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Originally Posted by Pin Man
Near the end of the competition team 365 lined about on both sides of us... I had no idea what was going on... I saw a couple of their team mates take the floor and they presented to us a motorized award... It was a pair of clapping MOE sticks... It was really cool how they made it... With this act they really touched our team...
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I had no idea what was going on either. One minute I was trying to round up as many people as I could for one of our normal "clapping parades" (where we all clap as we march to the team's pit to present the award), the next minute I am rushing onto the field to present the MOE Stix Sprit Award to TJ^2 in front of the entire crowd. I wasn't sure how well the crowd would take us presenting a team award on the floor, which is usually reserved for FIRST Judge's Awards, but it really seemed to pump the crowd up (it was a team spirit award after all). As long the award truly honored TJ^2 for their outstanding team spirit, that is all that matters.
TJ deserved the two team spirit awards they received. They were cheering for everyone. Those horns made quite a bit of noise

. And when that sea of Tie Die started dancing, it was a great site to see. I love those tie die head bands you wore. I also loved the blue and orange hair on one of your mentors, I believe his name was Moe (i love that name too). This was my first regional with team 88 but I hope it is not my last.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the team spirit at the NJ regional. I thought the new anti-noisemaker and music rules would put a damper on the party-like atmosphere of a FIRST Competition and give it more of a calm Science Fair feel. I couldn't have been more wrong. All the teams were really putting their heart into cheering and dancing. It gave NJ the energy of a FIRST competition that keeps me coming back year after year. (Disclaimer: Sorry to any one who loves a Science Fair. I have friend who placed nationally in the Science Fair, and I have had many debates with him over which is more exciting. I think FIRST wins hands down)
I was jealous (stick envy

) of the CyberKnights with their white and blue "Team 195" sticks. They never stopped clapping and always had a strong presence in the stands.
Powercords had their soda bottle shakers going. The Romanesque theme was great.
Thanks to Pope John 23rd HS and TJ^2 we almost got a full wave going.
All the dancing on the floor was one of the best things about this regional. There are so many other great teams and things at this regional that I can’t think of them all.
On the subject of presenting team awards on the floor: I would like to see all teams with awards present at least one on the floor. It can be done easily between matches as long as it is just a couple team representatives, not the whole team. Team awards can have a great positive impact on those teams receiving them. I have experienced this firsthand. Last year, after a disappointing performance in Houston (partially due to a downloading error), the team was pretty down. Then, Wildstang presented us with an award for Best Overall Design for our stacker bot GeroniMOE. To have your achievements recognized by a team you respect and admire so much, is such a great feeling. It lifted our team moral. TJ^2 obviously experienced this feeling too. I think we could use more of this good feeling in FIRST.
Well that’s my $0.23 for a long post. Congrats again to TJ^2! Keep up the spirit, we will see you in Atlanta!