National Championship or National Chairman's

[Madison]

Originally Posted by JVN

If FIRST told you to jump off a bridge... would you?

I'm always torn in this debate, but even an old "robot nerd" like me has begun to see the light of the Chairman's award. Just remember, everyone is entitled to their opinions, and just because FIRST says something is "most important" doesn't mean everyone will rank it that way in their minds.

John

If they managed to, at the same time, convince me that jumping off a bridge would bring about a necessary and overdue change in how our society perceives worthwhile contributions, I probably would do it. Metaphorically speaking, I feel as if I already have in a lot of ways.

I understand that people will not always do what they're told and that they have their own opinions about what is the most important aspect of the things they participate in -- but it just seems a bit disingenuous to praise the vision and accomplishments of people like Dean and Dave and Woodie in one breath and completely ignore their sage advice and wisdom in favor of opinion in the next.

It's alarming.

Edited to add: I'm not at all suggesting that people who want to win the Championship deserve less respect than people who would rather the Chairman's Award. It should be obvious by now that I like conflict. I just don't understand how the personal accomplishment implicit in winning a Championship satisfies FIRST's goals, and I'm still undecided about the worth of people participating who harbor a varying agenda. I have to be undecided because, much of the time, I feel as FIRST doesn't even know what it's trying to do anymore.