F stand for Fame in FIRST?

[Andy Grady]

Originally Posted by Andy A.

Fame? You think its bad being famous...

Between Andy B. and Andy G. being Andy A. has some unspoken expectations put on it.

Seriously folks, living up to the Andy lastinitialhere. name thing is a little rough at times. I find my self lying awake at night trying to think of ways to make the Andy's who have come before me proud.

It's a hard knock life, being an Andy in this world.

-Andy A.

Keep in mind, there are two Andy B's. Baker and Brockway. So that makes four of us goofy Andy's!

I don't know if I'd call it fame, but instead the more colorful personalities in FIRST being thrust into the spotlight because they are easy to remember. Take Baker for instance...who else in this world would chase a pig, drag it by its tail, and post it up for hundreds of people to see! Eventually, its that same thing which keeps them in our mind, and keeps us inspired.

[Ryan Dognaux]

My original purpose of joining these forums was to meet new people on other teams, and I think it has worked pretty well. I've also had a few people come up to me and ask "Hey aren't you Ryan... Doan... Doan.... that Ryan guy from chiefdelphi?" I just think it's pretty cool when some random person comes up to you and knows your face or name. I don't know about being "famous" with this community, that might be a little weird, but I could handle being known.

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by Andy A.

Fame? You think its bad being famous...

Between Andy B. and Andy G. being Andy A. has some unspoken expectations put on it.

Seriously folks, living up to the Andy lastinitialhere. name thing is a little rough at times. I find my self lying awake at night trying to think of ways to make the Andy's who have come before me proud.

It's a hard knock life, being an Andy in this world.

-Andy A.

Oh boy...
Now we have (at least) 4 Andys in FIRST?

There is Andy Grady - Team 126 - Gael Force (among other teams)
Andy Baker - Team 45 - TechnoKats
Andy Brockaway - Team 716 - Who's C Techs?
and now a 4th Andy,
Andy A from Team 885

Wow... All these Andy's and no abundant mass of Annies to keep them company...

[Bharat Nain]

Originally Posted by Ken Leung

Fame is something inevitable as you get more and more involved with this program, whether you like it or not. I've experienced some of it in the past, people like JVN, Andy Baker, Dave Lavery are among many who got the community's full attention right now.

Just want to know what you think... Do you want to be famous in FIRST? Why or why not? Do you think there are any prices you have you pay for being famous? Maybe some day you will wish to go to a competition without being recognized and just walk around the pit area quietly looking at robots?

All I know is there's no turning back after you've turned famous, nothing short of quitting this wonderful community can get rid of all the attention ;-).

Maybe fame isn't the best thing you can get from this program ;-).

Your thoughts?

Would you like to be famous? Why not

Price you have to pay for it? Yes, definately, you have to actually do something and make a difference

Fame isnt the best thing you can get from this program? Yes, true.. there's a LOT more you can get from this program

Wheather you like it or not, if you have made a difference in the FIRST community, you will end up being famous, and yes, there is no turning back then.

And being famous doesnt always mean that your privacy has been robbed. If it has, it also means you have people respecting you and helping you wherever you go.

Personally, I have no aims to become famous. I just like this world and want to do the right things.

[Ken Leung]

Its funny how this thread grow so fast in just a few days. This board is much different than the off-season CD forum I've seen in the past few years, for better or worse. Anyway...

I am not really good with using words. When I said fame, I think what I want to mean is lots of people's recognition of you even though they don't really know who you are. That's one of the interesting things I experienced from FIRST. I guess it was kind of nice when people saw my red hair and say "hey you are that guy that posted on that forum..." or "hey, I like your post".

It was nice, but I realized that's not something I want in my life. I found strong friendship with few people much more enjoyable than being known by a lot of people but never really know any of them. Most conversations with people who "know of you" are a lot of obvious things that people talk about all the time, which is nice to know other people's opinion, but doesn't usually get deeper than that.

I used to go around to all the pits in the SVR regional asking teams about their robot, but all together it wasn't as good as chatting with a few people about their team. That's when I decided I would draw back from posting so much in the CD forum, and get to know people in person instead. I think that decision is starting to do some good. IRI and Atlanta was much more interesting than the competitions in the past.

So, think about it. Not everyone share the same opinion about how they want to experience this program we call FIRST. My advice is, don't post for the sake of posting. Go for those meaningful conversations that trigger your thoughts into all kinds of directions that even you can't predict its direction. Experience FIRST from deep within rather than from the surface.

Tom ask why I want to know. The truth is, I don't really know. Perhaps I just want to throw something out in the open and see where the discussion lead to. Now-a-days, I don't have many issues I care particularly about. I figure the smart people will take care of it. I think I enjoy the flow of discussion much more than what's really being said. I guess its kind of like learning a math formula to solve a problem, you do homework just to practice the problem, but you don't particularly have an opinion about how the answer look like.

