# Amazing Race 11/15 - "We're Not Meant for the Swamp" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724 "2009-11-16T02:11:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/21 "2009-11-16T15:13:21Z")
I wonder if the Globetrotters are gonna get the villain edit? I mean, we’re at the final four and the remaining teams run the gauntlet from “Meh” to “They’re not bad”. There’s no team left I love, but there’s no-one who I hate either. ANY of the final four with the possible exception of Team Zebra who’s winning on luck, not skill–would be an ok ending. Problem is, the Amazing Producers want a “villain” and it’s not beyond this show to manufacture a villain. (The funniest example of this was the hyperactive southern dentist around S7 or so. They _desperately_ wanted to make him Jonathon 2–the Revenge and he just wouldn’t cooperate. He called his wife a dumbass (or something) and the audience gasped…until she smiled, showed him the text of the clue and called him a double-dumbass (or something). He blew a gasket at her…then paused, looked at the map and said “Honey, you’re right, I’m an over-excitable moron. You were rahhhht an’ ah wuz wrong.” I’ve never seen such a blatant attempt to make someone look bad. What’s really funny is around episode 4 or 5, you can see the editors just shrugging and saying "We give up. He’s not a bad-guy…just hyperactive.🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/22 "2009-11-16T15:24:28Z")
If I remember correctly, Meghan & Cheyne were finished with the volleyball before the peloton arrived, so the other teams wouldn’t have seen them there. The Trotters and Sam & Dan may have figured that M&C[sup]\*[/sup] got lost, and that their race to the Pit Stop was for first place. They knew they weren’t last, because Brian & Ericka were still at the Detour. As it was, the risk was way too much for the reward. At best, you get a one-minute lead at the start of the next leg. At worst, I could see someone coming down on their hip on the edge of that boardwalk and taking themselves out of the Race. But what if this had been the last leg, and there was a race like that to the Mat? I assume there are rules for how much you can screw over other teams (I can think of one penalty for it). Could the brothers legally block the path, or could the Globies push them out of the way? If we were still doing nicknames, would Meghan and Cheyne be Team Mac & Cheese? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/23 "2009-11-16T15:28:22Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Well, as much as I dont want to see two professional athletes win The Amazing Race, the Globetrotters are the only team left that overall seem like decent, worthwhile people (even if they are prone to a little self promotion or gloating) …and pushing and shoving, and copping a macho attitude about it. I was really disappointed at the end – not about what happened in the fall (the camera was too far away, I really couldn’t see who went down first and who touched who) – but by the 'Trotter’s “okay, you wannna play rough, we’ll play rough” response. What I’ve liked about this team is their ability to shake off whatever happens and move on with a good attitude – and that’s not what they were showing last night. Hope that they come back after a good night’s sleep and decide to return to form. Bummer about Pinky and the Brain, but that was a seriously boneheaded leg for them. Ah well, they did well, esp. for having An Old Guy on the team. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/24 "2009-11-16T16:03:35Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > I know what a candelabra is, but might have been thrown off by the fact that the item they were looking for with a number appeared to just be a candlestick, not a candelabra (or am I wrong that candelabras by definition hold multiple candles?). I would have had the same problem, especially since there were items that I would consider to be candelabras spread around the outside of the room. I would have assumed that the ones on the table were just elaborate candlesticks. My guess is that the Boner Brothers are showers, not growers, and were peeking out of the fly on their boxer briefs. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/25 "2009-11-16T18:19:50Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > …and pushing and shoving, and copping a macho attitude about it. > > I was really disappointed at the end – not about what happened in the fall (the camera was too far away, I really couldn’t see who went down first and who touched who) – but by the 'Trotter’s “okay, you wannna play rough, we’ll play rough” response. What I’ve liked about this team is their ability to shake off whatever happens and move on with a good attitude – and that’s not what they were showing last night. Hope that they come back after a good night’s sleep and decide to return to form. > > Bummer about Pinky and the Brain, but that was a seriously boneheaded leg for them. Ah well, they did well, esp. for having An Old Guy on the team. I dont “think” that the Globetrotters were the aggressors in the situations with the brothers, but as you mentioned, the camera work made it hard for me to be certain. As you pointed out, the Globetrotters have usually (though I wasnt really fond of them teasing Mika on the waterslide, but it is a Race, so i somewhat understand) seemed like laid back, decent guys, so I guess I am giving them benefit of the doubt, as the brothers seem more like the high strung, freak out types, even when just dealing with each other, let alone other competeing teams. That said, even though I still like the Globetrotters best as people, I dont really think its right for two high paid professional atheletes to win a show like Amazing Race. Just my opinion, and one I dont expect everyone to share in… ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/26 "2009-11-16T19:56:43Z")
