My 3000th post, so I decided to create something celebratory for this occasion! Enjoy my wondrous Buzzfeed trip.
31 SEASONS and number 32 coming... soon--from the very first time we saw their adrenaline spike at Batoka Gorge, to the most recent winners who strove for their victory again after having it slip 14 years ago in their home state--we have witnessed 300-plus teams break out of their comfort zones and break the comfort zone to the point production needed to fix it. While plenty of racers have pushed through moments that demanded they take their inhibitions by the horns, a handful have overthrown their shortcomings, defied the odds, and even left a lasting impression, or even bigger legacy, on the show. These racers' no-quit mentality and moments of triumph deserve to be shared once more. And despite the mixed feelings some viewers may have toward certain racers, I think of the overachievement and impact they exhibited, reminders of why I'm greatly invested in this show. Between high-profile impact to underappreciated memories, here is a compilation of my top 15 moments of teams and racers who went above and beyond Race expectations!
#15. (TAR14, Leg 6 - Mel & Mike)["
My dad just smoked the Roadblock."]
If an animal could represent TAR, it would be the camel. Smart, emotional, stubborn, stinky, slow, but also sorta fast, luggage strapped on their backs, kicking people once in a while, and also unafraid to spit. Though it was this brawny Roadblock in Jaipur, India that proved one unexpecting racer to blow camel shenanigans out of the dirt. Mel, a 68-year old clergyman, started the task at the same time as a decorated NFL cheerleader, Hollywood stuntman, a girls' basketball coach, and Bionic Woman Margie. His commendable effort was soon brought into the light as the other Roadblock volunteers made a critical error, fetching hay using the water bucket instead of a wicker basket in the latter half of the Roadblock. This mistake caused Mel to close the gap and he would defeat all four of those physical threats combined as he mustered through the labor-intensive job with grunting force, handling every pour and dump with gusto and underestimation. Starting off as the 5th team to read the RB clue to being the 2nd team to finish the overall task, Mel found himself sweeping the competition against the young adults and ended up supreming the rest of the leg with his son LIKE A BOSS! Goes to show how much a clue well-read is a leg well spent and that an age cap does not need to exist for a good race.
#14. (TAR27, Leg 12 - Kelsey & Joey)["
We've been studying everything we could possibly think of."]
Famous for the constant reminders of their 2nd place shadowing behind Justin & Diana in the latter half of the season, the Californian newscasters' time to shine arrived on Long Island's coast. During a Triple Crown shot of masterminding country capitals, flags, and Race items in a row, it was inevitable a particular team that proposed to each other with a TAR-themed rite of passage would finish the season with a bang. Kelsey & Joey challenged that superfandom intellect by pulling ahead on the way to the beach as Green Team had a brief taxi holdup. They created as much of a buffer as possible by flawlessly finishing a whole lobster pot excursion without a hitch and sneaking geography knowledge from under their sleeves. By the time they were assembling the Adirondack chairs in the final memory task, Justin & Diana had caught up to the reporters like the Jaws shark, taunting them to be eaten alive, and Kelsey & Joey went into construction overdrive to ultimately best the team with a 1st place legacy. One of the most intense underdog headlines of the 2010s next to Tiger Woods winning a Masters in his decline years. When the tough gets going, you must become tougher, and Kelsey and Joey did exactly that.
#13. (TAR15, Leg 1 - Maria & Tiffany)["
EAT THE WASABI!"]
Maria went all-in during a Japanese game show set. As the first Roadblock taker of the season between her and Tiffany, the poker Hall of Famer had to chance a mysterious roulette game where the premise required racers to wait until they landed a dastardly "wasabi bomb" sushi wrap before devouring the monstrosity in two minutes. After some teams had already left the Tokyo Tower Studios, she finally receives her first roll. Unfortunately for her, the wasabi betrayed her in the first round. The in-game host instilled further ridicule as she was still chewing. While the game show resumed from her, the wheel ultimately chose her back-to-back, visibly frustrating everyone in the room, including the host. Pressure was dead set on vilifying Maria within the first task of the season. On the second attempt, she implemented her "mind over matter" strategy. By a close shave, Maria doused the heat one second before the timer could clock out and the crowd roared. Although fellow racer Brian also had to redo the task, feasting on two globs of this horseradish paste in a row is akin to a dangerous 2013 Internet challenge that followed where health concerns came out of it. In this 2009 instance of cruel luck, utmost condolences to Maria for unknowingly pioneering a viral phenomenon before its time and championing the burn.
