My father is one of the most sportsmanlike people on the planet. One of the first things he taught our soccer teams is that you have to know you’re going to win and believe it. I just chalked it up to confidence and not entitlement. It’s possible I’m wrong in their case but I’m not so sure that I am.
OK, so now that this is over, can someone please pit offshore bookies?
I’m referring, of course, to things like this, where we discovered the winners of The Amazing Race about TWO MONTHS ago.
I tried to forget the information, but could not. And every week they weren’t voted off just increased the chance that the information was accurate.
Err, I mean eliminated.
Something bothers me – no mention at the end of the show of the next Race? Haven’t they done that the last few times?
The next one (which will be the family version) will be shot this summer and won’t be airing till September some time. So no mention yet; it probably hasn’t even been fully cast yet.
Yes, it won’t be until Fall. CBS has to keep its summer lineup free for the weekly three primetime hours of Big Brother.
I just wanted to ask if anyone else noticed Brian and Greg’s new look at the end?
It was interesting, but I think I prefered them clean shaven.
YAY UCHENNA AND JOYCE!
Yeah, I noticed that…I think maybe they were looking for “distinctive” or maybe even “funny”, but it ended up turning out just “odd” to me.
Funny how things turn out, would Ron & Kelly realized that they can’t stand each other if the redneck guys hadn’t been so slow in running to the mat in the first episode? I think the race just saved them the trouble and time of a divorce…
Sure wish we could have seen more of the star-crossed crypto-lesbians…though the choice of custom Wal-Mart silk-screened tops for the final mat was a little disappointing.
Yeah, I saw it. In fact, my train of thought went roughly “Yay Uchenna and Joy…wait, what the hell is that on the brothers’ faces?” The right facial hair on the right guy can look very hot, but that wasn’t it.
Wow, all the spoilers were right. Somebody must have leaked. I hope CBS does an investigation and nails their ass to the wall, that shit ain’t right. It’s probably not one of the teams, at least none of them seem that stupid…but I wouldn’t put it past some lowly crew member holding the boom mike at the finish line.
And while we’re pitting people, how about the “Amazing Race Talk” radio show by Reichen (winner of TAR4) at The Fishbowl – I was doing everything I could to avoid that spoiler, and one night, wouldn’t you know it, Reichen blurts it right out. Of course he covered himself by saying “It might not be true…” Yeah, wrong.
And that final stingy cab driver ain’t getting a Christmas card, that’s for sure!
Well, maybe not. It does seem that someone along the route of the last leg managed to snap a picture of U&J. Really anyone they came in contact with could have leaked it. Perhaps even somebody they begged money from outside the park figured out what was going on. If I saw these two begging for money like that and then saw them cast on The Amazing Race, it wouldn’t take much to put two and two together. Then I get to make a bet and get myself some cash.
As for the cab driver, I don’t blame him too much, especially considering U&J were short by a whole lotta cash. Those people in the airport who wouldn’t give them anything however… :wally
I am VERY happy about the outcome. I was crying like a baby. I am also very happy that Ron & Kelly didn’t win. Just something about them rubs me the wrong way.
A little site note for all those Lynn & Alex Lovers!!!
Did anyone else sense the hand of the producers in the pilot’s decision to allow Uchenna & Joyce on the plane? He certainly saved CBS from one of the most boring race finishes ever.
My opinion is certainly colored by past “experience” with them, and I freely admit to an anti-Rob bias. I was an athlete myself, and I agree with your father’s “know and believe you are going to win” sentiment, but I also know that there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance – and Rob’s line is perforated. Uchenna & Joyce (well, Uchenna, anyway) remained positive and goal-oriented without ever coming off quite as negatively as Rob & Amber (well, Rob, anyway). Maybe it’s a hair-splitting distinction, but to me those teams were day and night.
i must have not been paying too much attention, but when Amber went to do the jumping off thing, how did she get so lost? There were two other teams right there, and next thing you know they’re out in the grass somewhere?? Not that I minded… 
You know, that coulda cost them a million dollahs…at least we won’t have to hear that anymore.
I almost had a coronary when that one team was scrounging around for money at the end and Team TV-whores was gaining on them. My bp is still way up there.
and let me be at least the 100th person on this board to say… Yeahhhh babbyyyyyy!!!
