What are some infamous FIRST teams?

Of course there's all of the teams in FIRST people know about; old championship winners, robots with epic designs from years ago, or just some teams are known because of what they do for the community and whatnot.

Before dinner tonight, I had just previously found out 71 has one 4 National Championships in their lifetime. I thought "Huh, they're like the Yankees; they always win, except nobody hates them." So I got to thinking. Are there any teams out there that were famous for spreading bad luck and violating the spirit of FIRST? I'm interested in FIRST history, and this is just another part of it.

[Chris is me]

Nobody hates the Yankees? You've never been to Boston obviously.

Anyhow, if such teams exist you're not going to hear about them on Chief Delphi. Such tales of teams throwing matches, working to sabotage others, etc. all eventually snowball and are usually on shaky credibility ground to begin with. Plus many members don't believe it's in the spirit of GP to mention teams that "suck" or to call out teams that go against everything FIRST stands for.

[EricH]

If there were, they wouldn't be in FIRST for long. There are teams that are infamous for continually thinking outside the box, like the aforementioned team 71. This is the good kind of infamy.

Also, I'm fairly certain that few of those teams, should there be any, would WANT to have their "exploits" dragged out years later.

The one exception (and please note: 1. they were NOT the only team to do this and 2. this was PERFECTLY LEGAL when they did it, which is why it is no longer legal) would be team 121. They are infamous for tipping lots of robots during the last year that tipping was legal. As I said, they were NOT the only team; several did so. They are not the reason for the rule; the widespread tipping is.

There are incidents that happen from time to time with things that are questionably legal, on individual machines. These are dealt with very quickly. If you want some information on one such incident that was widespread, search CD for threads from 2002 with the words "tape measure".

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Nobody hates the Yankees? You've never been to Boston obviously.

Anyhow, if such teams exist you're not going to hear about them on Chief Delphi. Such tales of teams throwing matches, working to sabotage others, etc. all eventually snowball and are usually on shaky credibility ground to begin with. Plus many members don't believe it's in the spirit of GP to mention teams that "suck" or to call out teams that go against everything FIRST stands for.

You misunderstood me. I meant 71 is like the Yankees, except nobody hates 71. I'm well aware people hate the Yankees, considering I don't live under a rock (too often...).

EricH: Yeah, I've seen some of those old matches, I can't believe what used to be legal for robots. The old designs seems so foreign sometimes when compared with today's.

[Rick TYler]

I would prefer to focus on successful, friendly, competitive teams rather than on the minority that might be violating the spirit of youth robotics competitions. There seems (to me) to be little gained by focusing on the negative.

If you mean "infamous" in the sense of "teams that do amazing things that makes them great and I 'hate' them in a joking, semi-jealous way," there are lots of those, but it's more about "We are working to get that good" not "they are bad people." If that makes any sense.

[ttldomination]

I wouldn't say that there is ONE team that is notorious throughout for being BAD. I mean FIRST is based off connections and being nice to people, generally if you're looking to get into the finals.

BUT you will see rivalries all over the place. I do believe there is a rivalries thread somewhere in these forums.

[Stephen Kowski]

ask old timers in person at competitions....i doubt many on here are going to publicly gonna call teams out out....

that and each "infamous" team is only relevant if you consider the history of the person you are talking too

[smurfgirl]

Originally Posted by jpmittins

Are there any teams out there that were famous for spreading bad luck and violating the spirit of FIRST?

I don't think this is something that we should be highlighting or that anyone wants to point out, if there are any of these teams. It should be seen as a positive reflection on the program that there aren't any teams that are well-known for a negative or anti-GP spirit. All "rivalries" in FIRST are friendly rivalries. This is not a program that thrives off of negative energy, so there should be no reason for us to have to discuss it.

[ShotgunNinja]

I'd like to propose a couple of teams, from a Midwestern standpoint.