#12. (TAR21, Leg 5 - Jaymes & James)["
If I crawl back, we'll make it."]
The Chippendales were one of the least expected teams that season to falter in a physically-inclined task. But their frugal food spending during the first few legs snowballed into an imminent disaster during the bamboo delivery Detour. Matters worsened when they confused their own bamboo assortment with Trey & Lexi's, leaving three essential poles behind at the stockyard. Their entire cargo was forced to "return to sender" in order to collect their missing inventory. Both were brought down by the radiator climate of Dhaka where Jaymes was on the verge of passing out. Between James prepping for his emotional breakdown to Jaymes being a misstep away from faceplanting at the entrance to the Pit Stop, the way they kept hauling ass on a near-empty tank remains a valuable lesson to nourish - for all racers. Their persistence following their mistake is what made this weird transition into a new TAR era a little more special and brought some needed insight on how well teams should eat and hydrate during this competition. No way this is a break-the-barrier overachievement, but it's a moment that asks the philosophical question: how far can two racers push before their combined all is not enough? (Cue an overworked Bionic Woman Margie.) In other words, eat your vegetables and drink a Nestle Pure Life. Insurmountable effort by these guys.
#11. (TAR20, Leg 11 - Vanessa & Ralph)["
We'll take the penalty!"]
Suffering an arduous ankle accident in the previous Leg, Vanessa was required to fulfill her remaining duties as a Roadblock performer after Ralph maxed his limit before the finale. The task she had to conquer was another one of these TAR Japanese game show collections: sprint on a Sushi Roulette-colored treadmill to snag three rubber chickens and jump onto a gymnastics mat to end the nightmare. Following each crash n' burn from dealing with the swelling pain, Vanessa's now-ex would shout words of discouragement in performing the task ranging from "I'm telling you what to do" to "We'll take the penalty", out of worry she would tear a muscle or non-figuratively break a leg if she kept going. Vanessa was having none of the quitter attitude, persevering the run until she could prove him wrong and prove to herself she was a fighter. All sleeved shirts came off as she zoned out the outside noise. She yanked all three chickens piece by piece, then jumped with a burning determination onto the endpoint. The in-game host and his entourage--who didn't feel like losing audience members this season in a crosswalk scramble--congratulated her with a final confetti shower which she felt too exhausted from the hits and licks to celebrate. Regardless of her foot, Vanessa showed how badly she wanted to win over just opting to take the cost of the penalty in this all-important leg. Mostly, a stubborn decision to quit is a worse sprain to the soul than an honest elimination. ~Pain is temporary, but greatness is forever. Who am I kidding? That was the best effort with an injury I've seen on the show (sorry Ronald).
#10. (TAR1, Leg 9 - Joe & Bill)["
We got about 8 hours to kill. Maybe more than that."]
The Guidos' decision to go into vacation mode really had production starting to build the remaining episodes just to show how far behind they were from Rob & Brennan and Frank & Margarita. Although they were not a team who pushed their physical limits on the race, unless it was physically stopping people from getting inside an elevator at the Tunis Airport, Joe & Bill brought attention to this loophole and went so astray that they became relics on a bygone leg. As part of the guinea pig season, let's just say they were Murphy's Law personified and gave production new thoughts on how to make season 2 run a bit smoother in terms of sticking with the pack. More specifically, implementing more equalizers. It's been enforced with frequent transportation hubs and race-prepared hours of operations. No team has had this extreme of a gap since, even with teams losing their passports and leaping before they look when booking flights.
#9. (TAR17, Leg 1 - Brook & Claire)["
She got whacked in the face with a watermelon!"]
Brook & Claire flair and their kiss count swept the world, but not before they became viral sensations after CBS threw them to the Internet sharks and let them have at it with Claire's watermelon-to-the-face fiasco. The most traumatic memory a racer has had since the Weaver Family peeled and deveined shrimp, Claire was stunned to hear that the post-concussion solution was to still complete the Roadblock. As Brook said herself, "They don't call it The Amazing Race for nothing." With a slight fear of her ballista malfunctioning again, she dusted herself back off the English green and managed to knock down her knight on the second try after the incident. If this does not scream the quickest overcoming of a new fear and owning the task after it owned you, I'd like to eat the sandal from the season 31 premiere.
