Author Topic: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)  (Read 57606 times)

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Offline slayton

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Re: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)
« Reply #50 on: December 15, 2011, 08:50:19 PM »
Amazing Race's Marcus and Amani: We Thought We Could Make Another Comeback
Joyce Eng
Dec 14, 2011 11:04 AM ET
by Joyce Eng

Marcus and Amani Pollard's $1 million hopes on The Amazing Race finale ended almost as soon as the leg began in their Atlanta hometown when the former Indianapolis Colts tight end toiled at the first task of landing a simulated aircraft. Still, the couple believed that another comeback could be in the cards. "We didn't feel like [our setback] was insurmountable, but at the same time, being in it with people who love to compete and want to finish first, it makes it tougher," Marcus tells TVGuide.com. So why did he have so much trouble landing? Why didn't he and Amani switch? And how do they feel about being called "C students"? Find out below

What happened with the flight simulator? Why couldn't you land?
Marcus: I've been trying to explain to people that it's like me, 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, in a small car. Those simulator planes aren't [suitable] for my size. My feet and my knees weren't able to control the brakes properly. But I think the bigger problem is that I really don't like flying, to be honest with you. And every time we landed, it really felt like you were on a plane. I kept getting frustrated that I could not land this plane, but having a great partner, a great teammate, a great wife, she just calmed me down and let me know that it's OK. ... I don't remember [how long it took]. At one point they showed 12 [times] on the show, so I'm going to assume that was the last one.

Were you not allowed to change seats so Amani could try?
Marcus: We could have changed seats and I thought about it, but I think, being stubborn, I wanted to finish it. We would've had to go through the process all over again. She would have to take a few practice runs and I was so confident that I could get it done that I thought it would take more time to switch roles.

Amani, you are the probably the most patient racer ever. How did you stay so calm during that and the whole Race?
Amani: [Laughs] It's who I am, I guess. I didn't realize I was so patient until we watched the show, but everybody keeps telling me that. But that's what I'm like every day. I guess that's why my blood pressure rate is so good every time I go to the doctor. But this is life, so have fun! It's over in a blink of an eye, so just enjoy every moment. That's just how I live life. I tried to rub that off on Marcus. I understand that that had to have been very frustrating for him and what good would it do if we were both frustrated? You're not going to get anything accomplished.

Did you think you were last when you were still doing it or did you think the other teams were having as much trouble as you were?
Amani: I think we were fairly confident we were pretty close to last because it took us a while to get it done. And when we left the building, there was only one taxi there, so that confirmed it.

Do you know how far behind Jeremy and Sandy you were at the end?
Amani: We saw Jeremy and Sandy at the map, so I don't feel like we were that far behind them, but we don't really know in terms of time.

You made up a lot of time then.
Amani: I think The Dump helped us. ... If we had to drive in Atlanta, I think that would've been an advantage because Marcus can navigate the expressways here, but the thing about The Dump clue was that I knew the store Jeremy and Sandy went to because we've shopped there. When we Googled it, we knew that wasn't the place and it had to be the Margaret Mitchell House, so that saved us some time. I think they wasted a good hour getting to The Dump, running around it and coming back. Marcus did the Margaret Mitchell challenge and even though he claims he's a pecker [at typing] — which he is — he's never stepped down from a challenge or stepped back. That's probably also why we didn't switch in the simulator. Once we start something, we're not quitters and he wanted to attack that fear of flying. I wanted him to have that and support him. Life goes on beyond the Race. We've got to go home. This is our real relationship. Some people after the Race can go away from each other, but we can't!

Did you complete the map task easily?
Amani: Yes. Well, I don't want to say pretty easily. We're not the best at geography, but Marcus knocked it out. I rigged up first to do it, but because it required upper-body strength, Marcus thought that — not that I couldn't get it done — but he could get it done faster. It didn't go as quick as Ernie and Cindy did it, but of course, they're A students, so they know geography! They knocked that out, but being the C students we are, we took a bit, but hey. I'm kidding, I'm kidding! [Laughs]

They say they don't remember making that comment. What did you think of it?
Amani: A lot of people say things in the heat of the moment. Marcus and I always try to see the silver lining in everything, and maybe we're not A students. That's very probable, but it's not always the A students who run the world and who are making the executive decisions. There are C students who are doing some great things in the world, so you don't have to be an A student to do great things. There are probably a lot more B and C students than there are A students. C students of the world unite! [Laughs] Anybody below A, hey, it's OK! Join in with us!
Marcus: We didn't do too bad for C students!

