previous elimination play)--but these are inherently rarer.

On the other hand, it also creates a unique situation in which two good friends and/or hopeful elimination partners may meet across the field during quals. It's always fun giving a good trouncing to your friends or trying to shut down someone you're hoping will pick you. This is the most common "friendly rivalry" I see--at least a few per event--and it's definitely motivating!

You can also do stuff like this. 148 is professional at all times...no one said you couldn't be a professional prank-puller.

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

And yet Wildstang would have no qualms about asking Thunderchickens onto their alliance, or accepting an invitation, if that would make for a beneficial combination.

That's the difference in rivalries in other sports - no alliances. In FIRST you want to beat teams; some teams you may even want to beat worse than others. Yet you need to remain on cordial terms because later in the weekend you may be working together.

It's one of the things that makes FRC unique, and in my opinion, better.

This. All of this.

No matter how much we joke with the Clemson-area teams (even moreso after last night), we would never hold back on helping them or picking them for that. (Heck, 4452 picked us at SCRIW!)

[Nuttyman54]

There are definitely friendly rivalries all over FIRST, but a lot of the times, the teams would rather play with each other than against each other. I think one of the coolest aspects in FIRST is when teams from rival schools end up playing and winning together. Back in 2007, team 1516 picked 1280 to be their partners at SVR. California HS and San Ramon HS have a big rivalry in traditional sports, but they won the regional together. Word was their coaches had a tough time explaining when asked if they beat the other school.

Or when Palo Alto rivals 192 Gunn and 8 Paly are locking arms behind the driver station belting out the famous 192 ali-ali-acha chant as they prepare to face 254 and 100 in the finals.

This happens all the time in FIRST, and it's pretty great.

[Hallry]

As has been stated already, there are two types of rivalries: malignant rivalries, and playful rivalries.

Luckily, I know of only one or two malignant ones in FIRST. These should definitely be discouraged, as nothing good can come of them. Why spend time despising each other, when you could instead be helping each other out? Gracious Professionalism - take it to heart, make it your mantra. It goes right there with the big mottos like C'est la Vie, Carpe Diem, Hakuna Matata, etc.

As for playful rivalries, I think they maybe should even be encouraged. As Joe Brown said, "A challenge is an opportunity to prove your ability to yourself, and others." Take for example 118 and 148, which has already been talked about. They are two of the best teams in Texas, and both graciously and professionally 'nudge' each other, making one another strive for more. They are making each other grow, and causing each to try more to be the best they can be. In my eyes, 148's Operation Playhouse was genius. As long as both teams know that it's all in good fun and help each other out, I don't see any bad side to it. In our team's own experience, a few of our more experienced members and those on Team 25 commonly 'nudge' each other, making each of us try harder to excel. No hard feelings come of it, and we each make one another come a better team. For example, last year, Shaun, the drive coach of 25, made a bet with us saying that if they won World Championships, he would finally let us reveal the contents of his backpack. And, wah-lah, they won Champs for the second time in 12 years. If that's not excelling, I don't know what is. (Our next bet is that if we make it to Einstein this year, he will give us his backpack, and he will get a new, see-through one to wear ).

Anyway, my point is: if it's G.P., it's O.K.

[akoscielski3]

Biggest Rivalry in the FIRST world would be 1114 and 67. (second would be 1114 and 48 I believe, sorry to say it)
Biggest Rivalry in Canada would be 188/610 vs 1114/2056.
Biggest Rivalry in USA would be _________?


Biggest FIRST Domination/Combination would be 2056/1114. (10 Regional wins, Division Winners 2012, and World Semi-Finalists 2012, How can anyone argue that)

[Littleboy]

This is all the elimination play between 1918 and 2054 (most recent first)
2012 WMRI Finals - 1918 vs 2054
2012 West Michigan Finals - 1918, 85, 910 vs 2054, 3546, 141 (2054, 3546, 141 wins in 3 matches)
2011 MSC Quarterfinals - 1918, 494, 3539 vs 2054, 910, 2137 (2054, 910, 2137 wins in 3 matches)
2011 West Michigan Finals - 1918, 3357, 27 vs 2054, 67, 107 (1918, 3357, 27 wins in 2 matches)
2010 West Michigan Finals - 1918, 1718, 1896 vs 2054, 3357, 1243 (2054, 3357, 1243 wins in 2 matches)
2009 Lansing District Semifinals - 1918, 494, 470 vs 2054, 2767, 830 (1918, 494, 470 wins in 3 matches)

[snowmobiler9]

Originally Posted by dcarr

I'm curious - are there any well known examples of scenarios where rivalries between schools in athletic sports have carried over into FIRST?

In 2010, Team 706 of Arrowhead High School played our longtime Athletic rivals Marquette team 1732 in the Finals of the Wisconsin Regional.

Unfortunately we lost due to some connection issues but it was a big deal for both teams.

http://www.thebluealliance.com/team/706/2010

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by iVanDuzer

My vote for most-storied rivalry? Gotta be 67 vs 1114

We've started calling this a "Frivaly"; a portmanteau of friendship and rivalry. Our two teams have the utmost amount of respect for each other, and can often be seen hanging out and joking around both at and outside of events. It's a pretty neat dynamic that we're lucky to have with Team 67, and many other teams in FIRST.

[jeser#1772]

Originally Posted by akoscielski3

Biggest Rivalry in the FIRST world would be 1114 and 67. (second would be 1114 and 48 I believe, sorry to say it)
Biggest Rivalry in Canada would be 188/610 vs 1114/2056.
Biggest Rivalry in USA would be _________?


Biggest FIRST Domination/Combination would be 2056/1114. (10 Regional wins, Division Winners 2012, and World Semi-Finalists 2012, How can anyone argue that)

1382 and 1860 in Brazil!

[Chris is me]

Shaker High and Shenendehowa (Team 20's school) are big sports rivals, but in FRC we're good friends. I guess there's a bit of a friendly rivalry between us in that we often go the same events, and they have a tendency to win those events when we're in elims (see WPI 2010, CT 2012), but it's not nearly as vicious as our sports rivalry. We've been fortunate enough to have many qual matches with them, and we always seem to win those together...