This year's "game" is a job, not a game

[jman4747]

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

"Material Handling for the Mind"? It's definitely harder to capture the hearts and minds of the uninitiated when the vehicle is a forklift instead of a snazzy "sports" car.

But we've never had sports cars! I still say if you came for an exciting game to watch as a spectator then you missed the point. FIRST isn't about spectating it's about involvement. Involvement of kids, mentors, companies, and volunteers. None of the companies who sponsor our team got involved because of the game we are playing, they were impressed by what we students were doing.

The first time I saw any kind of robotics was 2010 championships and when I got there I didn't so much as look a the playing field because I had no idea what was going on. Most outsides looking at FRC never get what's happening on the field unless one of us explains it anyway. Furthermore most games start out with most teams not doing much on days 1 & 2 of the regional this is no different.

Kids may think shooting frisbees is cool but how many would really want to put in the work to build a 2013 bot? The inspiration is in the work the game gives us work and has us trying to improve to beat each other at it. Being a competition and not a science far offers the motivation for us. Most people who spectate pro basketball don't participate and a pro game of basketball is more "exciting" to watch than any year of FRC. Playing the game, FRC or basketball, has a whole lot more to it than the match.