You guys made so many comebacks. Did you think you could pull off one more?
Marcus: We always wanted to keep racing and keep fighting. You never know what could happen. A taxi could break down. That happened to us already. You can get lost like Jeremy and Sandy did. ... It was still anybody's game until we saw Phil. ... We dug a hole, but we've dug holes before and climbed out of them. We didn't think this was going to be any different, so we always thought we could do it.

Marcus, I don't think I've ever seen anyone have more fun with a bunny than you did.
Marcus: [Laughs] I really enjoyed that task! Amani said on the show that we picked tasks so our kids could see us doing it, and our oldest, Miles, loves bunnies. So we thought that would be a great challenge for us. Turning the butter would be too tough. I had a great time putting the steeplechase together, hopping the bunny. I remember telling the bunny, "Hey, bunny, I've had a frustrating morning, so I need you to jump over the steeples real fast." And that's what it did. I had a good time with those bunnies.

Do you have any pet bunnies?
Amani: It's on our kids' Christmas list. That's the No. 1 thing.

Is Santa going to get them a bunny?
Amani: I don't know. He better bring one down the chimney with him! [Laughs]
Marcus: It would be fun if we could get that bunny and train it to jump over steeples, but the bunny we'd get would just sit around and eat all day.

There's nothing wrong with that. Do you really make that many football references in real life, Marcus, or was that a show edit?
Amani: Oh, that was totally an edit. He never talks football in real life.
Marcus: I got asked questions to describe stuff on the Race and I just related it to football. But I don't talk like that every day. I don't even watch any pro football games! I watch more college games. So it was something they wanted to run with.

What are you up to now?
Marcus: We're going to head home, regroup and hang out with our kids, teach them basketball, football. We'll continue to run our store Maize 'N Grace. ... We've been asked [by fans] if we'd come back for an All-Stars season. We have no idea if we would qualify! I don't know what would make us All-Stars, but if the opportunity came along, we'd approach it then.

Offline Flamant

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Re: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)
« Reply #51 on: December 17, 2011, 09:46:47 AM »
Exclusive: Amani Pollard and Marcus Pollard talk 'The Amazing Race'
http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/exclusive-amani-pollard-and-marcus-pollard-talk-the-amazing-race-12975.php
 
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 12/16/2011


Amani Pollard and Marcus Pollard finished The Amazing Race in third place, losing to winners Ernie Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang and runners-up Jeremy Cline and Sandy Draghi during Sunday night's broadcast of the CBS reality competition's nineteenth-season finale.   

On Monday, Amani and Marcus talked to Reality TV World about their The Amazing Race experience, which ended with a third-place finish in the Race's final leg.

To read our exclusive interview with this season's champions, Ernie and Cindy, click here. For our interview with Jeremy and Sandy, click here.
 
Reality TV World: How does it feel to have finished the Race in third place? Are you guys disappointed or satisfied with how you ran all the legs? Are you proud over how far you made it?

Amani Pollard: We're definitely proud of how far we made it and of course, continuing the Race to [the bank] today with the million dollars would have been excellent. But I mean, again, we didn't quit. The kids were really excited. We're really excited because a lot of people don't even make it to the Final 3, so we don't want to take away from where we made it to. But of course, everybody would love to finish first.

Reality TV World: When I talked to Ernie and Cindy, they said they thought you got to the Finish Line about 2 1/2 hours after them? Do you think that's accurate, and about How far behind Jeremy and Sandy do you think you arrived?

Amani Pollard: You know, we had no clue. No clue.

Marcus Pollard: The flight simulator took us awhile, so I don't know. I don't know how far we were behind Sandy and Jeremy, but I know when it was over, we got home pretty quick.

Reality TV World: You guys basically knew you were in third place after landing the aircraft and leaving that task, but did you have any hope that you could still win The Amazing Race? Were you optimistic that maybe another team had made a mistake somewhere along the leg or had gotten lost or something?

Amani Pollard: Something like that, and again, we just felt like if there was another challenge, it would have given us a chance to catch up. It seemed to have been our strength before when there was a Detour or something, but there wasn't one of those and it was okay.

But there was still hope because it's easy in those situations to kind of get, I don't know, disgruntled and worried and upset. But it's the Race and crazier things have been known to happen. You don't ever want to think that it's over. You just keep giving it your best and hoping for the best when you get to the Finish Line.

