Cheering, standing ovations, and required team actions during matches and awards

[KORN_lover_2007]

It does make me so sad when people talk bad about teams cheering and standing up and dancing. It is the true spirit of FIRST to cheer for people who have worked hard to reach a goal of theirs, plus it is tons of fun to stand up and dance between matches. A robotics competition is not something you can just sit down quietly and watch, you can't help but scream your head off and dance like nobody's watching. It is nice to sit down during a match if your team is not up, but there's no reason to not get your groove on in between. Thank you team 365 for your spirit award, that was really cool.

[George A.]

Ok, I've got to give my two cents. Being part of the best MC/Announcer team in FIRST I can tell you that I love it when people get loud and spirited. At NJ they were loud, but they could be louder. I was really surprised that not more people were spirited at NYC when I was the MC this year. It made things really hard to get the crowd into it. In Atlanta however, granted people got tired after three days but, you work six weeks on this creation and when you see it working on the field then you SHOULD be excited.

I know my team (11) has a large group (number varies from competition to competition so i'll give a rough estimate of about 50) and they make their presence known. That being said we do stand for the entirty of our matches, but we do try to sit towards the back where people won't be disturbed.

I know that if I come home from and competition and I still have a nuiance of my voice left, my mom goes "what went wrong?"

I think Paul Kloberg says it best when he says "We all know the original meaning of the acronym FIRST, For Inpiration and Recognition of Science and Technology...but there's another meaning that Woody and Dean don't want you to know about...FUN IS REQUIRED, SO TOLERATE"

That's all from me this time.

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by M.O.R.T.

Ok, I've got to give my two cents. Being part of the best MC/Announcer team in FIRST I can tell you that I love it when people get loud and spirited. At NJ they were loud, but they could be louder.

I think Paul Kloberg says it best when he says "We all know the original meaning of the acronym FIRST, For Inpiration and Recognition of Science and Technology...but there's another meaning that Woody and Dean don't want you to know about...FUN IS REQUIRED, SO TOLERATE"

That's all from me this time.

TRUE FOR NJ.
that was one of the quietest regionals i've ever heard. and i've been to many.

spirit is a good thing.

my team lacked it, and yes, sitting down is nice so everyone can see, but if you're just going to sit and watch....sit in the front. people who are waaaay spirited with manners would probably go towards the back of the stands where you can still see, but you won't bother others who are trying to watch.

that's MY two cents.

[Martinez]

People on their feet always have more energy. They are standing for a reason, and usually it is because they are excited, motivated and having fun. Some of my most fun moments in FIRST was standing up front with a crowd of people where i could see barely any of the field. If you have a problem with anything people are doing, be it spirit or otherwise, be sure to speak up. But try to keep in mind how important what they are doing is to them.

Edit:
The next bit is off topic but I feel it is relevent. Why do you personally stand for the National Anthem? Just think about it for a moment. Is it to show respect? Your enthusium for that nation? Because everyone else does? Out of habit? To annow the people behind you? Now, why do you cheer or stand up in a FIRST match or award ceramony. Its a personal question. Just think about it.

[Tetraman]

It has become a new Team 174 code to cheer for any team, whenever, and without warning. If you and your team arn't standing and cheering for your team, We will cheer for your team anyway. If you only brought 5 members of your team to a regional, we will cheer for you. If you got something awsome about your team, we will cheer. We will even cheer your chants when your team isn't at the regional.

You have no idea how much fun it is to cheer for anything and everyone. It really have a gratifying feeling to it.

We (111)stand and cheer and dance during the awards. I thinkits a great way of showing gracious professionalism.
The thing that is heard alot is that "we can't see because the team infront of us is standing and cheering?" or sumthin along those lines. Everyone should be able to see if everyone stands up and cheers liek the rest of the teams that are cheering. The best way to show that your really excited about something is to show and bring out all your engery towards it. FIRST is about fun, excitement, being gracious, everything. so why not show it?
When my sister was on the team and i would go to all the nationals with them in flordia, i didnt know what was goin on but i was cheering liek no other and stuff lol and for that matter i couldnt even see cuz i was yi hay tall with all these strangers from other teams surrounding me, but i was still jumpin and cheerin decked out in my little wildstang shirt and wildstang tattos on my face lol
-Court-

[C.Roberts 1089]

Team 1089 has the policy that all members in the stands during awards (which should be the whole team, if possible) must stand up and clap until the last person touches hands with the last judge. yes, sometimes, this takes a long time. but think about it.. wouldn't you appreciate it if another team did that for you if you were to win? it makes them feel good to know that the other teams out there are supporting them, and it makes you feel good because you're more of a part of the FIRST community. During matches, I don't feel that it's necessary to cheer the ENTIRE time for other team's matches, but if you cheer for exciting events, it makes it more fun for you. During your own team's matches, if you want to cheer the whole time, I say go for it! I realize some people are more exuberant about this than others, and I'm definitely one of them. This year I've been human player, so I can't really cheer for my own matches, but I found when i did last year, it made it all more exciting. So for all of you who are against this cheering... try it one time =p. Look at the situation from the other side, and maybe you'll then understand why everyone else does it! It doesn't hurt... I promise. =D

