The Age Old Question

[RoboAlum]

Originally Posted by Theseusgoats

The thing is that 71 definetly is one of the tip, if not the top team in FRC over history, but in reality, over the past 5ish years, they have been pretty poor for their championship winning standards. I mean, they failed to qualify for champs this year.

past 5 years as a student who was on 71 from that time frame 2011: curie finalists only cause the pot on our swerve drive broke. 2012: yes bad year due to design flaws 2013: the top climber in our division at worlds and the most consistent 2014: wasnt there but 2015: finalist at the indiana district event 2016: great def and low goal and again consistent climber. Just cause they now focus on usually one aspect of the game instead of trying to be a powerhouse doesnt make them a bad team

[M217]

Alrighty, let's see what we got here. Disclaimer: My #1 is indisputable and constant, but the order of the rest can be changed, sicne I was largely splitting hairs in trying to judge.

1. 71 Team Hammond. Utterly, undeniably dominant in the early era of FIRST. They set a legacy in this program, and at the moment the rest of us are all just trying to catch up.
2. 1114 I'd call the Simbots the most consistent of the modern powerhouses. I can't think of a single year off the top of my head where their robot wasn't 100% Einstein worthy, not to mention their CMP Chairman's.
3. 254 Amazing bots, amazing people, and an amazing record. #1 in blue banners, not to mention several trips to the Einstein finals and HoF. The Best of the West, and arguably the Best of the Best.
4. 118/2056 Hard to say here. It's tough to think of two teams that are more different in strategy, and yet both of them have been unbelievably successful in their own ways. 2056 inspires me more with their resume (*coughstreakcough*) but 118 inspires me the most with their designs -- the grappling hook this year, the intake in 2012, the whole darn robot in 2013, etc... I think both these teams are equally worthy of the number 4 slot here.
5. 67/469 Both amazing teams with a very impressive number of Einstein appearances; either one is easily justifiable for including on a top 5 list.

[tindleroot]

The hard thing to judge about this question is the fact that some teams have been around much, MUCH longer than others. For example, 111 has been around since the beginning (except a year off), which means they have had a longer time to prove themselves as one of the elites. Also, the distinction between teams with many championships appearances/wins and teams with many regional wins is highly subjective. As for my own ranking, I will choose teams based on "influence" (how powerful the team was in their good years and how many years they were really good), which is extremely subjective but it is my own personal ranking.

1. 71 - 4 world championships has still been uncontested after over a decade of them NOT winning champs. Plus, great runs in 2007, 2009, 2011 after their main winning era.

2. 67 - Surprised at how "underrepresented" 67 is in this thread. ONLY national winners and Chairman's simultaneously. 3 Champs wins, including two consecutive. Third most blue banners. Has made it to division finals almost every year for over a decade. This team has been strong from their start in '97 all the way up until now, with few, if any, poor years in that 20 year stretch.

3. 254 - Best team of the modern era. Many Einstein appearances, 2 championships, most blue banners, HOF, long regional win streak. Again, good every year (have won at least 1 regional every season since they started, usually 2)

4. 1114 - Builds consistently strong robots, and again has several Einstein appearances. Relatively young team. Has been the #1 Captain or #1 Pick in their division every year since 2008 (except 2012, when they upset the #1). Second most blue banners. This team creates robots that most teams can only dream of creating.

5. 2056/111/118 - Can't decide between these three. Regional win streak vs. Many dominant world champs vs. constantly competitive robots.

Honorable mentions: 47, 469, 987, 1678

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by M217

Alrighty, let's see what we got here. Disclaimer: My #1 is indisputable and constant, but the order of the rest can be changed, sicne I was largely splitting hairs in trying to judge.

1. 71 Team Hammond. Utterly, undeniably dominant in the early era of FIRST. They set a legacy in this program, and at the moment the rest of us are all just trying to catch up.
2. 1114 I'd call the Simbots the most consistent of the modern powerhouses. I can't think of a single year off the top of my head where their robot wasn't 100% Einstein worthy, not to mention their CMP Chairman's.
3. 254 Amazing bots, amazing people, and an amazing record. #1 in blue banners, not to mention several trips to the Einstein finals and HoF. The Best of the West, and arguably the Best of the Best.
4. 118/2056 Hard to say here. It's tough to think of two teams that are more different in strategy, and yet both of them have been unbelievably successful in their own ways. 2056 inspires me more with their resume (*coughstreakcough*) but 118 inspires me the most with their designs -- the grappling hook this year, the intake in 2012, the whole darn robot in 2013, etc... I think both these teams are equally worthy of the number 4 slot here.
5. 67/469 Both amazing teams with a very impressive number of Einstein appearances; either one is easily justifiable for including on a top 5 list.

If the question is 67 vs. 469, I can't see what 469 has to counter one additional Championship win and a HoF win. (Granted, 469 has gotten right on the edge many more times--three Einstein silvers to HOT's one--but to be the man you gotta beat the man.)

118 vs. 2056 is definitely a more philosophical question as they take different paths to immortality. 118 sets the standard for stunning machinery every year, but the robots are definitely hero-or-zero (while they've earned a lot of gold, they haven't taken silver anywhere since 2009). 2056's robots don't have the lust factor 118's do--but it took them a decade to lose one lousy regional (and at 23 regional wins, they're four ahead of Robonauts in ten fewer years). I personally side with uninterrupted excellence, but I can't fault someone for picking uninterrupted drool-worthiness that usually ends up with a banner.

[Kevin Leonard]

Originally Posted by RoboAlum

past 5 years as a student who was on 71 from that time frame 2011: curie finalists only cause the pot on our swerve drive broke. 2012: yes bad year due to design flaws 2013: the top climber in our division at worlds and the most consistent 2014: wasnt there but 2015: finalist at the indiana district event 2016: great def and low goal and again consistent climber. Just cause they now focus on usually one aspect of the game instead of trying to be a powerhouse doesnt make them a bad team

I don't think anyone is saying 71 is bad now, just that 71 is no longer consistently achieving that top echelon of results anymore. (Although there was a better climber in Archimedes 2013- 3467)

If I had to rate teams in all time results:

1) 67- 67 won 3 World Championships, two of which were back-to-back in the modern era. Even now, they consistently make division finals at least. The thing that puts them above 71 is their Hall of Fame status, IMO.

2) 71- 4 World Championships, including two back to back.

3) 111- 3 World Championships and Hall of Fame status

4) 254- 2 World Championships, Hall of Fame, and consistently some of the best machines in the world.

5) 2056- No other team has a history of exclusively success in the same way 2056 does. They may not have won a championship yet, but just you wait- OP's time is coming.