25-05-2006 14:29

JVN

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Was clicking through CD-Media, and saw this picture.
I wanted to bump it up, so all the "younguns" in FIRST see it.

"Inspiration"

25-05-2006 14:40

Karthik

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Two of the greatest robots in FIRST history. I look at this picture and I remember why I'm here today. Seeing robots like this when I was younger made me say "Dang, I want to be that good. I want to make things that cool".

A little bit of background on these two robots. In the year 2000, Team 47 built what is widely considered one of the three best robots in FIRST history. It played the game flawlessly. Scoring at will, descoring when they needed to. A ridiculously smooth swerve drive that was years ahead of it's time. It was really a work of art. Team 111 created an offensive beast. A huge ball capacity, and an elevator that never jammed, in a year where everyone was constantly in a ball jam. These two robots were phenoms. At the 2000 Midwest Regional, these two teams hooked up along with Team 45, forming what is considered by many as the greatest alliance of all time.

Thanks for the bump John, this made my day.

25-05-2006 14:52

RogerR

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

...or "domination"?

25-05-2006 14:56

JVN

111+47

Ha! To me, being dominated IS inspiring.

JV

25-05-2006 18:27

Chris Hibner

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

I couldn't agree more with Karthik. I was lucky enough to participate in that regional and see this awesome alliance. To me, this was by far the most dominant alliance in the history of FIRST. I've never seen anything like it. In fact, a number of us FIRST old folks were talking about this very alliance at a gathering in Toronto this past year.

You really had to see Chief Delphi that year to really appreciate how good that robot really was. That robot was really in a different league from everyone else. My analogy that I told people from that year is that it looked like an NBA player came back to play a game with the JV basketball team. They were really that impressive. Add one of Wildstang's best creations into the mix, and an always good TechnoKat team, and it was like the Perfect Storm.

25-05-2006 18:34

nuggetsyl

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

we never got to play 47 and 111 why did they lose?

shaun

25-05-2006 18:44

Clark Gilbert

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

The experience was so awesome I can't even remember much about it!!! I will say that the experience was the sole factor for me being so heavily involved with the TechnoKats during HS though.

25-05-2006 19:45

Karthik

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

They went on to win the Midwest regional that year. As for why these teams lost at the championship, they were both knocked out by the powerful alliance of 126, 131 & 102. Team 47 was the number 9 seed, who declined to hold their pick, and selected 312 and 201. This alliance had championship written all over them, but a broken weld in the quarterfinals led to the end of their amazing season. As for 111, they were the first over all pick in the draft by Team 80, and the alliance was rounded out by 175. This alliance was not well rounded enough to take on the Gael Force alliance. The Gael Force alliance made it all the way to the finals, where they were defeated by 255, 232 & 25. I'm sure you could better elucidate in regards to that alliance.

25-05-2006 20:22

Tim Baird

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the 2000 CD robot scared the crap out of me. From the time I first saw it play in the NJ regional while we were scouting, to the time that they left Einstein after we beat them, it was a robot to fear and respect.

25-05-2006 21:43

Pat Bogard

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Thanks John for bringing this up to the front page. The Rutgers regional in 2000 was my first as a driver and I remember just being in awe of 47 the entire time. During the playoffs the crowd went crazy when 303 managed to block them from scoring in either the quarters or semis. 111 was incredible that year as well.

Thanks for reviving some old memories!

25-05-2006 21:46

MikeDubreuil

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Best game EVER!

25-05-2006 21:51

Jonathan Norris

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Those are some amazing looking robots... wow.

Karthik, your amazing knowledge of the history of FIRST is amazing. I only wish there was the Karthik FIRST encyclopedia to learn about the history of FIRST

edit: are there any videos of those beauty's in action?

25-05-2006 22:47

Andy Baker

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

I had the pleasure of being the field coach for 45 at that regional. I recall going into the "alliance meeting" after we got picked. Keep in mind that this was still the time when FIRST had 3 team alliances in the finals, but only 2 played on the field once. One had to sit. And... this was before there was any mandate of making the sitting team play a match at all.

