What's the point of going to Nationals?

[Ken Leung]

Well, I am not sure how people view this... After all, different teams have different goals.

But really, why do every team want to go to Nationals so badly? Well, a few obivious answers came to my mind: To become the best of the country, to meet every other teams, to attend the award ceremony...

But when FIRST go infinitly larger, how are teams going to meet every other teams? With the division last year, team's area of contact is already cut down to a little bit more than 1/4 since they are all so busy with the competition anyway... So, that is already limited no matter what happen to Nats.

So, what's the point of going to Nats? If we are participating in a competition, then shouldn't it make sense to be the winner... or should it?

If awards aren't the most valuable thing in this competition, then why attend to the award ceremony? Why bother to spend all these money to go to a really hot and crowded place and fight for something with 300 other teams? Why not just take what you already gain and be settle with them? Do teams really want to be recognized so badly?

Is it because of the vacation? Is it because of the rides?

Do we feel the need to be physically in a really large group of people (who have the same goal as ours) in order to realize that we are doing something bigger than anything in our lives?

Should people really be this eager to go to Nats?