[the_short1]

this is also specially true for rookie teams, at GreatLakes, when we won the rookie allstar .. it felt amazing when all the teams stood up and cheered for us ..

we thank all the teams who stand and cheer.. and if everyone is standing, no one sitting.. yes.. tahst a good point.. then every one can still see.. good idea:

[Jacqui]

I agree with loads of people. I think that cheering for other teams is very respectful. They worked hours upon hours, days upon days, and weeks upon weeks to get that far. Why not let them know that their hard work and efforts got them as far as they did, and that they are doing well? I know that I personally love it when my team gets awards, and people cheer for us. It makes the whole trip just worth it there. There is no greater feeling to me than right when you get an award, and you hear people cheering. I also know that other people love that sense of accomplishment, so I cheer for them. One of my nightmares of FIRST is that a team gets an award, and there is complete silence. Just think, how would you feel if you were that team. I would just run out crying.
Also, with dancing and singing, I find that it is really fun, and keeps you awake with loads of energy. It's also fun just to dance and look at other people dancing just as crazy as you are. You also get to learn new dances.
About the people who complain about all of that. I believe that they should get there earlier to get seats in the front, or as someone mentioned before, sit on the outer limits of the stadium. Why should people stop having fun because a few people are being cranky and wanting to ruin the fun?
I do have a thing with the big signs. My team has them, and I believe that it is ok to have them as long as your not blocking everyone else's view during a match. We lean ours on the railings, so other teams that are scouting behind ours can see what is going on in the match. But in between matches, I don't have a problem with people waving them about. It shows that they have team spirit, and that they enjoy being there to have fun and see their hard work in use.

Sorry for the uber longness of this post.

[Danielle H]

Ah yes, to cheer or not to cheer? That does seem to be a rather controversial question in almost any organization similar to this one.

I'm in band as well, and our Band Director tells us, "It's always polite to cheer for other bands because it shows that we have respect for them. Some of them probably did better than us as well, so it's also a way of congratulations. For those that didn't do as well, it's a way of encouraging them to keep working hard and that we enjoyed them anyway." I fully agree with that and (if I attended competitions this year ) would've fully exercised that.

Now, I think a debate that comes up as well is whether or not to scream like animals for your own team. In Band, we're not not to cheer for ourselves becuase it's unprofessional. We're in view of judges and other people that determine our future in the organization and if we go out there and act like a bunch of wild and uncontrollable apes, that's not going to leave a good impression.

I understand that it's different in the Robotics world, but I still think a little bit of that logic can apply. It's all right to cheer for yourselves, just don't OVERDUE it. I go to events and see people who scream until they're blue in the face because they're group won and it kind of makes me cringe. Especially if they're supposed to be the elite of their school/organization. If it makes a peer cringe, what kind of message do you think it sends to the elders?

Honestly, I'm not trying to be the huge rain cloud and say "You can't cheer for yourselves... it's bad." That's not what I'm saying at all. You worked hard and you deserve to congratulate those on your team for their contribution. All I'm saying, is don't go overboard. You never know how that could make others feel, or what judgment they could make based on how you act in that sort of situation.

I wouldn't necessarily require your team to do something organized for every group. What if I enjoyed 395's performance while Jeremiah thought it was a little off? (Not necessarily true, just an example.) I would probably cheer more for that particular team than he would. And it's the same if Chrissy though that 1629 was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and I thought they were average (Again, not necessarily true.) Chrissy would probably go crazy while I would show respect by cheering, but nothing else. It differs in opinion.

Well, I'm pretty sure this is longer than I intended it to be, so apology there. I hope I helped a little bit.

-Danielle
393

[ScoutingNerd175]

As the obsessive scouting captain of a team that has (I think pretty recently) become known for it's detailed scouting, I would probably be expected to come down on the side of no standing.

But I'm not going to. My team is fairly small, about 18 students, and like all other teams in FIRST, we work hard on our robot. After all the hard work that we do on our robot (just like all other teams) we are proud of it. We our proud of our robot, our drivers, and ourselves. When our robot is on the field we are going to stand and cheer for it. The only other time that we will stand is during awards. During awards at least, I must say that if you cannot see because a team in front of you is standing, you should stand too.

Now when the team if front of us has a match, we generally expect them to stand. When my scouts say that they cannot see, I usually tell them to stand too. I believe it was 1276 who was in the stands in front of us at BAE. When they would have a match we would scout around them. Once their match was over and the scores had been posted, we asked them to sit down if they were still standing (which usually they weren't, congratulations on your win and we enjoyed sitting near you guys (although we were mostly near the adults))

I think that it is perfectly fine for teams to stand while their robot is playing. It's only going to happen about 8 times during qualification matches, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

At Chesapeake an announcement was made asking teams not to stand up anymore. We complied with this, although we were upset about it. However, not all teams did. I don't think it's fair to ask a team to sit down while their robot is playing the regional finals. I don't know, I guess I can understand the other side, but I think that teams not playing should try to understand that the teams that are playing are very excited and that they want to cheer their drivers to victory (or not).

