Cheering, standing ovations, and required team actions during matches and awards

[dlavery]

”It's part rock concert, part basketball, part auto race (the pits), part awards night at the Oscars.”
- John Abele, FIRST Chairman, commenting in the FIRST Annual Report on the environment at a FIRST competition

So it seems that we are being presented with two options as audience members.

We can sit quietly and stoically, politely patting our right fingertips into the palm of our left hands like members of the royal family applauding the performance of the libretto introduction to of Puccini's La Bohéme at The Albert Hall. Emotion and excitement can be as scarce as free thought at a Lyndon La Rouche rally.

Or we can crank up the volume and let the world know that we are nerds with a pulse! When a team does well, they can be shown appreciation for their performance by a crowd that makes their presence known. Energy and enthustiasm can be so blatantly obvious that people serenely driving past Atlanta - by way of St. Louis - will stop their cars and ask “what is all the excitement about?” We can be louder than an accelerating Concorde (just not quite as pretty), and let the world know that we are having a good time!

I want to get so excited that we make more noise than a Metallica concert, get more pumped up than any NCAA final four crowd, generate more energy than the entire starting field at the Indy 500, and show more glitz and style than any silly Hollywood tour down the red carpet. The bleachers at a FIRST competition should be full of people blasting energy out of every pore of their bodies.

Given a choice, I will hang with the headbangers any day of the week.

-dave

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by dlavery

I want to get so excited that we make more noise than a Metallica concert...

Given a choice, I will hang with the headbangers any day of the week.

-dave

Hmm...Dave as a headbanger at a Metallica concert? I smell Heidi's next Photoshop masterpiece...

Or perhaps such doctoring is unnecessary - maybe Dave has some pics from back in his "wild days" he'd be willing to share with us?

Either way...ROCK ON, DAVE!!!!

By the way, nowhere in Dave's post does it say that we all need to be STANDING or blocking people's views to exude the energy he is seeking. Most of his references were to MAKING NOISE. Again, that's the key. I imagine there are certain emotionally-charged moments at an event where EVERYONE should be standing and acting crazy, but they are just that - MOMENTS, meaning TEMPORARY.

Be loud all the time! However, out of respect for others, try to remain seated unless your admiration for an award winner or speaker or your absolute excitement over an event on the field forces you to explode up out of your chair to release that energy that's bubbling over. No one's chaining you down in your seats - just try to be judicious and respectful when choosing when to stand up!

[Daniel Brim]

Again, what's wrong with sitting down and making noise? If people are sitting during matches, everyone can see and then people can get even more excited about being at an event?

Just because an event is exciting doesn't mean you can forget your manners

-Daniel

[Ali Ahmed]

Originally Posted by dlavery

So it seems that we are being presented with two options as audience members.

We can sit quietly and stoically, politely patting our right fingertips into the palm of our left hands like members of the royal family applauding the performance of the libretto introduction to of Puccini's La Bohéme at The Albert Hall. Emotion and excitement can be as scarce as free thought at a Lyndon La Rouche rally.

Or we can crank up the volume and let the world know that we are nerds with a pulse! When a team does well, they can be shown appreciation for their performance by a crowd that makes their presence known. Energy and enthustiasm can be so blatantly obvious that people serenely driving past Atlanta - by way of St. Louis - will stop their cars and ask “what is all the excitement about?” We can be louder than an accelerating Concorde (just not quite as pretty), and let the world know that we are having a good time!

I want to get so excited that we make more noise than a Metallica concert, get more pumped up than any NCAA final four crowd, generate more energy than the entire starting field at the Indy 500, and show more glitz and style than any silly Hollywood tour down the red carpet. The bleachers at a FIRST competition should be full of people blasting energy out of every pore of their bodies.

Given a choice, I will hang with the headbangers any day of the week.

-dave

Yes, yes, and yes. This is exactly how we FIRSTers should act at competition, the loud part I mean. And not only at comps, but outside in the world whenever and wherever we are trying to promote FIRST. I always get happy when teams stand for their team or any other team during the competition. We were standing for 330 and 254 during Finals on Einstein.