#8. (TAR16, Leg 8 - Jet & Cord)[
"We should play poker when this is done."]
A scarce team type: worst to first without using a Fast Forward. The casuals' and bandwagoners' favorite cowboys turned heads with their takeover in Penang, Malaysia and converted a bunch of viewers into forever fans of them with their performance in this leg alone. They pocketed a triumph on the flag balancing act so fast that by the time they reached the Speed Bump, the other six teams were just starting their joss stick processions up the temple's stairs at the other option, and Steve & Allie in dead last after losing their taxi switching tasks (how the turn tables). This leveraged enough of a lead for Jet & Cord to squeeze in their tea-serving SB and coconut offering Roadblock without having to see another team until the next leg. As one of the first to accomplish such a remarkable turn of events, it's no mystery they were invited back for a second all-stars batch just from this statistical legacy alone. No other team since has achieved this caliber of a redemption blowout.
#7. (TAR3, Leg 5 - Teri & Ian)["
This is like..... cool."]
Normally, quick car maintenance would not be an impressive feat. However, Dieselgate became a rich part of TAR history where four teams fueled their sketchy jeeps with unleaded gas in a diesel guzzler. This honest mishap eventually changed the protocol for self-drive vehicles. TAR accepted a multi-year sponsorship from Mercedes-Benz starting in the following season to prevent teams from turning a quarter of an episode into a AAA Roadside Assistance commercial. And Murphy's Law, the first instance we see of product placement ended up being comedy gold (thanks to Tian & Jaree's SUV trunk not closing). Back to topic, only one team managed to DIY themselves out of this mess and it was the man with the plan Ian where he and Teri walked to an open gas station, siphoned the regular gas out, and nozzled in diesel all with their own bare hands. An ordinary, yet so sought after skill, got him and Teri back on the road quickly to the Algeciras ferry terminal. It certainly helps in emergencies like these to know how to do basic vehicle fixes and this act of self-reliance offered more than what the race aimed to showcase. This will likely be one of the only instances of voluntary engine maintenance we will ever get to experience on the show (besides TAR28's Roadblock in the Armenian hillside). And a memorable one at that.
#6. (TAR23, Leg 12 - Travis & Nicole)[
"I wanted to cry, and you know what, I said, I'm not going to cry. I need to stay focused. I can do this."]
Juneau brought us a truly breathtaking episode that still gives me some of the most heebie-jeebies for a TAR finale. In a long-forgotten scene, ER nurse Nicole slips and drops her ice pick into a deep abyss while she attempts to scale a treacherous side of Mendenhall Glacier. Was production going to turn this into a rescue helicopter mission, ask for assistance from the people in charge of the crossing, give them a 15-minute penalty for losing that pick? Absolutely not. Nicole suckered up to the challenge and climbed the glacier using just her one pick in both hands and puncturing the ice with her shoe spikes for stability. After a mountaineer-defying act that even broke Travis away from his typical deadpan cheering, she made it to the other side of the ditch unscathed and carried on with her day as if nothing happened LIKE A WARRIOR. Miraculous moments of people overachieving in the most random settings is the main motivator of why I find this show brilliant even after all these years. Nicole definitely raised the bar for racer expectations with this signature daredevil act. Prepare yourself well for anything emotionally and physically, and you can take on the world.
#5. (TAR20, Leg 9 - Bopper & Mark)["
I've got three kids I've gotta raise. I'm going home, man."]
While in Cochin, India, Mark had to overcome his figurative two left feet during the Bollywood dance Roadblock. A less-than-seasoned dancer, the Kentucky man kept his cool as the humidity rose. Mark spent more than twelve exhausting attempts to relearn the entire sequence and figure out his groove. Motivated by making his and Bopper's relatives and friends back home proud, and the hope of cashing in a winners' check, Mark pushed through the dark side of show business with some convincing from the choreographer who felt like Mark giving up would be such a disservice to himself. After another pleading go at it, Mark conquered his lack thereof and the scene was embraced by the 25 backup dancers all cheering for him. The show managed to capture not only the true essence of a lovable team, but one of the first influences for the current state of editing: a non-chalant task to task to Pit Stop journey after the adrenaline-pumping past 10 seasons and season 20's beginning legs. Personally, this moment should've never been celebrated in such a one-off way because I loathe the editing style nowadays because of this. On the other hand, Mark is an awesome guy and means well. Hope the Kentucky fathers are doing okay.