Reality TV World: So when you finally arrived at the Finish Line, before you saw the other teams waiting there for you, were you convinced you had finished in third place?

Amani Pollard: Because we hadn't seen it -- we saw -- I think we saw Jeremy and Sandy, so we couldn't have been that far behind them when we got to the board. I think we saw them pass us in a taxi at some point. So, we could imagine, because everybody else had gone before us, that we possibly were the last people to arrive there. But, you never...

Marcus Pollard: Unless you're Ernie and Cindy. You don't see them making a lot of mistakes.

Reality TV World: During last night's finale, Jeremy and Sandy were shown saying they thought you two had a huge advantage in the final leg because you both were from Atlanta, GA, and Marcus, you were shown being excited over your "home court advantage." How much of an advantage did you guys think you had and did it come into play once you guys finally left that flight simulator task? 

Marcus Pollard: I think the only time the home-court advantage came in was when we were heading home after the show was over because there's so much to do there. It's such a big city and I mean, to me, I was excited about going home, excited that I was in Atlanta, but it didn't really give us an advantage in anything that we did during the show.

Amani Pollard: And I think unlike [Los Angeles], if you are from there, when we were leaving, you had an advantage because you know the highways. So if we would have gotten to Atlanta and had to drive ourselves to x,y,z, then I think it would have been an advantage because I'm not from Georgia.

We've lived here now for a few years, but I'm from Michigan. So, it wasn't an advantage for me, per say. Marcus is from this area, so he's familiar with the highways. So, I think just like Marcus said, it's a huge city and there's so many things here that we haven't seen.

Everybody's got things in their cities that they haven't seen or places they didn't know were there. So, it was just exciting to be home. And even just to know the airport, we were the first people out and smoking on that.

Reality TV World: How many attempts did it actually take you guys to finish the flight simulator task? The show made it seem like it was around six tries, so was that accurate or were there even more? How long do you think it took you to finish the task overall?

Marcus Pollard: You know, I don't know how many times it took, but on the TV it said 12 attempts. That's not my favorite number.

Reality TV World: Amani, you stayed completely calm during that aircraft landing task, but Marcus, you were getting very down on yourself and frustrated. It seemed like it was important for both of you to put on a good face and set a good example for your children, but how were you really feeling at that point? Amani, were you really that calm and collected and Marcus, did you heavily downplay the frustration you were feeling?

Amani Pollard: Well really, I probably was really that calm because that's just how I am. That's just how I am everyday. What purpose does it serve for me to get frustrated? And then you've got two frustrated people in the plane and it just takes you out of your game.

So, you have to stay focused and keep your mind -- outside elements are always going to be there, but it's always important to keep in mind the goal and you never know.

You never know. So don't quit; Don't give up. You have to get your mind wrapped around that, so that was my mentality. So, that was it for me and it was -- as frustrated as I knew Marcus had to be about it, I had to stay calm for both of us. (Laughs) What about you, babe?

Marcus Pollard: Yeah, I mean, what you see is what you get with me. I wear my emotions on my sleeve often, and so, what you saw on the TV was probably as excited as I got when I started to drop in the simulator or I put my hands over my face and was praying, that would be me. In any situation, I just feel like...

Reality TV World: Marcus, could you talk a little bit about what made that flight simulator task so challenging for you? When you watched back the show and saw Jeremy and Ernie basically get it right away, did that surprise you?

Marcus Pollard: I think it was challenging for me because my feet are so big and the brake -- they didn't show that part -- I don't know how to explain it, but you have to been even-keel on the brakes and release them at the same time.

I could never get my feet on the pedals. I'm 6'5", 255 pounds, and the plane is not designed for a guy that big. So, I'm trying to figure out how to get my knees up. It was like driving a small car. I know I can drive a car. I'm more comfortable when I can lift the seat back, and that's the problem that I had -- you know, being a big guy and sitting in that seat.

At the same time, I don't like flying at all, and in the simulator, it feels just like I was flying a plane. In my mind, I was thinking about killing 30,000 people every time I crashed.

Reality TV World: We really didn't see much of you guys during last night's episode because you were seemingly very far behind the other teams because of the flight task. Did you guys end up doing the typewriter and map tasks or was it one of those situations where Ernie and Cindy had already won so the producers just had you go right to the Finish Line?