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by Tiki

How about this, some people bring ear plugs and people can cheer as loud as they want

But MOE dose bring ear plugs, and we give them out to.

[KORN_lover_2007]

It does make me so sad when people talk bad about teams cheering and standing up and dancing. It is the true spirit of FIRST to cheer for people who have worked hard to reach a goal of theirs, plus it is tons of fun to stand up and dance between matches. A robotics competition is not something you can just sit down quietly and watch, you can't help but scream your head off and dance like nobody's watching. It is nice to sit down during a match if your team is not up, but there's no reason to not get your groove on in between. Thank you team 365 for your spirit award, that was really cool.

[George A.]

Ok, I've got to give my two cents. Being part of the best MC/Announcer team in FIRST I can tell you that I love it when people get loud and spirited. At NJ they were loud, but they could be louder. I was really surprised that not more people were spirited at NYC when I was the MC this year. It made things really hard to get the crowd into it. In Atlanta however, granted people got tired after three days but, you work six weeks on this creation and when you see it working on the field then you SHOULD be excited.

I know my team (11) has a large group (number varies from competition to competition so i'll give a rough estimate of about 50) and they make their presence known. That being said we do stand for the entirty of our matches, but we do try to sit towards the back where people won't be disturbed.

I know that if I come home from and competition and I still have a nuiance of my voice left, my mom goes "what went wrong?"

I think Paul Kloberg says it best when he says "We all know the original meaning of the acronym FIRST, For Inpiration and Recognition of Science and Technology...but there's another meaning that Woody and Dean don't want you to know about...FUN IS REQUIRED, SO TOLERATE"

That's all from me this time.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by DanielBCR

What is boggling me right now is why is sitting and having fun mutually exclusive?

I agree, I just can't seem to sit down when the tension is high or my team/alliance is playing a great match. I won't stand the whole day except as inspector unless I am far back up in the stands.

As far as etiquette, that is usually decided by someone who has decided to become the arbiter and no one argues with them. As I see it, standing is OK when your team is playing an exciting match, when giving a standing ovation or when stretching between the action. At other times it requires that one be aware of their surroundings and if it is obvious that people behind you are trying to see around/through you, standing for no good reason is not good etiquette. It is also not appropriate to expect someone at one of these events to stay seated at all times and one must expect that a standing ovation may result in temporary blocked vision. What would your grandmother expect you to do? My 97 year old grandmother expects me to give respect and recognition where due and to think about those around me.

[Daniel Brim]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

I agree, I just can't seem to sit down when the tension is high or my team/alliance is playing a great match. I won't stand the whole day except as inspector unless I am far back up in the stands.

As far as etiquette, that is usually decided by someone who has decided to become the arbiter and no one argues with them. As I see it, standing is OK when your team is playing an exciting match, when giving a standing ovation or when stretching between the action. At other times it requires that one be aware of their surroundings and if it is obvious that people behind you are trying to see around/through you, standing for no good reason is not good etiquette. It is also not appropriate to expect someone at one of these events to stay seated at all times and one must expect that a standing ovation may result in temporary blocked vision. What would your grandmother

Maybe I should have phrased that a bit differently. I meant: "How come you can't be excited while sitting down?" I agree with two of your times when it's appropriate to stand: Between matches and stretching. However, my grandmother prefers to see the matches and not the back of somebody's head

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by DanielBCR

Maybe I should have phrased that a bit differently. I meant: "How come you can't be excited while sitting down?" I agree with two of your times when it's appropriate to stand: Between matches and stretching. However, my grandmother prefers to see the matches

I don't know the answer to that one. I am usually pretty reserved and quiet, actually a bit shy. When there is a team I know or my team performing and it is a really great match, there is just something that takes over. Oh, I whistle and yell and end up not being able to talk much on Sunday either.

