Congrats to this year's champions: 330 2481 120 1086

[barn34]

Well, it's been a week, and I've come to realization that I'm probably never going to completely come to grips with everything accomplished in that improbable run through elims in St. Louis. This whole week has been a very awesome outpouring of congratulations and support from all of our amazing sponsors, family, and friends (both in the FIRST world, and out). I'm not sure if there are words grand enough to express how thankful we are for all of the kind words and support, but I will do my best to convey them with the following, much deserved, recognition. Bear with me, this is probably gonna be a long post.

330 - There's nowhere better to start than our incredible alliance captains. Thank you so much for believing in us with the selection at the number 2 slot. Similarly to you, we identified the potential fit with you guys from our prescouting efforts, and we were absolutely thrilled for the opportunity to make that alliance pairing a reality. Our machines were perfect compliments to each other on the field and I feel our teams mirrored that off of it, as well. Unfortunately, we will be separated by the 2 champs split moving forward, but you will always have the unquestioned support of the Roboteers. We will enthusiastically be rooting for you in Houston!

120 - Incredible job, guys! It was an awesome opportunity to get to share the field and the sideline with you guys throughout the elims run. Wonderful team to work with. As Joe mentioned in his post above, our scouts raved about you guys, and rightfully so. You were a team we identified in prescouting and your performance was rock solid at champs cementing your spot near the top of our list for recommendation to 330 during alliance selection. I believe both of our teams were thrilled when we were able to call your number to invite you to join our alliance. You played a very critical role for the alliance each and every match out there, and you played that role flawlessly every time out.

1086 - Excellent job as the support for our alliance. Because you and 120 were different in your capability sets, we were looking forward to the flexibility that offered our alliance, depending on matchups. As 330, us, and 120 started clicking offensively and the all out offensive blitz proved to be overwelming our opponents, those matchup opportunities and advantages just didn't present themselves with how the elim brackets went. However, you filled in exceptionally when 120 was down heading into Einstein semi-finals and you awesome in helping support the entire alliance mechanically throughout the rest of the run, helping in any way possible, to make sure all 3 of us were able to remain functional. Throughout the entire run on Saturday, your team stayed ready, prepared, and always on top of every situation. We knew that if we ever had to switch things up, nobody needed to worry about you guys being able to go, full tilt, at the drop of a hat. Awesome team to work with and I'll gladly look forward to any chance to do so again in the future.

379 - A HUGE thank you for the amazing showing of gracious professionalism in assisting in getting 120 repaired and back on the field, as well. We had everyone we could fit huddled around their robot, and you guys were right in the thick of it doing everything you could to help, and it was amazing. I'm not sure if we would have been able get them back out and onto the field without you. I've been witness to a lot of amazing examples of GP in my 8 years of being involved with FIRST. They never cease to amaze me and really hammer home how great the FIRST culture really is. This is one of the best examples I can remember and it was incredibly appreciated. You guys are all class acts. Thanks again!

987 - Massive congratulations on the World Chairman's Award and joining the Hall of Fame! I know I'm not alone in my sentiments that this was long overdue and no team was more deserving. You are a beacon of inspiration for every team around the world to emulate. You perfectly embody everything that FIRST should be about. Excellent job!

Once again, I have to tip my hat completely to the finalist alliance of 2056, 1690, 3015, and 1405. Those finals matches were insanely tight and it was an absolute honor to be sharing the field with you for them. At the rate at which our alliance was dealing with issues, I'm not quite sure how many more matches we could have survived, but I would have been on board with playing a 4th, 5th, 6th, or however many more matches would have been needed to determine a clear cut winner between us without the need for silly tiebreakers. 2056, you've been an example of absolute excellence for nearly a decade. The 23 regional win streak may never be topped. Having these finals matches come down to a tiebreaker in the tiebreaker just doesn't feel right. At the very least, we all deserve to share this. I know this may not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but I will forever consider us both champions. Infinite amount of respect, guys.

I also want to recognize the great Carver finalist alliance of 133, 230, 910, and 1775. Those matches were very hard fought, very high scoring, and very close, as well. We knew you guys were going to be an incredibly tough matchup if we ran into you guys in the finals and that proved to be prophetic. Amazing job!

Last, and certainly not least, I want to make sure to recognize the great number of teams who have shown us so much support in so many ways over the years. Each and every one of you have helped the Roboteers in so many positive ways and the impact of those efforts cannot be understated. This victory is shared amongst all of you. We couldn't have done it without your amazing support over the years. Thank you all so much!

1756, 1736, 2081, 2338 - So much appreciation for the kind words and support of our fellow team CAT members. Collectively, we represented team CAT exceptionally well in St. Louis in 2016. We can't wait to share the field with you again in 2017!

1625, 2451 - Fellow IL FIRST brethren and the other two thirds of Robowinnage. It's always a blast to play with you guys and we were so appreciative of the assistance with scouting information from your respective divisions in St. Louis. Also, we gotta give special recognition to 2451 and 2338 for representing IL FIRST so well at championships and assisting Dean with his homework assignment. Awesome job, guys!

2826, 1986, 16, 1519, 624, 2363, 2220 - All of our amazing friends from equally amazing teams all over the country. So many wonderful contributions and so much support from all of you over the years, I don't think there's any way to do it justice here. We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to be able to call you all friends and I don't think it's a stretch to say the Roboteers wouldn't be where we are today without the collective contributions from each and every one of you (as well as everyone else listed above). Unfortunately, 2 champs is going to be splitting some of us up, but we will continue to support you all moving forward and look forward to any and every opportunity to see each other along the way. 2 champs is (hopefully) temporary, but our team bonds should last forever. Thank you all, so much!