Standing Up During Competition...

[miketwalker]

I have to hop on and agree that there is no correct answer to this one. I know that I don't mind when other teams are up or something happens and they get up screaming for it, because to try to calm that type of excitement with the robots after everything seems illogical to me.

In the past two years, (though I did have many of these views when a student on ComBBAT) I have noticed that promoting that spirit can be infectious at a competition. I know that coming up with the "Oink! Oink! BOOM!" and screaming until I can't talk for the next week and half at competitions is probably the best thing I could have possibly contributed to this team. The students have a blast, the parents have a blast, random onlookers have a blast. Walking into a company with a presentation that they hear all the time asking for money is one thing, but walking in there with a Boom! (literally) wakes them up and makes them go "Wow, you really love this stuff!"

I think that building that spirit needs to be both in the community and at the competition, and because of that to make rules or to force teams to sit during their own match is rude. I do agree with stuff like what Dave said where in Georgia it's a nice compromise to get up before the match and then afterwards.

At the same time, I know that it's interesting what Budda was saying, because usually announcers will get into your cheering or the image you create with your team. I know there's something about listening to Andy Grady saying "Here comes the bacon" that warms all of our little hearts. Lol. The only thing I would suggest in regards to that is to be cautious with your timing, be loud, be proud, do it often, but try to fit it in to the blank spots. For example, I know on Einstein this past weekend there was a silent period for like at least 5 seconds and I just thought "Wait, this is too good to be true" and hopped up Oinking and the whole group and a bunch of teams near us joined in and from what I've heard the field crew got into it on Einstein and that's the type of effect you want to have, fill in the gaps, get everyone having fun when there are those awkward times. Just, timing is critical since things do go crazy and you can block people, but like 111 said, there are tons of times you can do it and then still cheer from your seats in a match and keep that energy up.

Finally, and probably most importantly, for regionals, why not ask your committee to try to do something like New Jersey where they have a dance/cheer pit so your team can go down there during matches or whenever to get everyone going? Often times regionals don't realize the benefits of little things like that, so I'd highly encourage you to get in touch with them.

[Vikesrock]

I think part of this problem stems from the growth of FIRST and the growing number of "spectators" attending events. These spectators may not realize how much work went into building these robots and that the crazy environment is part of what makes FIRST special.

At a football game people can stand and cheer when a great play happens or at the beginning of a game, but standing through the whole game is typically discouraged. Cheering on the other handm, can be as loud as you want, whnever you want. I think we can apply a similar attitude to these events. Standing and cheering as your team is introduced is a great way to support your drivers and show your spirit. If your team/alliance does something great (eg creates a row of 6/7/8, gets a last second ramp ect..) you should be able to stand up and cheer. When the match scores are put up, people should be free to stand and shout as well.

Standing during an entire match can become a bit frustrating for those seated behind you especially as more and more unaffiliated spectators begin to attend the events.

If teams want to stand for the whole match, providing an area or section of the stands to do so may be a good compromise for events where this is possible.