Amani Pollard: Oh no, we did everything. Marcus did the typing. We finished that and then we went and did the board where we had to map out our travels, and then because so much of our time was at the simulator, that's why that part only got shown.

Yeah, no. We finished everything. We didn't just pull up at the end. And we wouldn't have wanted to be pulled in any way. That's not the people that we are. We want to do what we're supposed to do to get to the Finish Line, and that's what we did.

Reality TV World: How easily did you figure out that the dump clue led you to Margaret Mitchell's house? Jeremy and Sandy really seemed to struggle with that clue.

Amani Pollard: Well when you talked about the advantages, that was one of the advantages that we had because we are from here and we shopped at the dump before. So we knew that when you google it, that there was "The Dump" and then there was the dump.

We knew "The Dump" was a furniture store, so it was an easy thing for us because we knew that the other dump was where we needed to go, because we were from here.

Reality TV World: Marcus, did you find the typewriting task easy? Did you finish it quickly?

Marcus Pollard: Nope, I'm a pecker. I'm a one-finger typewriting person and I thought that to be a challenge as well, because I don't really like typing and I can't do it very well. But I figured out the "1" but Amani probably could have done it much sooner than I. She also basically enjoys typing and she knows how to type. I don't.

Reality TV World: Do you have any estimate of how long it might have taken you?

Marcus Pollard: No. I don't have an estimate at all.

Amani Pollard: We were playing catch-up and we knew that we were playing catch-up. So time wasn't really something that we were thinking about. We were just thinking about getting these tasks done and getting into the Finish Line.

Reality TV World: Once you guys completed the typewriting task, how did you discover that your clue was suggesting Aaron Hank's statistics? Did you find internet service or anything? Did you come across problems trying to figure that out?

Amani Pollard: Marcus knew it immediately.

Marcus Pollard: But I didn't know immediately that it was Turner Field. I knew that 44 was Hank Aaron's number. I knew the 750 homeruns, but I didn't know what 74 was quite for. But later on, I found out it was the year that he did it. But we ended up going to a hotel and looking it up on the internet.

Reality TV World: When you guys got to the map challenge at Turner Field, who got rigged to the map and who shouted out answers from below? Did that task come easily to you guys or did you find it difficult?

Amani Pollard: I think initially, I was going to do it. They were going to rig me up, but Marcus felt like you needed a lot more upper-body strength and he thought he could do it quicker. So we pushed out of gear real quick and he went ahead and knocked it out, and I shouted out to him the best I could.

He actually did pretty good remembering and doing it on his own. We weren't done as quickly as -- they showed Ernie and Cindy finishing it like immediately, but I believed they studied all that prior, (laughs) so they were probably a step ahead on that. But we did good. I don't think we lost a lot of time there. Again, I think the simulator was our biggest fault.

Reality TV World: In past Amazing Race seasons, most teams normally prepared for a task in the finale that would test their knowledge and memory of the prior legs. You touch on this a little bit, but how much studying had you two done before that final leg or throughout the Race in general?

Amani Pollard: Well again, watching prior Races, you never know exactly what they're going to show you. Sometimes it was a person's face who was next to Phil. They're all different things that you have to put in, so you're never really sure what you're studying -- what you're studying for. So we probably prepared as well as we knew at the time, but I don't know. What do you think, baby?

Marcus Pollard: Yeah, we put in the time. We studied a lot. We still have lines -- the same lines we use in football, because I played football for most of my life. We did as much as we could with still having to manage our lives and I guess it wasn't good enough.

Maybe we should have studied harder and you keep doing the same things everyday. Some things you wish you could put in more time to do better, but you know, what can you prepare for? You can't prepare for everything in the Race like that.

Reality TV World: The clues during this final leg seemed to be very obscure. The dump clue and the Hank Aaron clue were both very vague and it seemed like they could have been easily misinterpreted or researched incorrectly. What are your thoughts about that?

Amani Pollard: Oh yeah, definitely with the dump. Again, you saw where Jeremy and Sandy ended up and for them to have ended up there is not a weird thing, because if you google the dump, that's where it's going to take you to. And with Hank Aaron, you're thinking, "Okay now, where? What does this mean? Where will this take us to?"

Marcus Pollard: I think it's easy to see how you could be confused. It was kind of vague, but that's the point about the Race -- is to make sure you have all senses going at the same time. So you have to be thinking, you have to be physical and you have to be smart -- all those things.

