Not sure if this is posted elsewhere...
http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2005/05/14/1039114.html May 14, 2005
'Amazing Race' winners having a blast
By TARA MERRIN - Calgary Sun
Uchenna and Joyce Agu are feelin' the love. Since being revealed as the winners of The Amazing Race 7 on Tuesday, the couple have been applauded, congratulated and complimented more times than they can count.
"So many people have told us they wanted us to win. They say it shows that good guys do finish first," says Joyce from a New York hotel yesterday. "It has been an incredible week."
Although the Agus have been home from the race for five months, they say watching the finale with friends and family, who didn't know they had won, was as emotional as living it.
They especially liked when host Phil Keoghan announced they had won.
"We had forgotten the show keeps the winners on the mat at the end, so we were really not sure until Phil said it," says Joyce. "We still can't really believe it."
It was an amazing comeback. Despite losing all their money and possessions, they rebounded from last place to claim the top prize.
"Rob (Mariano) and Amber (Brkich) had left the airport seven minutes before us so we thought we were second. We really didn't have high hopes," says Uchenna.
To add to their problems, the Agus had run out of money and were forced to beg to pay for the taxi that drove them to the final pitstop. Not knowing they were in the lead, they took what seemed like a lifetime to get the cash.
"You can't break the law, it's against the rules," explains Uchenna. "If the driver had said $5 was OK that would have been fine, but he wouldn't even take my wedding ring. He wanted his money."
Although often frustrated on the last leg of the race, the Houston couple did experience some incredibly good luck. They were able to convince the crew at the Puerto Rico airport to let them on the earlier flight to Florida although the walkway had already been pulled back from the plane. Because Rob and Amber were on the flight, that decision ultimately led to the couples' win.
"There was a guilt situation that went on. The lady at the gate had told us earlier there was no other flight because Rob and Amber asked her to. She felt bad so she agreed to ask the pilot," says Uchenna. "Ultimately it was the pilot's decision to let us on. The producers had nothing to do with it -- I can say that for a fact."
Regardless of the reason, the Agus' good fortune continued (Rob and Amber got lost) and, in the end, they took home the big cheque -- well, sort of.
As of yesterday, the couple, who have been dodging creditors for months, had not received their money from CBS. Uchenna says they are going to give it "one more day" before they start "making some phone calls."
When they do finally get their prize money they are going to use it for in-vitro fertilization. They are also going to take their friends and family, who have spent the last five months endlessly questioning them about the game's outcome, on a vacation to celebrate their win.
"We could not believe the lengths people went to to try to get us to tell," says Joyce. "Some of them have no morals. They resorted to everything from buying us drinks and getting us drunk, to begging. It was really unbelievable."