Maybe this is a right way to use the forum, maybe it isn't. I don't really know. But I think I do enjoy arguing with people whether it is or isn't, no matter what the result of that argument is.

[JVN]

Originally Posted by Ken Leung

... people like JVN, Andy Baker, Dave Lavery are among many who got the community's full attention right now.

Just want to know what you think...

Well Ken,
While I certainly wouldn't have placed myself in such distinguished company, (Andy... you're swell too ) lately I keep seeing myself referenced as such. Since I'm on your list, I guess I'll (however egotistical it is of me to do so) provide some insight on how I see things.

The "fame" you speak of is a weird thing, and it is tough to get used to (for many of the reasons that have already been discussed).

I find myself wondering what I did to deserve it (those who know me best have seen) because I'm just a normal guy, and just another Joe Schmoe in this competition. I've just gotten lucky, and had some incredible experiences, and met a lot of incredible people who have just made my time in this competition downright incredible.

This "fame" has certainly opened some doors for me, and made for some interesting times. Can you imagine how amused my parents must be that some kid in New Jersey has my name on his backback?
If nothing else it has helped me meet more of the people that make this competition great, which is fantastic.

It is also really cool to see the FIRST programs impact through all this. (preachy lesson time folks). I'm just a regular guy, going to college and majoring in Mechanical Engineering, but the fact that there are students across the country who look up to me (God help them...) is just amazing.
FIRST works. If a MechE-dork like me can be a hero for a HS kid, FIRST is certainly having SOME effect.

But of course, I feel a lot of pressure because of this...
I know I've certainly been trying to fill the shoes I've been given, but I'm still not sure how good of a job I'm doing.
All I can promise is that I'll keep trying to be the role model everyone seems to think I am.

Thanks,
John


PS - Ken L is my FIRST celebrity. Wooo, go Kenny!

[JVN]

I intended this to go in my original post, but it's worthy of it's own:

Part of this "fame" is the guilt that comes with it.
Everyone gives me way more credit than I deserve.

There are people on my team who practically carry me through the season. No joke. Without them, I would be nothing.

I wouldn't be who I am, without a little help from my friends.

Thanks guys.

[Mike Schroeder]

Originally Posted by JVN

I intended this to go in my original post, but it's worthy of it's own:

Part of this "fame" is the guilt that comes with it.
Everyone gives me way more credit than I deserve.

There are people on my team who practically carry me through the season. No joke. Without them, I would be nothing.

I wouldn't be who I am, without a little help from my friends.

Thanks guys.

whoa you mean JVN wasnt the inspiration for the Energizer battery guy... holy crap this warps my whole perspective on life

[Adam Y.]

Wanna see popularity... Dave Lavery has his name on 1331 web pages and in 22 journals. I suspect that some of them are not the same Dave we all know but they must still be nerds since I searched their name on www.scirus.com.

[Ben Lauer]

Fame? Why not. Who doesn't want to have fame, well at least be known. But I think of it slightly different.

I want to have something of mine be known. I want to have a great feat, or great problem known because it was solved. I don't want myself to be known for doing it, just have it be known that it was done. I guess I don't want fame as i see it today. I don't want to be that one guy who did that one thing. I want others say, "Oh wow, I am really glad some one finally did that, Thanks to whoever it was."

[Solace]

though I've never been privileged to have any personal fame, I do constantly endeavor to gain more recognition for my team in the FIRST community. It's so cool to be able to tell someone from california that I'm from team 571, and for them to actually know who we are. My need for recognition and fame is satisfied as long as i know that all the work i have put in throughout the year was not done simply so that we would fade back into obscurity at the end. Had you ever heard of 571 two years ago? hmmm? probably not. hopefully, we have started to change that.

yeah, i know, so I'm a fairly egotistical person. but being humble really takes all the fun out of it, don't you think?

[Dorienne]

Originally Posted by Solace

though I've never been privileged to have any personal fame, I do constantly endeavor to gain more recognition for my team in the FIRST community. It's so cool to be able to tell someone from california that I'm from team 571, and for them to actually know who we are. My need for recognition and fame is satisfied as long as i know that all the work i have put in throughout the year was not done simply so that we would fade back into obscurity at the end. Had you ever heard of 571 two years ago? hmmm? probably not. hopefully, we have started to change that.

yeah, i know, so I'm a fairly egotistical person. but being humble really takes all the fun out of it, don't you think?

Everyone wants recognition for the team, of course. You need popularity in the competitions it seems in order to be chosen for finals and such. It's not a big deal to want popularity for your team, but for yourself personally. And I do agree with you, it is cool for people to know your team. Ours, for instance, uses James Bond as the theme, considering our number is 7...we had fun with it and put the 007 in there. People always come up to us and are like "I remember you guys! You're team double-07! You all are so cool! We love your theme.." and such. It's really cool...but there can be consequences about personal fame.
But hey, I really agree with you ^___^;
--d0ri