Yep…and that’s what spoiled the finale for me. I actually didn’t mind that U&J won, except that I feel that the plane was held for them through some help from CBS. I’ve got like half a million frequent flyer miles, have been in something like 15 countries, on all types of aircraft, and airlines…and I’ve never seen them push the breezeway back out and re-open the door for a passenger. That just killed the whole show for me…because it showed that the best team didn’t win. Rob and Amber have been the best racers most consistantly throughout the show…they should have won.
This season was better than the last one, but too many more “coincidences” like that and I won’t be watching any more.
Well, they don’t get a bad rap from me. Rob and Amber obviously have a very strong relationship – that’s much easier to watch than the disaster that was Ron and Kelly. Or Ray and Deanna. Or Rebecca and Adam. Or Asshole and Victoria. And their game was strong – compare them to the other reality whore, whats-her-name from Big Brother, who lasted all of two episodes. And finally, Rob’s been a big fan of TAR for a long while. He’s still a reality TV whore, sure, but everyone has their weaknesses. I’m writing about TAR instead of working. Rob and Amber are reality whores. No one’s perfect.
Still, I do think you’re wrong – Rob and Amber were certainly a strong team, but Uchenna and Joyce were better. They caught a lucky break when the pilot let them on the airplane, absolutley. But that was only after the unlucky break in Jamaica with the flat tire. Other than that flat tire – totally not their fault – Uchenna and Joyce ran a flawless race, here at the end where they needed it.
The only thing I can recall off the top of my head that would be impeding other teams was bribing the bus driver to keep the door closed way back in the second episode (a plot Joyce and Uchenna were in on, by the way). And, realisitically, that didn’t affect the outcome all that much. But, yeah, I’d be in favor of rule changes where you can’t hold back other teams. Which means getting rid of the yield, too.
I’m sure their celebrity status helped, but I don’t think it should be overestimated, either. They weren’t exactly travelling incognito – not with a camera following them around all the time. Plenty of regular people are excited to get on camera. Something that Rob and Amber can relate too, I’m sure. But I think you saw a lot of locals helping Rob and Amber because Rob wouldn’t hesitate just to ask. “Hey; come be on TV” is a powerful inticement, and there’s no reason the other teams couldn’t do the same thing. In fact, I wish more would.
I dunno. I’d be thinking that anyone asking for money is pulling some kind of scam. I see it all the time in real life. “I lost my wallet; I just need enough money for bus fare home to Chicago; just twenty bucks, man…” Yeah, right.
And to add to that: I hate that begging is part of the race strategy. How much did we see last night of Joyce and Uchenna begging money? Augh! I cringe when I see that. It’s not entertaining. If I thought it was entertaining, I’d go down town and watch the professional beggars do it. But it’s not fun. It’s depressing. Jesus.
I agree she has some drama queen tendencies- mixed with a dose of she wants to get married NOW, while she’s in the spotlight.
But on the other hand, I have something to say to Ron–The average woman is going to have more emotional needs and be less shy about sharing them than is the average soldier. Yes, Kelly is being dramatic (and yes, she is silly to think that you have to decide the future of your relationship during the race; rather than, say, in the time between the filming of the last episode and the airing of the last episode). But I got the feeling sometimes that Ron was not prepared to deal with any emotional neediness-- and I don’t think this is a healthy approach to relationships either.
Well, as long as we’re complaining about Ron, I myself was pretty amazed at his “control” issues. Dude, I understand that you were a POW and everything and that you don’t want someone controlling your life like that any more. But honestly, marriage is not a comparable situation. Seriously.
I have to disagree zut. U & J were constantly getting lost, constantly screwing up through the whole race and like M & G, the only thing that kept them in the race for so long is that so many other teams that were younger and faster made even more dumb mistakes than they did. They were lucky (maybe) that they got on that plane with Rob and Amber. As Atrael said, maybe too lucky…I’m not especially unhappy with the outcome of the race as I’d rather see U & J with the money than Ron and Kelly but I do think that Rob and Amber were the best racers this season. As someone said earlier in the thread they also have a good relationship with each other which is awesome after some of the nightmares we’ve seen labeled as relationships on TAR.
I do agree with your analysis of why people were helping Rob and Amber.
Lastly, that yield blocking Ron and Kelly instead of U & J really looms now doesn’t it? If they’d kicked off U & J that week instead of M & G I bet the outcome would have been far different. I think that Rob just considered Ron and Kelly to be more of a threat than any other team and that’s why he yielded them.