#4. (TAR10, Leg 8 - Dustin & Kandice)["
Come on little car, make it up the hill."]
As the "it" factors for a fan-favorite team, they not only disproved the played-out weak stereotypes of blondes, but beat the odds to solidify themselves with a legendary accomplishment. The beauty queens received the stamp of approval as the first-ever team to defeat a truly active Fast Forward (whereas the Guidos and Dennis & Andrew were already hours behind) during a tight race between them, the Cho Bros, and the Cow Lips Quartet in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Adding in the anti-effectiveness of a four-legged race AKA the Intersection, Dustin and Kandice set themselves apart in a way that very few teams have successfully mastered, but many try to copy: the knack to have an open mind, be lionhearted, and to able to hustle out of rocky situations. Juggling this loud personality in the earlier days of TAR, you got one of the very first alpha-female duos with many more to come following these two's competitive model like Kristi & Jen, Kym & Alli, Katie & Rachel, the Bunnies, and the now
traitors Survivor namesakes: the Twinnies.
#3. (TAR2, Leg 13 - Chris & Alex)["
TARA!"]
Anyone with a television during this season screamed at it with overwhelming joy when Chris & Alex passed up one of the most emotionally manipulative duos of TAR- or Tara-kind only for them to pity-congratulate them for being great competitors. This moment is forever cemented as the most famous live captures of never counting a team out until they reach the Pit Stop, or in this case, the Finish Mat. A lengthy jog to the top of Fort Baker in Sausalito, California proved to be the ultimate downfall of Tara and Wil after suffering communication breakdowns since the start. It was almost as if fate had settled in just at the moment the buddies had crashed and surpassed Tara's applause party. Still the most memorable Finish Line foot/taxi race to date, this scene alone established the long-lasting memory of the unexpectedness of the race. Chris and Alex's last-minute push to fight for that win remains one of the most resounding sequences this show has ever seen, one that had created the most buzz in the early 2000s. It's like Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri made the show in hopes of finding this literal award-winning moment.
#2. (TAR6, Leg 3 - Lena & Kristy)["
The last team checked in more than two hours ago."]
Inarguably the worst-case scenario for a task is where the clue is so hard to find as the supply dwindles that an even bigger mess is created. These bubbly sisters were on the forefront of this chaos in the infamous hay bales Roadblock - still the most evil and outrageous challenge created in competition television. At the turn of the half-decade, production reignited Lena being the paragon of a hero by bringing this task back at the same God-forsaken Swedish farm in season 15. Perhaps unintentional, and for a lack of a better word, creativity was drawing a blank, the Switchback became synonymous with later seasons after season 20 and more frequently with one per season after 27. Crazily enough, Lena's determination to find that clue no matter how long it took had such an impact on the show that a new race element ended up being originated from her acquittal. Whether this was a good twist or not, I'll leave it up for interpretation.
#1. (TAR7, Leg 12 - Uchenna & Joyce)["
Can you tell me what I am donating for?"]
The unforgettable head shave Joyce went through in India does not take away the development of such an incredible underdog arc during the wee minutes of them racing against Romber in the Sunshine State. Placing last in the intermediary leg, the stiff penalty since season 5 was to strip the losing team of everything they've got, including Pit Start funds. Uchenna and Joyce fell into the consequences of their overwhelming punishment when they owed the taxi driver an asinine $50 taking them to the Bonnet House Finish Line in Fort Lauderdale. The then-married couple played panhandlers and negotiated a donation bank with some Floridian locals to finish their last "task" of the race. This wild goose chase for free money ended up being Uchenna & Joyce's solidifying factor in being cast for an all-stars season and created a name for TAR all around the world with high praise in defeating the Survivor crossover team and busting the heads open of mad Survivor fanatics (and they can stay mad) over the controversial flight reopening in Puerto Rico. Not only were they personally invited back to race again, the insane finish guaranteed a new high point for TAR that provided long-term fans and stability for the next decade. Don't believe me? The ratings for the finale don't lie. Here, keep it to wipe those Survivor crocodile tears:
https://www.realitytvworld.com/news/cbs-the-amazing-race-7-finishes-big-sets-series-ratings-records-3488.phpHere's to giving it your all amid setbacks, making natural errors, and impacting how TAR is made!
~RachelLeVega