So that's just it. When we had access to internet, you can figure things out that way, but to have to figure that out on just a piece of paper without having the internet would have been impossible.

Reality TV World: During last night's episode, Ernie was shown saying that losing to the "Snowboarders" team would be one thing but it would be different to lose to Jeremy and Sandy or you guys. Based on that, they clearly considered Andy Finch and Tommy Czeschin to be the biggest threat. What's your response to that and do you think things would have turned out differently had Andy and Tommy competed against all of you in the finale? 

Amani Pollard: Well, we're huge fans of Andy and Tommy and Ma and Pa [Cathi Alden and Bill Alden]. So, we know that Andy and Tommy were giants. Any time they won six legs of the Race and with the three of us who went into the finals, our numbers still don't compare to theirs. Of course they're the giants, but I don't think we were mashed potatoes either. (Laughs)

Reality TV World: Cindy was also shown saying last night that losing The Amazing Race would be like losing to "C" students when they were the "A+" students. What are your reactions to that statement? Did you take that a little offensively or just laugh it off? Because it came across like they didn't really think very highly of you.

Amani Pollard: Well you know what? The truth of the matter is, there's some great "C" students out there who have done some great accomplishments in the world and there's some "A" students out there who haven't accomplished their goals. So, you know what? In the grand scheme of things, although it sounds great to be an "A" student and we want our kids to be "A" students, that's what you choose to achieve.

But the truth of the matter is, is that it's not always the brains that accomplish everything. It's the heart behind it, it's the goals, the things you set out to do. So it can be taken nasty and I'm sure Marcus takes it a little differently than I do, because I always see the rainbow and he's like, "I don't know how you find the silver lining."

But any time you got a "C" student in the Final 3, we'll take it and in other Races, there might be "C" students too and they take it. So, you know, it's okay. It is what it is. She said what she said in the heat of the moment and we're okay with that. So what. Maybe we are "C" students, and we're alright with that!

Marcus Pollard: We haven't done too bad.

Amani Pollard: (Laughs) We did good for "C" students.

Reality TV World: During the Race's sixth leg, you guys had finished in last place but happened to survive because it was a non-elimination leg. Did that last-place finish change your mindsets in the Race or have an effect on how you ran the rest of the season's legs? Did it make you work even harder or anything since you came so close to elimination that soon?

Marcus Pollard: I don't think so. I think we set out to Race every leg as best as possible in order to finish first in each one of them.

So say that we worked harder because we finished last in a non-elimination leg, you could say it gave us even more of a motivation, but just to do what we've been doing -- just to pay attention to all the details and not miss any clues and to not leave any stone unturned. I think we raced the Race from the start in LA to the finals in Atlanta the same way.

Amani Pollard: And that non-elimination round for us, actually, we raced a good Race that day. We just came up with some obstacles like being behind that dog-gone parade. Go figure, they have a parade and they take up the whole street and we get stuck behind it and our cab breaking down.

You know, it was just that I think what happened happened that day, so for us, it was good that it was a non-elimination round.

Reality TV World: If you two had won, what do you think you would have done with the money and how were you guys cast on The Amazing Race -- how did you end up on the show?

Amani Pollard: Marcus was initially thinking about doing it with a former teammate. That kind of fell through, so then him and I thought it would be a great opportunity to do it together, so we went ahead and applied and we went through the whole casting process.

It wasn't, "Oh, we want you," and they put us in. No, we were there with everyone else doing everything everybody else did. So, and what would we have done with the money? Our kids wanted a swimming pool. (Laughs)

Marcus Pollard: And some fishing poles.

Amani Pollard: And we do have a daughter who has special needs, so there's a lot of things. Just like with anybody, it could help to improve your life and there were a lot of things that would have been nice to have been able to do with it, but it is what it is and we're not taking the million dollars to the bank today. But that's okay.

We're still here and we are incredibly proud. I think that what has been the best for us is that we have gotten such tremendous feedback that we have impacted people's lives just on the issues of marriage and parenthood. For us, I know you can't take that to the bank, but that's worth so much as long as we've made some kind of impact.


Offline Flamant

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Re: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)
« Reply #52 on: December 17, 2011, 09:48:17 AM »
Reality TV World: If you two had won, what do you think you would have done with the money and how were you guys cast on The Amazing Race -- how did you end up on the show?

Amani Pollard: Marcus was initially thinking about doing it with a former teammate. That kind of fell through, so then him and I thought it would be a great opportunity to do it together, so we went ahead and applied and we went through the whole casting process.

