The Update, it fixes nothing! (AKA: why is everyone so excited about Update #16?)

[gblake]

OK - So if you want to win games you do that by

... shooting BALLS into a GOAL, climbing on the ALLIANCE TOWER or PLATFORM, or by lifting an ALLIANCE ROBOT off the PLAYING SURFACE.

Now, on the other hand, if you want to win tournaments (become the event Champions) you do it through this process:

The purpose of the qualifying matches is to allow each team to earn a seeding position that may qualify them for participation in the elimination matches. The purpose of the elimination matches is to determine the event Champions.

With me so far? - I know I am stating the obvious.

Now let's check which of these is celebrated.

Hmmm, I can't find a won-lots-of-matches award for teams to earn at an event, but I can find a Champion award and a Finalist Award; and I can find a Highest Rookie Seed award. the path to all three of these awards seems to have more to do with Seeding points and Coopertition bonus than with Win/Loss stats.

So, enjoy winning games if that is what floats your boat, and enjoy trying to win the tournament if that is what floats your boat; but please don't use the phrase "Throwing a ___" to describe either circumstance.

People playing to win every match when their team is unable to do so well enough to win the tournament can be accused of "Throwing the tournament" just as easily as people playing to win the tournament can be accused of "Throwing a match". My point isn't that both statements would be equally right; my point is that both would be equally wrong.

Again, if you are playing baseball, soccer, bowling or similar games, I have never heard of a reason to purposefully lose a game that matters to the team's post-season play. But we aren't playing those games. We are playing Breakaway games during an FRC tournament.

I recommend banishing the phrase "Throwing a match" from the lexicon we use to describe the 6v0 strategy, and any related strategies. It was that phrase that got my dander up.

Blake
PS: I think Molten and I are on the same page or are close enough - I hope that is true for other readers too.
PPS: Vikes - You and I can reach a meeting of the minds if you are willing to join me in asserting that mid- and low-level teams attempting to win every match (and predictably failing to do so) are "Throwing the tournament"; or (preferably) join me in asserting that using 6v0 is not "throwing" anything.