That being said, if you do want to stand and cheer for every team, not just your own, during matches, you should try to find a seat near the back so that you won't block anyone.

And yes, regional winners and chairman's winners often go pretty crazy. I know that we were cheering for a long time at Chesapeake and the winning alliance did the same thing at UTC. To be fair, we had come of off a regional, BAE, that was probably the worst our team has ever had for various reasons that I don't need to go into. To see the turn around for us between our two regionals was a huge deal. We went to Chesapeake just hoping to be picked. I believe that the two other teams on our alliance had both never won a regional before and both did not have a slot at nationals before they won. So yeah, we were excited and I bet all the teams who won regionals this year would concur.

[Andrew Y.]

Before robotics was started at our school, alomst 100% of students attended our back to back to back to back etc. state championship basketball team. At every game, EVERYONE in the stands stood throughout the remaineder of the game, and that tradition has followed to our robotivcs team.

We stand for our team, teams we are close with, or if theres a really really good match. It has become apart of what our team is. For the past 4 years of our teams existence, we have stood up and cheered for those we thought deserved cheering. DEFIDENTLY durring the awards. This year is the first time i have ever heard of getting angry at our team when we stood up durring our teams match.

I do see the side of thsoe who want everyone to sit, but i also believe that the spirit and atitude in the stands reflect what FIRST is all about and speaking for alot of drivers, it really makes us feel good .

Eventually we decided it wasnt worth the people behind us complaining and yelling at us to sit down so we sat down. But i do hope that this changes and people see why we stand.

[thatphotochick]

standing and cheering is understood. we always, at least close enough to that, stand up and cheer for our team and many times alliance during the introduction of the match. sometimes we'll stand and cheer during the match, but we try not to stand for the whole match. or we in the back and not blocking many to any people. i do think it is annoying for people to keep standing for the whole match. concerning awards, you SHOULD stand and cheer for the winner, showing them the respect they deserve for winning (though forcing somebody to stand is crazy and uncalled). it's only the most respectful thing to do during matches is at least be considerate to other teams trying to watch as well. if you are asked to sit down, do it and don't get angry. that's not what FIRST is about.

[aziandorkess]

Our team (812) is extremely spirited, and is guilty of many of the concerns that people have brought up. This year, at the SoCal regional we stand at field level, as the stands are elevated, so others can see. Past years, we stand to the side, or the sections where people aren't directly in back of us. We try to be sensitive to others' problems with our cheering or what not.
The majority of the team cheer, dance, and make tons of noise.. not to irritate people, but because we're infatuated with FIRST! Some teams have come up to us to ask us to cheer for them, or with them, and we always cheer for Team San Diego teams... so we end up always cheering throughout the competition.
To us, it's only appropriate to stand and applaud while a team is receiving an award. It's also much easier to high-five the team members that win.
Now, it's much easier and more natural to cheer standing up than sitting down. Cheering makes the competition so much more fun, and keeps you involved, rather than sitting down and watching.
Most of the center sections are very spirited, so most teams who like to concentrate on scouting or just watching should keep that in mind. Again, at the SoCal regional, we went down from the elevated stands to stand and cheer. I'm not sure about other regionals, but it'd be nice to have such an area. In any case, most teams that cheer are usually gracious professionals, and would be happy to accomodate, or reach some sort of compromise... as long as you approach them with your concerns.

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by Andrew Y.

Before robotics was started at our school, alomst 100% of students attended our back to back to back to back etc. state championship basketball team. At every game, EVERYONE in the stands stood throughout the remaineder of the game, and that tradition has followed to our robotivcs team.

We stand for our team, teams we are close with, or if theres a really really good match. It has become apart of what our team is. For the past 4 years of our teams existence, we have stood up and cheered for those we thought deserved cheering. DEFIDENTLY durring the awards. This year is the first time i have ever heard of getting angry at our team when we stood up durring our teams match.

I do see the side of thsoe who want everyone to sit, but i also believe that the spirit and atitude in the stands reflect what FIRST is all about and speaking for alot of drivers, it really makes us feel good .

Eventually we decided it wasnt worth the people behind us complaining and yelling at us to sit down so we sat down. But i do hope that this changes and people see why we stand.

Andrew, your team is now officially recognized as team SuperSpirit in my post here. Please understand that neither I nor any other team here has any problem with you being as spirited as you want, nor do we mind you standing as long as you want. The fundamental problem is that you happen to be standing in our way. You say it wasn't worth the people behind you complaining and yelling at you. The fact that they had to yell at all should've started all sorts of alarm bells.
If you show up in a section of the stands and don't let people around you know that you're about to block their view for the rest of the day, it's a bit rude. They were there first. Similarly, it's not nice to do so in the middle of the stands, causing property values to plummet for 5 rows behind you. If you're going to stand for most of the matches, you could simply move towards the back of the seating where you wouldn't bother anyone in the first place. Then you could be spirited and other people could be happy. Presumably this is followed by doves all over the place, harp music, and angels descending from heaven, but all that is a lot more optional than being considerate of others.