"We Are the Champions" and GP?

[Elgin Clock]

http://www.lyrics007.com/print.php?id=TkRJNE1qY3k

If you look at the rest of the lyrics, and not just the chorus it actually applies more to the overall goals of FIRST than just a song to play at the end of Finals.

But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise -
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race -
And I ain't gonna lose -

What's the challenge before the whole human race we are accomplishing within FIRST? Is it a win in the final rounds of a competition that won't mean anything a year from now when we start over again?
No.

The challenge laid upon us all by FIRST is to inspire, and educate kids about science & technology.

If this is the challenge that Queen is talking about when analyzed to apply to the FIRST world, then I sure as heck don't want any losers bringing us forward into the 21st century and beyond when it comes to educating our kids.

I've paid my dues -
Time after time -
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime -
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But I've come through

What's the "sentence" we've all had to pay? Is there a reason we all call it (sometimes jokingly) the six weeks of he-double hockey sticks? lol

We have commited no crimes, except when we have excluded people from participating in FIRST (but none of us would think about doing that now would we?)

Bad mistakes? Sure. Every year. Ever thought about the competition at the end of the year, and said to yourself, or to your teammates, "what if we had only had this feature, or what if we had only made this improvement on our bot like team XXX has done?
Then would we be more famous this year and made it to the "big show"?
Would we be recognized more?
We all as individuals have ego's to feed, and even as a team we strive to feed our ego's and do the best we can, but small mistakes along the way happen.
It's human nature, and the nature of competition.

We've all lost matches. We've all had "sand kicked in our face" by a loss. It's not intentional, but it's the nature of competition, there are winners, and there are people who go home without winning trophies.

But in the end, we've all "come through" better people from this experience, haven't we?

Have you ever lost a regional, and then just given up with your team, or with FIRST in general?

If you have spent the time to read all of this, then I'm guessing your answer to that question is a big NO.

It's not about winners, it's not about losers, it's about inspiration, and all that comes with that.

The only losers in FIRST are those who can't be bothered to teach the new generation of students coming through the program a little something before they leave their teams behind and move on.

Leaving knowledge behind to the younger generation, even if it's only someone a year or 2 younger than you, is truely making you a champion, and in the end securing your legacy.

Those who fail to do that and don't share their knowledge before they move on... well... that "L" word that is in question within this song can certainly come into play in that situation imho.