[Jverdon]

I look at FIRST like a flu, and cheering is one of the simptums. So catch it!

[the_short1]

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

2. We want to win an award too. We have pouted because we did not win a certain award. However, oddly enough, it feels better to stand up and clap for the other team who won the award we *think* we deserve. In my opinion, this is theraputic for us. I recommend trying it for other teams who think they deserve an award but believe they are snubbed.
Andy B.

yes..our team did too kinda. . at the champs .. when our team did not win the rookie all-star award (our main goal at the champs), we were quite sad and most of our team members sat down and pouted.. but i insisted as best i could to ppl to stand up and congrat team 1511, because i know they deserved it more then us, even though i wish we won it, and i know that if we were there it would feel good that other rookie teams would congratulate us), ,. it did feel better to congratulate them, then to pout over it , that we came all the way over here and have nothing to show, but its ok cuz it was an awsome experience, you gota take the positive from it


i encourage all teams to cheer for teams that win awards that you thought you might win, as really, its therapeutic, and it makes them feel good too :d

[Mike Soukup]

Originally Posted by DanielBCR

How come you can't be excited while sitting down?

I'm not sure why I'm replying since it appears that everyone is repeatedly posting their opinions without bothering to read, process, and understand the opinions of others. But I'll do it anyway.

Have you ever been to a sporting event? Football games are an excellent example. Most of the game people sit in the stands and cheer while when their team makes a good play. Usually when the QB throws a bomb to a streaking receiver people stand in anticipation of a long completion. Occasionally the team gets a much needed sack, completes a long pass, or gets a long run (some teams unfortunately accomplish these feats less often than others ) and fans all over the stadium stand to and go nuts. Sure it's possible to be excited while sitting, but it's easier to get more excited and show your excitement while standing. People spontaneously stand and cheer when they're excited; it's human nature, you can't change it.

[Daniel Brim]

Originally Posted by Mike Soukup

I'm not sure why I'm replying since it appears that everyone is repeatedly posting their opinions without bothering to read, process, and understand the opinions of others. But I'll do it anyway.

Have you ever been to a sporting event? Football games are an excellent example. Most of the game people sit in the stands and cheer while when their team makes a good play. Usually when the QB throws a bomb to a streaking receiver people stand in anticipation of a long completion. Occasionally the team gets a much needed sack, completes a long pass, or gets a long run (some teams unfortunately accomplish these feats less often than others ) and fans all over the stadium stand to and go nuts. Sure it's possible to be excited while sitting, but it's easier to get more excited and show your excitement while standing. People spontaneously stand and cheer when they're excited; it's human nature, you can't change it.

Yes, I'm a huge baseball fan. I only stand up when I see that 1) people behind me are capable of standing up and 2) they are already standing or 3) the game is not in progress. I think it is rude to stand in somebody's way, especially when they can't do anything about it (like I was pretty much at last year's championships).

I was at an Angels game this year, and I was dismayed at the moving traffic in the isles during the game, and that can be equated to a FIRST event. We were pretty far up the 3rd base line, so we were looking through the isle to see the game, but due to Los Angeles area sports fans arriving late, I saw about 1/2 of the game. Eventually we moved behind home plate, but I'm sure there were people who could not do so.

[Denman]

Originally Posted by Steve W

I understand why people make big signs. I also don't have a problem with them waving them in the stands. I do agree that they should not be doing so during matches. The same goes with standing during matches. If you go to a concert, any type of game or entertainment it is a common courtesy that you remain seated during the event. To jump up in excitement at an event when something happens is natural but to stand through the whole match is unnecessary and rude. You can still clap, cheer, show excitement, just sitting down.

We have a big uk flag which we tend to have , but say we have 4 rows of people we will try and make the lower rows hold itso not to block other peoples views. We have it because we are proud of being English and its part of our team. If you saw us at nyc, you would have seen us in union jack shirts too and that the robot had small union jacks attached. (This in part helped us win the Imagry award).