WildStang (cuz they won)
Winnovation (cuz they always win, it seems)
Fondy Fire (cuz they have a John Deere tractor for a robot )
U.P.S. (cuz they're awesome)
More Robotics ('cuz they're a huge team, and the slogan...)

And of course my two teams, 1652 (Robot Mafia!) and 2970, because without them, I wouldn't be in FIRST, much less have been able to storm the Nationals.

[Raumiester2010]

if you want a robot that was infamous, you should see one of our previous ones.
in Stack Attack, they designed a robot that could score a ton in the beginning and than shut down the entire field in a matter of 30 seconds... there was nothing in the rules against that

we showed it off on Chief Delphi after ship and they told the team that if they brought it to competition, they wouldent let us play...

not our fault we figured out how to break the game

[Alex Cormier]

Originally Posted by Raumiester2010

if you want a robot that was infamous, you should see one of our previous ones.
in Stack Attack, they designed a robot that could score a ton in the beginning and than shut down the entire field in a matter of 30 seconds... there was nothing in the rules against that

we showed it off on Chief Delphi after ship and they told the team that if they brought it to competition, they wouldent let us play...

not our fault we figured out how to break the game

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/14988

What an excellent looking robot that year. I recall looking at that when it was first put up and my jaw hit the floor and bounced twice.

[Joe Matt]

Originally Posted by jpmittins

Are there any teams out there that were famous for spreading bad luck and violating the spirit of FIRST?

Yes, but you'll never get anyone to talk about it on CD...

[Akash Rastogi]

Can a robot be infamous for being too extremely beastly? XD

If so, 25's Evil Machines are some of the sickest robots around especially their 03 and 06 robots. Pure dominance man.

[Molten]

*Sits around campsite for ghost story*
There is said to be a team out there with devastating ability. Every year their robot shock and amaze all who gaze upon it. People wonder if it could have been built by students. But therein lies the tale. You see, this team didn't build their bot. They get it built for them. The rumor goes that a team of the best engineers get together to build a robot. They find kids to drive it and put on a show. Their goal is to ruin the fun of FIRST for all who dare compete against them. Nobody sees them coming, and nobody sees them go. There are just massive complaints of their doing, without any real evidence. Nobody even knows the number of said team. I say they don't exist....but the rumor always arises every so often.
*Ends ghost story, starts fact*

Honestly, there is no team that matches the above story. For one reason, nobody has ever mentioned a single team number that they are accusing. Everytime somebody brings up the possiblity. They say something like, "Did you see that team at the X regional? There is no way students built it." The ALWAYS leave out the number. Half the time they leave out the regional. Next, there is no motive. Honestly, there is no cash prize for winning this competition, so there is no reason for engineers to do such a thing. Honestly, the very idea seems ridiculous to me. However, legends are a part of FIRST history. And that is what this thread is about.

Disclaimer: Everything I've posted here is meant to be informative for those interested in the legends of FIRST. They are in no way suggesting that such a team exists. In fact, as I've stated above, I do not believe such a team exists. Please just read it for your own amusement.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Raumiester2010

if you want a robot that was infamous, you should see one of our previous ones.
in Stack Attack, they designed a robot that could score a ton in the beginning and than shut down the entire field in a matter of 30 seconds... there was nothing in the rules against that

we showed it off on Chief Delphi after ship and they told the team that if they brought it to competition, they wouldent let us play...

not our fault we figured out how to break the game

No way, you cant shut down the field, someone would push you (Finding that picture was a trip, I remember going through 27's old robots years ago and seeing some of the robots from those games, simply awesome machines)

Infamous teams, 71 in 2002 and 1114 in 2008 come to mind. 71 because it was so dominant and 1114 because of the firestorm they caused by winning how many events? Not saying these were bad things, just saying they are pretty well known events.

Another one, 25 in 2006 comes to mind as a bot mentioned constantly.

As far as infamous FIRSTers, Dave Lavery comes to mind just look at game hints for why. The man is positively cruel at times. (Needless to say, he is among the people I want to shake hands with someday because he is that awesome!)