FIRST robotics combines high technology with a bit of the gaudy carnival. Teams always have shirts and signs. Some have banners to wave. A few have their own cheering squads. Perhaps a quarter have official mascots.
With my team doing well under my cunning strategy of leaving them the heck alone I had ample time to wander here and there looking at things. The glaring stadium lighting and constant motion did pose some photographic challenges but here's a few pictures that made me smile.
I used to make robot costumes like this for my kids at Halloween. They are not easy to walk in.
FIRST tournaments all have a "Mascots Corner" where these serious enthusiasts can go crazy. You should see it when the inter match music is some kind of Polka or "The Macarena".
FIRST is not Battlebots. The robots are, under strict penalties, not allowed to mix it up. Mascots, like Jesters since time immemorial, get a bit of latitude. This of course was good natured fun between old friends.
I liked these hats.
You get the most intimate view of things in the quiet moments. The crowd has moved over to the competition side to watch the finals. Team 3206, done for the year, has packed up their big fuzzy Husky (?).
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