It wasn't, "Oh, we want you," and they put us in. No, we were there with everyone else doing everything everybody else did. So, and what would we have done with the money? Our kids wanted a swimming pool. (Laughs)

They werent mactors!! :cmaslol

Offline Prophet

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Re: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)
« Reply #53 on: December 17, 2011, 10:51:48 AM »
They werent mactors!! :cmaslol

I know, I think they are nice, normal people. :tup:
Physics alone is not enough.

Those who forget history are sure to repeat it.

Offline racer123

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Re: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)
« Reply #54 on: December 18, 2011, 05:24:59 PM »
This couple has become my favourite couple after reading all their interviews. I especially like Armani and she's my favourite contestant for all TAR seasons.

I've read probably almost all or maybe all the interviews of this couple  and the other 2 couple finalists and would like to summarise some points that I observe especially in how they handled the comments from Ernie and Cindy with regards to A/C student in various interviews with her and Marcus.

1) Ability to understand that people do say wrong things at the heat of the moment

2) Magnanimous in being able not to get offended/real offended at the A/C comment (especially since its pretty obvious that E & C were't trying to be mean at all). While Armani has joked about this in 1 or 2 interviews on this, she has not done so in all of the interviews and the interview written by  Elizabeth Kwiatkowski showed her lovely character on how she really am able to view the situation correctly and not overeact like many fans of TAR behave.  Even Marcus didn't even mention about being offended (he may have been but he did not do it like how Jeremy and Sandy did) which really made me give him a big thumbs up for this.

3) Ability to understand and express how C students can do good and as long as you do your best, that's the most important thing etc. I didn't express it well at all, but she expressed it perfectly.


4) Her wonderful patience

5) The wonderful relationship she has with her husband and kids

6) What the family plans to do this Christmas (donating farm animals to people that really need them--mentioned in 1 of the interview)

I wish her and her family all the best. This are the type of people that will raise wonderful children. They have way surpassed the cowboys in my eyes.


Offline Ney

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Re: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)
« Reply #55 on: December 24, 2011, 11:41:23 PM »
As much as I loved this team, and as much as I think they were my most favourite team in years on The Amazing Race, the constant NFL talk from Marcus kinda bugged me, the way it would come out at the start and finish of every leg and sometimes inbetween, it felt like you were just waiting for him to compare the race to NFL at the start of each ep lol

Also I agree, they were in my opinion one of the most genuine and fun racing teams I have seen in ages.

Offline apskip

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Re: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)
« Reply #56 on: December 25, 2011, 03:11:38 PM »
Marcus clearly views life as a series of NFL metaphors. This transcends the Amazing Race and defines who he is as a person.

Offline Best Loser

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Re: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)
« Reply #57 on: December 25, 2011, 11:03:15 PM »
In interviews he's stated that he was prompted to talk about the NFL, much like how Ron from season 7 was prompted to talk about Iraq. He's also stated that he doesn't use metaphors in real life.

Offline georgiapeach

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Re: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)
« Reply #58 on: December 26, 2011, 11:48:08 PM »
The Amazing Race 19: Exclusive Interview with Marcus and Amani Pollard
Posted on 12/14/2011 by Gina in The Amazing Race and Cast Interviews

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by Gina Scarpa

 

Marcus and Amani Pollard were the picture of calm, cool, and collected this season on The Amazing Race and never gave up, even when times were tough. They preached that they didn't know the meaning of the word "quit" and were people of their word. When they struggled with a flight simulation task on the finale, they repeatedly tried until they got it right. They reached the finish line in third place but the important thing was: they reached the finish line. Today, we talked to the married couple in an exclusive interview about the highs and lows of running The Amazing Race.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made the two of you decide to try out for The Amazing Race?
A. Amani: Well, initially Marcus was going to do it with a former teammate. That kind of fell through. We had a honeymoon baby and we're always doing challenges at home. He was like, "Babe, you wanna do it?" We applied like anyone else. We had to go through casting, we had to submit videos that our 9 year old taped, and we got through.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You struggled a little bit in the beginning but came in first during leg in Thailand. What was that like for you?
A. Amani: Okay, so you saw the celebration on the mat, right? [Laughs] We were screaming and Cathi was in the background, screaming for us. That whole time, we felt like we were just racing against Bill or Cathi because we hadn't seen anybody that whole day. We love Bill and Cathi, we call them Ma and Pa. It was hard for us, thinking we were going against them for last. When we got to the mat and we knew neither one of us was going home, we were so happy!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You had already passed the U-Turn when Laurence and Zac tried to send you back. When you watched that back on tv, were you surprised that they targeted you?
A. Marcus: Not necessarily a surprise. Zac and Laurence were playing the game. At that point, they felt like they needed to get in first. I don't know why they thought they were first. They thought we were behind them and they wanted more space to lead. I don't think it was personal

