Ok championship veterans, help me out here.
I have been home now sleeping in my own bed for three nights but the dreams just won’t stop. I can’t get the championships out of my head. It’s not like they are bad dreams, just everything replaying in my head, matches, different robot designs, rooting other teams on …….
It’s like coming back from a cruise where I keep rocking for a week.
When does it stop? I need a good nights sleep!
It never stops. Championships will be in your head forever!!! MWHAHAHAHA!!!
For me, it’s the dizziness feeling like I am still on an airplane. Although, that’s almost gone.
ok, so like all of the sudden after nationals this mysterious thing happened where i can’t talk except with a really scratchy voice when i could even talk at all… its just going away now… i thought those hot dogs had something in them 
I’ve had the dreams thing too. Every day, I wake up in the morning with team numbers and strategies and whatnot running through my head.
Obsessive? Noooo
I think there was another thread started about this… but does everyone see random numbers, gas prices, the time, and think about some team… this might just be a scouting thing cuz i look at the time and im like, oh i remember those guys, they can score 1-2 ringers max 3 and they can lift 2 robots 12" as long as they position themselves right, and i love their paint job. I was getting pretty impressed with myself when someone would ask about a team and they would look for “The Box” and I would be like “just ask me, i already memorized the whole freaking thing”…Then i look at gas prices and its like $2.17 and i’m like… i heart those guys 
Maybe you’re still resonating with the 2005 Championship? $2.17 gas was a while back …
Going the distance will stay with you for a lifetime. Maybe longer. Vividly. 
Good luck with the sleep thing.
Jane
I think of all the people, of course it’s the drivers on our team who miss the competition more than anyone. That energy down on the field, the walk to the field thinking strategy, the team work with our alliance, and remembering how it good it felt every time we put a tube on or took a spoiler off. In our science classes and math classes we replay videos of our matches and it’s like “Aghh! I want to go back”. But, sigh, it’s officially off-season and back to reality. It’s not bad, it’s just going to take awhile to not miss the competition as much.
What are you talking about? “Stop”? What is this…“stop”? FIRST doesn’t stop…these months are for outreach, fundraisers, finishing the '07 code, prototyping for '08, dreaming about '09, getting pumped for '10, and cleaning up the random crap in the shop from '06, '05, '04, and '03.:yikes:
But seriously, why should all the fun stop? There’s off-season events, and plenty of ideas to explore before we’re back in a build window. I don’t plan on idling any time soon…
Ever since I got back from Championships, I’ve been wearing some form of teamwear every day. The day I came back, I wore a Panteras (what number are you guys? It’s not on the shirt…) t-shirt, my team jacket, my team party wristband, and my “Pit Crew” badge from being the programmer during eliminations. To quote one of my friends, I’m “bathing in nerdiness”
Take all of that energy and put it to use making next year sweet!
Word.
It only stops when you stop caring…so hopefully it will never stop! On monday, when i had to go back to my mundane life of school, FIRST period, I pulled out my magazine and the first page it turns when i open it randomly is…71…then our teacher tells us 5 minutes later to turn to page 179…i was like…“is this some sick dream?? Thats our alliance!” Everyone looked at me funny, but maybe thats from having two medals clinking on my neck and a pink shirt on…but seriously…it doesnt stop, like others said, you have outreach to recruit more students, mentors and sponsors…demos to show off your robot…off-season events to compete in…fundraising for the next season…and not to mention, reverse engineering and seeing what you can do better next year!
It doesn’t stop.
Heck, I’m going to a Lego Robot event next week (It’s not associated with FLL, though) to help me cope with robotics withdrawals now that the season is over. I’m also CADding our chassis to help with withdrawals.
The Panteras are team 2283.
never, ever does it stop. you will be replaying those moments until u get new moments to fill them in with.
yeah it doesn’t stop. ever. It hasn’t stopped for me since the end of toronto’s regional. I didn’t even go to championships. I am almost scared as to what I would be doing the few days after if our team ever made it there lol I have also been CADing a prototype for '08 to keep me sane lol
Nothing can ever stop your mind thinking about FIRST… it is like a train that just keeps on going forever and ever!
I went to art school, FIRST is still everywhere… from hairgel that only works after using it 116 times to the fact that to drive my teacher nuts when he asked what time it was I gave him FIRST team names… we started class at WildStang and he gave up and sent me home right after Thunderchickens.
It’s instance like these, and people like these, that make me smile. It helps me cope with the fact that I am a graduating senior and it makes me happy to know that there are other people out there that are EXACTLY like me. I know that FIRST will never end for me. I will do it forever. Hehehehe. But, seriously, that whole thing with seeing team numbers everywhere and feeling like they haunt you is a real thing. I often times compare myself to Drew Carrey in The Number 23, except instead of one number, I am haunted by the plethora of numbers that are FIRST. 
I usually have a period after the competition where I can’t sleep because I can’t stop thinking about new designs. It usually stops after several days.
My whole head is still in FIRST mode: I’m designing next years drive train & robot, thinking through who’s robot did what, that we need to turn the robot a bit more to get it to see the rack, all that good stuff. And on top of that I have all my make-up homework to do which is a constant reminder.
And besides who can forget FIRST as: “Oink, Oink, BOOM!” “I say Kaptain, you say Crunch!” and “Red a-lli-ance!!” (To name a few.) Go through my head.
I don’t think I’ll ever get out of FIRST. Just waaaaay to much fun.