(Obviously, 47 and 111 had two great robots that year. We were pretty good, being finalists at Great Lakes, along with being the 16th overall pick at the Championships (thanks, 22!).)

Essentially, the coaches for 47 and 111 asked us if we would like to play in the finals. We said "yes... but we don't want to bring down the alliance... we are happy to ride your coattails to a Championship". I think we played 1 or 2 matches throughout 3 rounds. There was really no need for us to do more. Being paired with 2 teams we respect greatly and seeing these 2 robots perform at their best was inspiration to us all.

Andy B.

26-05-2006 00:03

Tim Baird

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

I have the last half of the QF's and all of the finals (from Nationals) on DVD if you're ever in New England and want to snag a copy from me.
I watch the old matches every once in a while for kicks. I'm probably starting to turn into Uncle Rico, though. So, watch out!

26-05-2006 02:11

Stephen Kowski

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Please, don't remind me....

26-05-2006 12:55

Mark Pierce

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Ahhhh... memories of 2000. Thanks for reviving memories.

What an amazing robot for that time and that game. At GLR the RoboDAWGS (Team 288) probably generated the first crowd surprise with their defensive "popcorn maker" robot on practice day, but when 47 demonstrated their de-scoring and ball transfer ability the crowd just roared in amazement. From the beginning, they had dominated play, but it wasn't until near the end of eliminations that they chose to unveil that feature. What a way to finish an event!

I can't think of any message before or since travelling faster between the fields and throughout the pits at a Championship than the unbelievable news: "Chief Delphi is out of it ... structural breakdown." Everyone assumed they would win everything.

26-05-2006 15:39

Kyle Love

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

I watched a whole video of the Midwest regional from that year....it was amazing. This was also the year that 45 used an almost all Lexan lift system.

26-05-2006 15:48

hoorayforpink

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

crazy robots that r awesome..........what better thing could possibly exist?

17-06-2006 13:28

Dan Petrovic

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Are there any videos about of these two robots?

I want to really see what you all mean when you say "Greatest Robot of all time".

18-06-2006 15:36

John Gutmann

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Wouldn't the greatest robot of all time be beatty (team 71) from year 2002?

18-06-2006 16:01

Billfred

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

You could make a lot of arguments for or against a greatest robot of all time--there's been a few threads about it. Certainly you could argue for 71 in 2002, 25 in 2006, 1114/1503/1680 in 2006, and so on and so forth. It's an argument that could take years to finally settle among a large crowd; and by that point, someone else will have created another dominant robot that makes the whole argument start over again.

18-06-2006 21:55

Tim Baird

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

If you're going to be bringing up Beatty, don't forget about the sick robot that they had in 2001. It practically did the entire game on its own.

18-06-2006 22:00

Dan Petrovic

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Haha yeah, I was thinking the same thing. That thing truely was a beast.

18-06-2006 22:25

Karthik

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Here are a couple good threads about the best robots of all-time

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=29843
(This lists by myself and Jason Morrella are pretty comprehensive)

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=39188

For the reasons stated by me in those threads, Beatty 2001 was the most dominant FIRST robot of all time, and until there's a major shift in the current game format, I expect them to hold that title.

18-06-2006 22:58

Dan Petrovic

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

121's bot comes to mind from 2002.

That was one of those outstanding robots that struck fear into everyone's minds. No matter how hard they tried, National Champions of 2002, RAGE, couldn't beat 121. Everything about it was just perfect. Strong drivebase, huge ball capacity, the backboard it created for human players when it dumped balls into the goals.

121 simply built a stronger robot than the alliance captain of the 2002 National Champion Alliance.

19-06-2006 21:22

nuggetsyl

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

I remember playing 121 we were scared out of our minds that year.

20-06-2006 10:27

AmyPrib

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

Team 45 has over 100 tapes from the last 15yrs. They are almost all on DVD now. Unfortunately we do not yet have any parts of them online. That is on our to-do list, along with getting massive amounts of historical info on our website.

20-06-2006 11:04

nuggetsyl

Re: pic: 111_047scoring01.jpg

you should work with soap to get it on there web site. makes life alot easier when you only have to go to one place.