The Amazing Race, Episode XI
Well, it's been one hell of a ride but all things come to an end. I won't keep you in suspense by making you wait to find out who the winners of the Amazing Race are. It's...
Hahahaha! Ah, I can be funny sometimes, can't I ;). Okay, this is the second to final leg and my memory is hazy as hell. The teams are leaving England on their way to Jamaica, I believe it is. The teams all got more than $600! If you're a frugal spender you can come out of this race rich even if you lose :P. I really couldn't tell you exactly everything that happens here but the teams having to build a bamboo raft is one of the more interesting highlights. Rob & Amber and Ron & Kelly get there before Uchenna & Joyce do but guess who finishes their raft first? Yep, you guessed it: Uchenna & Joyce. Working together as a team really really really helped them out. On the contrary, Ron & Kelly's bickering slowed them down and made them leave last. I never would've guessed that team bickering could have such an affect, but it does; and in Ron & Kelly's case it is subtle. Time that could be spent tying knots, or just whatever is needed is instead spent talking to the other person. A few seconds here, an exasperated pause there adds up to minutes behind the other teams.
Eventually we end up with the teams racing in taxis -- which look like minibuses to me, but oh well, they're taxis. Uchenna & Joyce end up in a good lead, at first. Their lead is even sweeter because Rob & Amber get held up at a police checkpoint by The Man but the other two teams sail right through. Heh, of all the people the cops pull over it's Godfather Rob :P. Rob & Amber make it through and their driver is fast so they catch up with the other two teams. Both teams are behind Uchenna & Joyce but close enough to notice that their rear driver side wheel is getting flat, and a pothole or large rock is enough to pop it. And guess what? Yep, it pops; flat tire for Uchenna & Joyce. What a setback, and on the way to the pit stop for this leg too! As has been typical, Ron & Kelly and Rob & Amber get on the mat at about the same time, literally seconds from each other. But, Ron & Kelly get there first but they got no reward or anything like Rob & Amber got last time! WTF!!!! Grrr. Moving on... Uchenna & Joyce get to the mat last and of course this being down to the last three teams the show isn't about to have the last leg be a two team affair, so this is a non-elimination round. They lose all their shit.
The next leg starts off with the teams getting $400, lots-o-money rolling around :P. Well, Uchenna & Joyce get nothing since they came in last at the last leg. Starting from now on this episode will be the Uchenna & Joyce "Hour of Power". Praise Him, amen, can I get an amen!! Oh wait, I'm not Christian. Many miracles shall befall these two. So these two have nothing but the clothes on their backs. Their first setback lies in them having to drive away from the next destination and instead towards the airport. They decide to do this in order to find more people to hit up for money. A kind man offers to drive them to the airport from the pit stop; miracle #1. They get to the airport and have a tough time begging for money, the show even shows some people being kind of rude and just telling them good luck. Really that's not too rude considering that strangers are begging for money, but I guess I feel this way because by now I know Uchenna & Joyce are really nice people so it sucks to see the callousness directed at them.
Eventually they get enough money to attempt to get a taxi. They actually don't have enough money to get to their destination from the airport but they plead their case to the driver and he accepts; miracle #2. So they get to destination and they have to chop 50 onions, bleh. Not having any money they don't have much water to drink to help them but they persevere and get through it, all the while being hopeful. They hail another taxi driver but now they are dead broke, but they plead their case and he accepts to drive them to their next destination, which is in Puerto Rico, for free; miracle #3. At the destination all the teams meet up because the attraction doesn't open until 7, I think, in the morning. So after being so far behind the front two teams Uchenna & Joyce catch up. This isn't so much of a miracle like the others, but it's not like we're counting here so what the hell, miracle #4, hahaha.
Inside this attraction lies a Road Block which requires a member from each team to free fall 30 feet from a bridge into a lake. Uchenna does it, Ron does it, but Amber gets confused and runs down the hill rather than plunge. This is a minor screwup for team Rob & Amber but hardly anything slows this team down. Amber is so exhausted from having to swim in the Road Block that she can't run to their car so Rob has her hop on his back and he carries her to the car, coolness. All teams get to the airport but Rob is a good driver and picks a toll booth with a short line so he ends up beating the other teams. At the airport Rob manages to find a flight that lands at the next country an hour and a half earlier than the generally available flight. Uchenna & Joyce get said generally available flight but wisely investigate other flights. They eventually track down the flight Rob & Amber got on but as they find it the runway is being pulled back from the plane so it would seem they are shit out of luck. But amazingly they plead their case again and the pilot of the plane agrees to let them on so the runway is then extended back to the plane, and they are also given time to buy tickets which they didn't even have when they asked to get on! This is the miracle to bind all miracles folks, miracle #5 with two snaps up! Rob & Amber see the runway antics from their seats on the plane and are understandably dismayed to see Uchenna & Joyce get on. At this point Ron & Kelly are out of contention.
So now they're going to Miami, Florida; site of the last stand. Now it's just a race between Rob & Amber and Uchenna & Joyce. The turning point in the race comes from information given to each team as they try to find the next destination. The information given to Rob & Amber is wrong, the information given to Uchenna & Joyce is correct. Should this count as a miracle? What the hell, miracle #6 :). So Uchenna & Joyce get the final clue first, directing them to the finish line. It should be noted that they are still pretty much broke but the taxi driver drives them to the finish line. They're short about $50 but the entrance to get into the area containing the finish line is right next to them. If this were Rob & Amber you can be sure they would've just ran in there and claimed victory over a million dollars, but this isn't Rob & Amber, this is Uchenna & Joyce. These two decide to beg again to get enough money to pay the taxi driver before claiming the victory. It is a very good thing Rob & Amber had bad info from before because it slowed them up, slowed them up so much in fact it allowed Uchenna & Joyce enough time to not only beg for $50 but still have time to spare upon claiming victory. So yes, even though my blog logs indicated an unusual number of searches for Uchenna & Joyce winning months ago, they are now the official winners of the Amazing Race!
Hahahaha, before I close this wonderful commentary of the Amazing Race I have to mention that a lot of teams were literally praying for Uchenna & Joyce to win! Well, at least one, I'm sure Alex & Lynn were praying as much for Rob & Amber not to win as anything else :P. Ya' know, given all the miracles that happened for Uchenna & Joyce, 6 at last count, hehe, you kind of have to wonder, did the prayers from the vanquished teams propel Uchenna & Joyce to victory? The world, may never know :).
And with those parting words, my dear readers, my commentary on the Amazing Race is over. I hope you've enjoyed reading with me, all 1 of you, as much as I've enjoyed honing my writing skills blogging about it :).