Based on this weeks QotW, we all know the usually teams such as 1, 45, 47, 254, 111, and others, but what teams have you found to be as good as, or better, than these teams, yet they are under appreciated, or just hidden gems.
Mine in 388. They have won many awards and show the best in team spirit and are the nicest team.
Who’s your’s?
Maybe they’re not so hidden anymore but 980 and 968 are definitely worth mentioning.
Team 1097, for the same reasons JosephM posted about 388.
There are so many others though, that will never be posted about.
thats true 
but maybe we can spread some more word about the ones that we do know.
ill throw in 1272. they had amazingly reliable and elegant design at nationals in atlanta. we managed to win the only match we had with them at the last second by knocking the 2x ball off, but still division finalists and highest rookie seed mean something.
I agree with your choice of 1272. We picked them for elims in Atlanta on Archimedes and we did outstanding together…we made it to finals. What a great team! When we thought we had a bad PWM, they offered to take one of theirs off their own robot and lose one of their mechanisms. Luckily, we were able to solve the problem. They truly exemplified gracious professionalsim.
571 was also very good this year…we won together at UTC. They stayed up until 12:30 at IRI helping us fix our bot…we ended up being semifinalists there.
I also would like to give credit to the rookies from Simon’s Rock for their outstanding effort and accomplishments their first year.
716
period.
Never physically seen them or met them but I would definitely agree.
1218, the Cha-bots.
These guys have enough for a drive crew, nothing else. Last year we mentored them for the stack attack game…this year they dominated for the most part at the Drexel Regional and because they were the choosing team are the current 2nd seed and 4th place in the world. That’s a pretty good record for only two years. Well, maybe it was more of an awesome year instead of a pretty good year, but I digress. It was the monkey.
There is one thing you can’t argue with and that is success. My vote for a hidden gem team would go to Team 58 The Riot Crew. They always compete at a very competitive regional and always hold their own.
At the BAE 2003 Regional they had one of the most reliable auto modes from the get go, and they went on to seed and pick excellent teams and win the whole thing. At BAE this year they once again had one of the most fun auto modes to watch. They’re just one of those teams that I love looking at match lists and seeing that my team is paired with. Kudos.
Chris
Team 229
Yes, 1218 Chestnut Hill is 2 years old. They won the Philly regional as a Rookie in 2003 and were National Finalists in 2004. They did this with a handful of students, a handful of money, and a garage built robot.
Their mentors and students are also some of the nicest people you could ever meet.
Al Ostrow
Team Leader
Team 341
I’d like to add 710 to that list. I don’t often hear about them on the forums but I watched them this year at the Championship and they were awesome. I’ve since found out that they have quite an impressive record. They seem like a good, unknown team that definately deserves recognition.
Circuit Runners (Bloomington, IN) were an awesome team this year, but I don’t think you can classify them or any other rookie team as a “hidden gem”, because the fact that they are a ‘rookie’. I made a couple bets with people (unforturnately not for cash) at IRI that 1272 would be one of the top teams, and look what happened :] .
I’m going to have to think about what I think is a “hidden gem” team. There are many that I think have always been my favorites. 
1302 - Those who know of their first season would say they were too good for Rookie Allstar. And how about that team captain who goes to offseason competitions and drives SOLO?!
175, Buzz Robotics, from Enfield, CT. They fielded an incredible robot and a very spirited team at nationals this year. They also won the Chairman’s Award at nationals in 2002, but most people aren’t familiar with them today.
I would like to add team 212,233, 311 and 945…
212 doesnt exist anymore but there was a time when 212 ruled florida regional. they won the florida regional in 2003 (Stack Attack). they were one of the most helpful team in florida. (i wish if i could say “they are one of the most helpful team in florida.”)
Team 233 (the pink team)… i think they are awesome. they are always full of spirit. They always concentrate on one thing at the competition and they are best at it…
311 and 945 dominated at florida regional past season (2004 FIRST FRENZY)… great teams with a lot of spirit… 
haha i love these types of threads. you always look for your team but never seem to find it.
remembers robot was made of wood and pvc
despite their funding/support problems this past year demolition squad (267) is a team that has a history of always doing well, but is rarely heard about on these forums…
422 is another biggie for me. These guys do loads of work with FIRST behind the sceans that many people don’t know about.
I’d add 395 to the list, but they are well known IMHO and got profiled many times on TV shows and such.
I should have remembered to put you guys on there in my earlier post.
Team 195 definitley deserves more recognition…you should have been picked for elims at UTC.
Plus, your team also had a great robot in 2003 that should be recognized. Remember Bash at the Beach last year? You guys rocked!!
also, never underestimate the power of PVC…our pull up arm this year was made out of PVC and we ended up winning UTC…
Main point: Never underestimate yourself team 195!!! 
Agreed. They’ve crossed our paths and seem to be moving in the right direction.
WC