I still don’t get the Meghan/Cheyne hate. Sure, they’re boring and attractive but they can’t really help that. I don’t see where they were dishonest. They’ve played extremely well, using alliances when it would help them and going their own way the rest. They have meltdowns but they get over them quick and the reason they won today is because figured out the roadblock clue faster than the other teams. They’ve been my favorites from the beginning and I hope they win. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/27 "2009-11-16T19:58:10Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > That said, even though I still like the Globetrotters best as people, I dont really think its right for two high paid professional atheletes to win a show like Amazing Race. This came up before, and someone IRL said something to me about this today, and I just wonder how people know (or why people assume) that Flight Time & Big Easy are “high paid” professional athletes. Professional athletes, yes – but here is [one cite](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=535615) (post #32) from an earlier thread (and I also posted another cite in a different thread which I can’t find now) regarding their salaries. These are not necessarily “rich” people – at least, not in the sense that I would consider them rich. They make more than I do, but so does the local dogcatcher, no doubt. If they spend carefully and invest well, they might be more than comfortable. What is “wrong” with them winning on the basis of how much they made before they went on what is basically a game show? I … don’t get it. I’m not saying anyone is wrong here, I just don’t understand it. (I also wonder if they might to donate their winnings, if they win – they are playing in honor / tribute / remembrance of their friend and teammate [Chris “Flash” Richardson](http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3763584), who died suddenly last year. Maybe they want to give the money to their friend’s family, or the charities he supported? They haven’t said they would, but who knows?) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/28 "2009-11-16T20:13:45Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > (I also wonder if they might to donate their winnings, if they win – they are playing in honor / tribute / remembrance of their friend and teammate [Chris “Flash” Richardson](http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3763584), who died suddenly last year. Maybe they want to give the money to their friend’s family, or the charities he supported? They haven’t said they would, but who knows?) Actually, I thought I had read that they were planning to donate their winnings to Katrina relief… I’ll try to find a cite for that. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/29 "2009-11-16T20:20:56Z")
Well, not really a cite, but I read it in [our thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11708168&postcount=70) a few weeks ago: > [@Drain Bead](#): > > I read on the TWoP forums that Flight Time and Big Easy will be donating a substantial portion of their winnings, if they win, to Katrina relief and recovery charities. So “Do it for the hood” takes on a whole new meaning. I can’t say for sure if it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/30 "2009-11-16T20:27:13Z")
Sorry for the sequential posting; keep missing the edit window. The [TWOP post](http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3188880&st=0#) that **Drain Bead** was referring to: > [@TudorQueen](#): > > Love them both, so funny and charming and balancing the ‘easygoing’ with the ‘focused’. And I’m prejudiced in their favor because my dad took me to see the Globetrotters many years ago and boy, did they put on a show. > > I heard somewhere that they vowed that if they won they’d donate the winnings to charity. Anyone know anything more? ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/31 "2009-11-16T22:07:38Z")
While I wasn’t sure why junk-blurring was necessary for Sam and Dan, I did appreciate the Amazing Editors blurring out Pinky’s plumber crack. I found this episode rather boring. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/32 "2009-11-16T22:40:23Z")
