I just say we wait for the first couple of episodes instead of jumping to conclusions about the teams before they are even officially revealed. If the team wants to be in The Amazing Race and shows it, that's good enough for me. The best teams IMO are the ones that enjoy the experience, for example Margie & Luke and Dan & Jordan. I don't care if they're mactors or recruited as long as they recognize that TAR is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel around the world and not just a way to launch or propel a career in Hollywood.
Word! What happened to "Don't judge a book by its cover"?
I do feel sorry for the people on the show, though...knowing that everything you do can be warped and heavily scrutinized, and inevitably there will always be someone out there hating on you (I'm somewhat guilty of that too).
Like I said, criticize their racing strategy/actions or the producer's antics, but don't jump to conclusions about them in real life.
I'm sure most of these people are fine fellows who are willing to sit down and have a chat with you about their experiences.
Personal Example: TAR 6. Heard bad things about the cast. My conclusion after the race: they're definitely interesting people (your opinion may differ), and they did look like they had a fun time on the race.
OTOH, I will have to disagree on the stuntcasting. I have no logic to support it, but something just rubs me the wrong way knowing that people who want to join will get shunned. Of course, I trust the producers will be able to put on an interesting show. However, I do love the quote in the Mactors thread saying that "All teams are ultimately recruited."