Thanks and Congrats 1114, 469, 2041

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Congratulations for a supreme effort on Einstein. Thanks for the great showing all weekend.

For a small team (six students) from Chicago's inner city, 2041 was able to play on the big stage and bring home a Gold medal for the division and a Silver World Championship Finalist medal. I am sure their school will be in shock today when they start hearing about the great showing over the weekend.

[delsaner]

My heart was pounding every time you guys came onto the field. You guys played phenomenal matches throughout Curie and Einstein. It was an honor playing you guys in the finals. Good job, and congratulations.

[DarkFlame145]

Those last 2 matches had to of been some of the best I have seen from any game since I started FIRST.

[dag0620]

You guys preformed amazingly over the weekend. Congradulations to your win on Curie, and being the Finalists in Einstiein!

[Rich Olivera]

Thank you 1114 and 469. All of us on team 2041 were very excited to be paired with two such powerhouses.

Karthik, Jeff, Todd, Kyle and all the rest of the 1114 crew:
I have always heard that it's wise to spend a little time and learn how the best teams operate. That was very true this weekend. Seeing the success of 1114 on the field is nowhere near as inspiring as seeing the methods and the approach which brings about that success. Everything from strategy to robot repair was well thought out and planned. When 2041 had no carts to bring our tools out to the field, you had us covered. When we lacked the tools and parts to quickly fix our robot, you had us covered. You settled us down and gave us a routine inspection after every match. On top of this, you really managed to make us feel like a welcome part of the alliance. Your team augmented our ability in every way possible and I think that is what truly sets you apart.

Daniel, Art, and the rest of the 469 Crew
What can I say that has not been said by countless others? Your team has had a HUGE target on its back ever since your robot was unveiled and you handled that burden beautifully. You guys truly had the game figured out from day one and I was honored to work with you. 2041 was also glad to have your technical expertise when trying to figure out how we could quickly reinforce our cracked wheels.

Its no wonder why every team in our division was hoping to be in our position. We are very lucky to have this experience and I am certain my students will carry the memories for a long time to come.

[Tom Bottiglieri]

I can't begin to explain how good 2041 was at defense.

We had been preparing on how to beat 1114 and 469 since divisions came out. We made autonomous modes that would wedge the robot in the tunnel. We practiced against a ball return in the far zone. We watched every video of 469 we could for hours on end.

We expected the third robot to be a home zone scorer, to put in all the deflected and missed balls coming off 469's ramps. What we didn't expect was a dominant defensive team, which could shut down our ability to clear the cycle. This was a brilliant strategic move by 1114 in picking the alliance.

[Rick Wagner]

Congratulations to 469 for winning the Creativity Award. You have an awesome machine with a huge autonomous mode. Extremely reliable.

[Joaquin Moreno]

I would like to thank teams 1114 and 469 for inviting us into your alliance, I honestly could not even imagine getting as far as we did. It felt so surreal to be standing at Einstein next to 2 of the best teams there are. This is definitely one of my proudest achievements and i could not have done it without you guys. You have help our team so much, in so many ways. I look forward to doing this again next year.

I was so amazed by what our alliance partners were capable of, I found the sight of 469's robot opening its arms to direct balls to be beautiful. And 1114's "reverse arm curl" elevation was just stunning, in how fast it happened and the fact that it happened.
It was truly an honor to work with you guys, and i hope it is not the last time we find ourselves allied with each other.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Rich Olivera

I have always heard that it's wise to spend a little time and learn how the best teams operate.

How very true. The openness and willingness of these teams to share their expertise and talent - even with teams working against them in the division finals! - is what makes these teams truly great. How the robot performs is trivial compared to that.

[Agentarrow]

Wow, such great responses!
Though I was not down on the field, I must say that the competition was simply Riveting! 1676, 111, and the rest of curie put on a show and a serious competition. I could not stop my pounding heart during each and every nail biter match!

1114 and 2041:
While I did not get to meet many of you personally, Your robots were exceptional and deserved every victory (and then some). Not only were the qualifiers a serious competition, but the eliminations, and of course Einstein, were even more so. I cannot express my gratitude to all teams for putting on such an amazing show, it truly was watching the best!