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: In this last leg, what was the biggest issue with the flight simulator task?
A. Marcus: My knees were hitting the dashboard. It wasn't designed for a guy over 6 feet tall, 255 pounds. There was a balance. If you pressed one way... flying it was fine, landing it was another. I think the biggest thing was that I really dislike flying to begin with and it seemed so real. It was like, "I just killed another 127 people on that plane." I was thinking if I was a true pilot, all the people I just took out...

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Despite being far behind Ernie and Cindy, you did (and always have this season) continue to run the leg with everything you had. That was something very important to you, yes?
A. Amani: Well yeah and as you know, we've got four kids. That's just the kind of people we are. If we're gonna do it, we're gonna do it. We don't know what quit is. We have to be an example. Say what you mean and mean what you say. There were situations that were hard but again, you can't quit. You've gotta keep doing it and you never know what the outcome could be.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You spoke often about wanting to be a good example for your children. What has your family's reaction been to watching you on the race?
A. Amani: Are you kidding? We've been jumping off furniture, swinging from chandeliers. I don't know what was more fun - doing the race or watching it with the kids. Seeing how excited and proud they are and seeing that nothing is impossible. You need to dream but you need to be a doer. I think it's exciting to see Mom and Dad on tv... it kinda helped drive the message home for them.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You two have been together for a long time and you know each other so well. Did you learn anything new about each other from being on the race?
A. Marcus: I've always known Amani is such a competitor but I figured out that she's really in my corner, and she's my partner. At the house, I don't get so frustrated but on the race, I get frustrated and she said, "Hey, let's take it slow and figure out what we need to do next." We're the epitome of fire and ice. I think that's one thing that we really figured out.
A. Amani: Um, I don't know that I really learned anything that I didn't know because this is what he did for a living. A lot of this stuff I kind of saw but I thought it was awesome to see that we can be a team at home but when you take people out of your environment... it's very stressful. Although we think we're best friends and great communicators, when you put us in a situation where millions of people are watching, we still are who we are. We didn't change who we are. That's what I love and it made me love him more!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It must have been tough to be away from your family, but if you got a call from The Amazing Race to do an all-star season, would you go back again?
A. Amani: I think so! Marcus... if we pull out the driveway going on a date, he's talking, "I miss the kids!" We'd have to talk about it but it would be awesome.


http://www.realitywanted.com/newsitem/4928-the-amazing-race-19-exclusive-interview-with-marcus-and-amani-pollard
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Offline georgiapeach

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Re: TAR 19: Amani & Marcus Pollard (Married)
« Reply #59 on: October 29, 2013, 08:29:57 PM »
Marcus Pollard

Director, Player Development and Youth Football




Marcus Pollard
Marcus Pollard is in his first season as Director of Player Development and Youth Football for the Jaguars after being named to the post on March 24, 2013.  In his role, Pollard coordinates all team life skills programming as well as the Jaguars rookie club and NFL Rookie Success Program.  In addition, he works closely with players on continuing education, career internships, professional development, employee assistance and financial education.

Pollard played 14 seasons (1995-2008) in the NFL as a tight end and spent time with Indianapolis, Detroit, Seattle, New England and Atlanta.  He earned a roster spot in 1995 with the Colts after a tryout during training camp and played in all but six games for the club over a nine-year span from 1996-2004.  He went on to play in 192 games with 131 starts and recorded 349 receptions for 4,280 yards and 40 touchdowns.

A native of Lanett, Alabama, Pollard played basketball at Bradley University for two years after transferring from Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kansas.  He did not play collegiate football.

Following his retirement, Pollard served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Lanett High School, from 2008-12.  He and his wife, Amani, were cast members of the reality television show The Amazing Race in 2011.  The couple has two sons, Myles Ashton and Micah Jayden, and two daughters, Aja Amani and Ayris Mae.

http://www.jaguars.com/team/football-staff/marcus-pollard.html
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