I just spent a while searching for some definitive statement that the Globetrotters plan on donating their winnings, and all I can find are people who “heard somewhere” that that was the plan. Sooo… it still could be true, but I suspect that, if so, they’ve not actually _said_ officially that it’s so. However, Big Easy, according to [his bio](http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/team/players/index.html?player_id=15), is active in a Katrina charity, “We Have Not Forgotten,” so I would be unsurprised if he donates at least a portion of his earnings to said charity. In any case, I can’t get too worked up about the Globetrotters competing. They make a comfortable living playing ball, I’m sure, but this show has _also_ had multiple lawyers and MBAs as contestants, who probably make as much or more as the Globetrotters, and will continue to do so through their sixties. I don’t think having lawyers on the show is fundamentally unfair, and I don’t think that winning lawyers would be morally obligated to donate their winnings to charity. Neither do I think that having athletes on the show is fundamentally unfair, and neither do I think they should be morally obligated to donate their winnings to charity. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/33 "2009-11-16T22:58:24Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Sorry for the sequential posting; keep missing the edit window. > > The [TWOP post](http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3188880&st=0#) that **Drain Bead** was referring to: The post I remember was someone saying that they’d heard that they were donating winnings and would be back later with a link. I never saw a link, though. ---
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/34 "2009-11-16T23:33:10Z")
On one of the “secret scenes” that they show on CBS, Big Easy does say that they & the Bros don’t need to be mad at each other, but mad at Megan & Cheyne. They also kind of apologize to each other. Those are often a lot of fun to watch. I’ve only seen a couple so far this week, but I love it. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/35 "2009-11-17T02:22:34Z")
Just a quick note - am I the only one the keeps reading Cheyne as Cheyenne and then wondering “where the hell is the all girl team everyone keeps talking about”? ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/36 "2009-11-17T02:43:16Z")
I also wanted to add to this - the Globetrotters seem to be seriously fast on foot - what I saw of the latest episode they seemed to catch up to the bros damn fast man. Would also be cool to know just how much one team is allowed to screw with another, in terms of outright stealing taxis, knocking them down or whatever. Call me stupid if you like, but it would be seriously cool to see the globe-trotters really use their size to full on shoulder check somebody and just bounce them out of the way. Finally a “challenge” series may also be fun. Professional atheletes vs professional brains, vs porfessional travellers vs linguists vs team that never had passport before etc etc… ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/37 "2009-11-17T13:52:08Z")
Forgot to mention…I am so over the brothers. “Toe-vair”? Really? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/38 "2009-11-17T14:04:48Z")
I was curious about the reference at the end of the show to the large number of meteor craters in Estonia, so I [asked about it in GQ.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=540277) ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/39 "2009-11-17T14:13:29Z")
OMG, I was giggling like a loon at the pixelated shorts. It was like a fan dance - concealment made it much more titillating as you tried to imagine just what was going on behind the blur! Poor Matt - to go out in part because you did something really humiliatingly dumb is tough. Until the day he dies, he will cringe whenever he hears or reads “candelabra.” ---
**Author:** ![Theodore\_Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Theodore\_Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theodore_Striker)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724/40 "2009-11-17T14:16:17Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I still don’t get the Meghan/Cheyne hate. Sure, they’re boring and attractive but they can’t really help that. I don’t see where they were dishonest. They’ve played extremely well, using alliances when it would help them and going their own way the rest. They have meltdowns but they get over them quick and the reason they won today is because figured out the roadblock clue faster than the other teams. They’ve been my favorites from the beginning and I hope they win. Don’t get me wrong, they are excellent racers, much less susceptible to full on meltdown and killer fatigue than I anticipated. They also weren’t necessarily dishonest either in the cab, just not helpful. I think part of the hate stems from the fact that they are both good, young, blonde, and pretty, but both come off a little too much like they know they are all of these qualities, and are a bit smug about it. And they are really not that attractive- they just don’t have physical features that make them unattractive. Lastly, there is the douchey way that Schoeayne’s name is spelled. I know, he can’t help it, but it still makes me want to punch him on principle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-11-15-were-not-meant-for-the-swamp/517724.md?page=3)