So just like the thread Here. I decided to bring back one of my old threads from 2016
So for those unaware here are the rules:
So similar rules to the other thread:
You must compete with the team fairly regularly
The team must have won an Official event prior to 2016
The Team can not have won an official event in 2016, 2017, 2018 or 2019
Teams must already be signed up to compete in the 2020 season
An official event is one that provides a FIRST Blue Banner (Regional, Distict, District Championship, Division, Subdivision, and Championship)
They can not be your team or teams.
So lets go with Florida Teams 1902 Exploding Bacon, and 59 RamTech.
1902 needs no introduction as they are a member of the newest Hall of Fame class, but have been without a Blue Banner for winning since 2013. A consistent player in Elims at the regional and championship levels Bacon just hasn’t been able to put all the pieces together for a few years. Their last two years have produced a pair of amazing machines and with a renewed focus on the robot now that they are ineligible for Chairman’s for a few years, could make them a powerhouse in Florida once again.
59 RamTech is Florida’s best kept secret. After reviving in 2012 the robots have become more and more competitive and have been a force in elims since 2016 with the last two years finalist showings at Orlando and South Florida respectively having them as top 3 robots at the event. Despite their driver graduating this year I am pleased with their showings at all 3 Florida offseasons, hinting that they will continue on the path of competitiveness.
343 Metal in Motion. They are almost always in the finals, but have not won an event since 2015, and then 2012 before that. They have always been one of South Carolina’s most consistent teams, but have fallen short of becoming a dominant force. Should they improve their design execution they could win an event this season.
1311 Kell Robotics. In the same vein as Bacon. They joined the class of Chairman’s HOF in 2018. A team that is always in the playoffs, but has not won an event since 2012. I know they have the resources. Now they just need a slightly better strategic design execution to make them a event winning contender in PCH.
1712 - They are getting very competitive, and were the second coming of 2056 at FMA CMP and Ramp Riot last year
2539 - One of the best robots in FMA this year, and were good last year too
2729 - They always build solid robots but haven’t won since 2013
2019 was my first year in MAR and based on how good all these robots were last year I’m very very surprised. I would have never guessed that teams this good were on a blue banner drought for so long.
They were on Einstein in 2015 with 359 and 368 and have put out some very competitive robots since, with 2019 being their best robot imo. They are a great team that really deserves to have some hardware around their necks.
Can’t talk about this thread without mentioning 461. Great team, awesome chairman’s and outreach, and recently has been playing their cards right to shoot up and be a successful team. 2018 wasn’t so great for them, but seeing their performance in 2017 as well as being a top 5 robot (in my opinion) in Indiana this year really goes to show how well they play, but just barely fall short of a dub every time in a way that’s both tragic and fitting to show that it takes a real force to put a stop to 461 when they’re on a good season. At the same time though, this year they finally pulled off a win during the off-season, and only time will tell if that translates into a blue banner. Any Purdue area student could obviously go way more in depth about this team, but I wanted to bring them up!
144 was awesome to work with in 2017. I feel like if the 2017 Miami Valley regional pair up were to happen in in 2019 it would’ve definitely culminated in a win!
I mean… We(1690) don’t technically qualify, since we have had a win in 2016, but ever since then we’ve had a sharp rise both in quality of the robots we’ve built and in the relative performance compared to the game…
And yet our first banner in three years is the recent Israel Off Season win… Yeah I would say we’re in dire need of an Official win
Once the most dominant team in FIRST with back-to-back World Championship wins in 2001-2002, 71 hasn’t won a blue banner of any kind since 2013, with 5x Finals since their last Blue Banner.
3928 has historically done well at their events, consistently makes the Championship, and yet hasn’t yet won an official event. It’s probably only a matter of time at this point, though, since they just get better every year.
What’s interesting about it is looking at how close they always come to that banner. They’re really consistent but just need to break through. I was looking at some data the other day and of all Indiana teams, 71 has the highest (predicted) rank at any given event when taking into account variation of rankings. They’re pretty much firmly planted in that 4-7 seed range at any event and just need that little push to make it there.
A big issue I’ve noticed with them is that they keep getting stuck in that 4-7 rank and therefore get stuck being a mid-tier captain. While Indiana is known as of late for having solid alliances no matter what seed, I personally feel as though the 5, 6, and 7 alliance have the hardest time winning. The 7 seed that won the first event in Indiana this past year had to play the 2, then the 3, and face off against the 1 in the Finals. It’s a rough schedule for whoever is the 7 seed. 5 and 6 aren’t much better with a possible 4,1,2 and 3,2,1 respectively. On top of possibly the hardest schedule, being a captain in that range loses out on major play makers. You miss out on those top 3 picks while also having to get your second pick from the next range of you do a tier system of top 3, 4-10, 11-16, and 16 on.
My personal belief is that 71’s best chance to have won a blue banner was State in 2017 and even then we (I was on 4272) got knocked out in semi’s as the 3 seed
What 71 tends to do really well is making their robots consistent and simple with a high scoring capacity. Games like 2017 REALLY played to their strengths, and that being said, I have a feeling like 2020 will be a good year for them. On top of that, with the way things are shaping up, St.Joseph 2020 is looking like that breakthrough for them (and possibly 461 too).
If both teams keep on the same paths they have been on, I definitely agree! Them teaming up with another team that’s typically consistent, but rank lower then they should by play (like 5402 or 4892 both rank way lower than they should) that could be a game changing alliance.
1836 has made some pretty baller robots in the last few years. Some of my favorite matches in 2016, 2018, and 2019 have been with and against them. Here’s hoping that they can bring their first blue banner since 2013 home in 2020!
There are a couple of Arizona teams that are always in that upper tier of competition at their events but seem to get knocked out in the Semis or Finals every time in recent years (4183, 4146, 1726 though they did just win the off-season AZ State Championship).
My nod though has to go to team 60. Their last event win was Vegas in 2011, since which they have had 7 Regional Finalist finishes. They earned 3 WFFA and an EI award in that time along with a host of other awards but an event win has eluded them. They’ll be a familiar number to older-FIRSTers who saw them in their first decade where they had multiple Einstein appearances and built possibly the best robot to never win an event (2004’s collaboration with 254, which was the captain or first pick of the #1 alliance at two Regionals and Champs but never won, even more surprising when you remember that was before the serpentine draft and matches were still 2v2). Like 71 they aren’t the dominant force of old but they build solid machines every season and are past due to finally get an event win.
Team 8 for sure. They went from nothing but a drivetrain at SVR in 2013, to a slew of very competitive robots in the last 3 years (with 2019 being one of their most advanced). They’ve had some bad luck in the bracket recently, so I’m hoping they can bring home a banner in 2020!
