Team 20 would like to ...

[kristenliz_28]

I would like to say, as my own opinion, not the entire team's, that atlanta was a very humbling experience. After being on the team for two years and being chosen at every regional/championship, it was very ego deflating to go 5-2 in atlanta and not get picked. I'm not trying to sound stuck up, it's just that I felt our bot had so much potential. I'm a very competitive person, and the past few years have inflated my ego to a point where I expect our team to excel at every event, and I think maybe my standards have almost been too high >.<
That being said, it was just weird to see the alliance selections appear on the screen in the pit and not have a big 20 gleaming up there ... but in the end this just gives me more drive for next year. I would also like to thank every alliance partner we had in atlanta for seven great matches (ten points from beating 67 gah =P )

sometimes you need to be knocked down a few notches in order to see how good you've had it =D



Hopefully, I will see you all next year in atlanta, and I will finally find that darn first store haha

P.S Team 93: you really 'borrowed' our cad designs and completely redesigned your robot to match ours?!?!? what?!?!

[JewishDan18]

I feel that the greatest compliment that can be made is imitation; in that sense, we were one of the best, as our design was completely copied by 93. I'm proud that they fared so much better with the design than we did, and I wish them similar luck with our CAD files in the future.

[jblay]

i was very surprised that you guys weren't picked after seeing you guys at hartford and on galileo via the webcast. in my opinion there were a few teams picked that you should have been picked over. you guys had a great bot. one of the most unique designs of the year. you guys were fast and devastating.

[Doug Leppard]

Yes it is humbling. 2007 we were on Einstein and 2008 we were not picked. It was hard. But we bounced back. Great team like 20 will succeed.

Thanks for being so humble on your feelings, helps the rest of us.

[JVN]

You guys had an incredible season. As an alumni I was so proud to see your awesome machine when it was unveiled. What made me even more proud was to see you guys working so hard to make it better as the season went on! Now THAT is the secret to success...

I can't wait to see what 2010 brings, because I know you'll be stronger than ever before. This is the beginning of something huge...

-John

[Ryan Dognaux]

I was extremely surprised that you were not picked up. T'is the nature of The Georgia Dome - Everything's all crazy and you can't ever predict anything, including alliance pairings. Great looking / performing robot. Be proud, that machine is awesome.

[Chief Samwize]

I know that feeling, this being my senior year it was a little heartbreaking to not be picked but as you said, it brings you back down to earth. It has been a great season, thanks to everyone for making it happen.

-Sam

[Jrock0793]

Everyone played great and it was a fun week in Atlanta, and thats all that really matters. True, it was humbling to not get picked, but that is the way things go. I think everyone did a good job this year and should be proud that their team made it to nationals. Congrats to everyone who won awards and those who put up a good fight. Good luck next year, and see you on the playing feild!

[hoorayforpink]

We were also not selected on the Newton field after going 3-4. After so many years of great success including back to back Einstein appearances (2007 and 2008), plus The finals of Archimedes losing to the eventual winning alliance, and generally considered to be a strong team ever since my freshman year. Being my senior year, and the fact that I was the base driver who sucked it pretty hard, makes me pretty sad about it all.

But We've had a lot of success and it was humbling to be a middle of the field robot. To go into matches knowing that each one was gonna be a struggle. It was kinda exhilarating. In the end I don't regret too much, our team had just as much fun as ever, we learned alot, and we made friendships with some new teams, as well as keeping some older friendships alive and well. Yes it would have been nice to add another banner or two to our collection but FIRST is about more than banners.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Doug Leppard

Yes it is humbling. 2007 we were on Einstein and 2008 we were not picked. It was hard. But we bounced back. Great team like 20 will succeed.

Thanks for being so humble on your feelings, helps the rest of us.

I can go back to the lists to confirm that you were the top of our list for that second round pick last year, but no need because I know you were. Something came up right before selections that threw off what we had planned, before that, you were our number #1 selection for a third partner if that's any consolation.

[Adam Freeman]

You guys had an very good robot this year. It was good enough to make our scout's top 24 list. It seems there are always some elimination picks that seem questionable.

67 went from winning both the Championship and the Chairmans award in 2005 to not getting selected for the eliminations at Atlanta in 2006. Our 2006 robot was a basket case, most of the time it would not make it through an entire match without something falling apart.

But, I still remember the disappointment sitting there watching the finals and Chairmans award being presented that year.

From that experience we knew we had to work harder and smarter to get back to the level we wanted.

Those experiences in 2006 helped us this year. There was a point very close to our first competition that we were not nearly prepared to compete at the level we wanted too. The thoughts of repeating another 2006 were very realistic in my mind. Our team had to pull together and dedicate the extra effort needed to improve our robot.

I know it is cliche, but this experience will help you and Team 20 in the future.

[kristenliz_28]

Thanks to everybody for your support =D I'm looking forward to the '10 season (my senior year), I hope it brings an awesome game ... plus there's battle cry at WPI in a few weeks and I am PUMPED !!