Even without that insane top-tier auto challenge, there were some robots that really inspired me.
2826 Wave was my favorite. Not a mousetrap, it was a masterpiece of automation. Like the coolest factory equipment you see on How It’s Made.
987 was another that captured the imagination. And 2054 showed that the non-grabbing auto challenge could be achieved pretty early on.
But of course I am a geek who loves automation, manufacturing, and elegant design. From the viewpoint of a more general audience, RR was exactly as exciting as watching people load trucks at a distribution center. Spiced up by noodle-throwers trying to trip them.
Recycle Rush allowed for a level of thinking outside the box that we’ve never seen before or since. Batman and Robin, Wave’s 28-point autonomous, loading ramps such as the ones used by the Cheesy Poofs, ridiculously fast can grabbers such as Citrus Circuits – all of that took some amazing engineering both during the build season and iterated through the competition season.
That being said, Lunacy was the best game of all time - don’t @ me.
I always say, if you look at RR for individual performances it’s one of the best games ever; but if you look at it as a 3v3 FRC game, it’s in the bottom 3.