Three great matches had helped us move up the rankings to 21st place.  Marvin was in tip-top shape.  Our previously loose battery was solid, the IR board was receiving loud and clear, the chains stayed solid, and all we could do was hope to be chosen.  Let the nail biting begin!

Alliance Selection

Perhaps the most nerve-wracking part of the entire weekend was the Alliance Selection Ceremony.  There were 30 teams at Waterloo, and 24 of them would continue through to the elimination matches.   The top 8 teams were in charge - everyone’s fate was in their hands.  When team #1 (2154) chose team #2 (1114) the beginning of a dynasty was being put in place.  More of the top 8 teams allied with each other, and seeding moved up to reflect this.  When it came time for the 8th place seed to chose our second alliance we were nervous but not particulary on edge (we hoped to be picked in the second round of selections).  After a miscue on the team numbers, they chose us as an alliance member.  WOW!  We could relax - we were in!

Elimination Matches

First Place Alliance vs. Eigth Place Alliance - best 2 out of 3.  Some might call it David vs. Goliath, but we were just glad to be there.  Our alliance had a strategy planned that hoped to negate the awesome point scoring abilities of our opponents.  All we could do was hope it would work.  It didn’t.  Our defensive strategy didn’t really put a dent in the scoring of the awesome alliance we were up against.  But we weren’t out yet all 3 alliance members were ready to go again. A quick team meeting resulted in the scrapping of the defensive strategy and a decision to go all out offense.  We’d score as many points as we could and just hope it would be more than the other team.  It wasn’t.  But at the end of the match we could find solace in the fact that we had done our part but that we were just beaten by a stronger alliance.  No shame in that.  And of course we lost to the alliance that eventually won it all.  We can live with that.