Most Recognizable Teams

I gotta agree with tubatroopa. anyone can spot 254's pieces of art in any competition. Not only do their robots look cool, but their pits are amazing! It's like the people from Pimp my Pit came and had it professionally done.

Aside from them, another very noticeable team that hasn't been named yet is team 692, the Fembots. 233 aren't the only people in pink, and you can't go through SVR without seeing their pink uniforms and magnificent robots!

[LeelandS]

To me, the teams that everyone recognizes are the teams who pick a theme... and shove it down our throats until we can't possibly forget it.

Yes, PINK and MOE have that down pat. PINK, of course, has the color pink EVERYWHERE. On their shirts, their robot, their wigs. They shove pink down our throats until we can't help but associate that color with them. In the stands, the pits or the field, you see a mass of pink, you can't help but know that 233 is coming up.

It's the same principal with MOE and Wildstang, with the Neon Green and Tie-Dye. You see lime green, you're looking at either MOE or Thunderchickens. You see that mass of tie-dye, you're looking at Wildstang.

Another way to make your team recognizable is through sheer robot performance and imagery. I know, if I see a black and red robot, with red light coming out of it somewhere, I'm looking at a Robowrangler robot. Royal Blue? Cheesy Poofs. Honeycomb designs? Killer Bees.

The point is, to be recognizable, what you're looking for is a theme you can put into everything you do. The Killer Bees have been brought up. They take that "Bee" theme, and they put it in their cheers. Their robot. Their costumes.
What you need to do, is be able to build an association with your gimmick so strong, you could remove all references to a team name and number from a shirt and robot, and be able to still recognize whose team it is. Memorable logos help to.

If you're looking for examples, I know I could look at the following teams without their numbers or names, and recognize their robot or shirt:
33, 111, 148, 188, 191, 217, 233, 234, 254, 330, 340, 341, 359, 469, 781, 1114, 1503, 1511, 1625...
Well, the list goes on and on. All these teams either have a color, a logo, or a specific style that I will always be able to look at from the top of the bleachers and say "Oh, that's xxxx".

Hope this helps.

Leeland pretty much summed it up. Good job!

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by Tubatroopa

Team 254 has a nice blue robot with the signature transformers logo every year.

Autobots take umbrage with this statement.

[Andrew Schreiber]

To me 47 and 65 will always be among the most recognizable teams for me.

47 had been rocking the orange as long as I can remember and their mascot always sticks with me. Course, that might have been because I saw so much of it on CD....

65 was the original black, red, white camo pants. To this day when I see black/red/white camo I think, "65 is here?"

[Travis Hoffman]

Locally, the Girard RoboCats of Team 379 are very recognizable with their bright red shirts. They are also usually one of the more spirited teams in the venue.

CIA Team 291's orange button-down shirts also stand out.

[avanboekel]

Originally Posted by Jared341

MOE and Pink are, for my money, the most recognizable teams in FIRST.

I think that 111 also falls into that category. Their team colors are always incorporated into their bot and spirit-wear very well. It's hard to miss!

[holygrail]

I find that it is a combination of theme and also having a great robot. At the Kansas City Regional, I always take notice of SWAT - Team 1806 because they dress up in SWAT team uniforms which is both cool and intimidating. Also, Team Driven (1730) - Great Pit and robot, Titanium (1986) Great logo with the eyes and consistently good robot, also I see kids wearing their shirts all over town, Liberty Robotics (1764) - Great Pit and very nice uniforms, and Ravonics Revolution (1710) - Very spirited and they have a cool boombox that they play while we are all waiting to get into the event that gets everyone psyched.

[DonRotolo]

What Leeland1126 said.

But yes, having a relatively successful team helps, if nothing else than by appearing at more venues (e.g., CMP). I know several teams that have a great and unique team theme, carried for years, and makes you think of them whenever you see them...but they've only ever appeared at NJ, so even teams in Philly (under an hour south) wouldn't "recognize" them.

So, like many things in life, it is a combination of a brand and awareness.