The Amazing Race > The Racers

TAR 20: Dave Brown Jr and Rachel Brown *Army Couple*

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Prophet:
BTW, they are the first married couple to win since Uchenna and Joyce.

Bluesky:

--- Quote from: kevin2012 on May 07, 2012, 07:28:02 AM ---Rachel is amazing  :hearts:

The season's true MVP

--- End quote ---


Roger that!

TARFansurvivor:
Congrats Dave and Rachel!!!!!!!!!!

8 wins are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best team ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 :luvya: :luvya: :luvya: :luvya: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :conf: :conf: :conf: :conf:

bc922:
http://www.digitalspy.ca/ustv/s66/the-amazing-race/news/a380374/amazing-race-winners-rachel--dave-qa-winning-felt-unbelievable.html

'Amazing Race' winners Rachel & Dave Q&A: 'Winning felt unbelievable'

After five continents, nine countries, 22 cities and more than 36,000 miles, the 20th season of The Amazing Race came to an end last night with husband and wife duo Rachel and Dave being crowned the winners!

The couple not only took home the $1m grand prize, but broke the record for the most legs won in the Race. Digital Spy spoke with Rachel and Dave to talk about their winning moment, the secret of their success, and their arguments.

Congratulations on your win! Can you talk through how it felt in that winning moment when you heard you'd won the million dollars?
Rachel: "Oh, it felt unbelievable. We were so physically and mentally exhausted at that point that that was the sweetest thing we could ever have heard!"

What was more important to you - winning the million dollars, or breaking the record for the number of leg wins?
Dave: "In all honesty, from my perspective it was setting the precedent of most leg victories. I've been a huge fan of the show and in my mind it's the most competitive reality program that I've seen to date, and to be the most successful team at this point is truly astonishing. Setting a precedent was absolutely amazing - no pun intended!"
Rachel: "It was definitely the money for me!"

Well let me ask you - what are you going to spend the money on? Have you made any decisions yet?
Rachel: "Oh yeah - we're going to pay our mortgage off and maybe do a little investing."

Very good! But are you going to have a party to celebrate?
Dave: "We had a bit of a celebratory party last night in New York, so we're running on about an hour and a half of sleep! Bopper and Rachel and I basically closed the bar down last night! I'm sure once we return to Madison we'll have the opportunity to celebrate with friends and family."

You did have a few setbacks, and obviously the biggest one was that you had to go back and complete the Roadblock. How did you feel when Phil said that to you?
Rachel: "We were shocked. I thought that he was just kidding. I kind of laughed and said, 'Ha ha, that's funny Phil', and he did not laugh back - at which point I knew we had to have screwed something up. So we thought, 'What the heck could we have missed?' We had no idea so we thought it through and we thought, 'Okay, we must have missed a complete task', so we got back up on our paddle boards and we just went for it."

Did you think at that point you'd lost, or did you think there was any chance you could get back into the Race?
Rachel: "Oh no, we thought we were definitely going to come in third. So we were a little dejected, but at the same time we knew we had to finish it."

You must have felt pretty good when you got to the sledding and saw Art and JJ!
Rachel: "Oh, I was so exhausted! Paddleboarding back and forth a couple of times, then we had to run to the sledding thing, then we had to walk up the hill... oh my gosh, I was toast! I was done! So when I found out I had to do the Roadblock because Dave did the other one, I was so worried that it would take me a long time, especially after Art told me he'd had 15 tries by the time we got there."

Also in the leg in Japan you missed the ferry - you must have thought you were out! How did it feel at that point?
Dave: "That actually was a pretty dejecting feeling as well. Missing the ferry was basically a matter of seconds when we missed the train, and again a matter of minutes where we missed the ferry. And that then translated into an overnight stay at a hostel on the other side on the mainland, versus the island that we needed to be on. So again we didn't necessarily know what the island entailed - whether it was a challenge or whether it was a Pit Stop. So we were under the impression that it could have been catastrophic for Rachel's and my race."

Do you think you're just a really lucky team?
Dave: "I think there's a bit of luck involved in winning the Race."
Rachel: "Absolutely."
Dave: "But I think overall your skills and abilities and utilizing that luck to the best of your skills and abilities really makes for a successful team and Race."

And you were such a successful team - what was the secret to your success, do you think?
Rachel: "I think the biggest thing was that we really thought through the Roadblocks and the Detours. At first we just took impulse decisions because it was so exciting and the adrenaline was pumping through us, but then after the watermelon incident we said, 'Alright, we need to read through everything very carefully - if it takes up an extra minute that's fine, but then we'll choose the right thing'."
Dave: "I mean, I took this very seriously - obviously, I'm very competitive, aggressive and intense at times, but Rachel and I, we would sit down and actually analyze afterwards each and every leg - what we'd done wrong, what we intended to carry on from this point and what we could do to ensure that the next leg is better than the last."

You mentioned that you can be quite intense Dave, and you two did have some arguments. Did that make the Race harder?
Dave: "Uh, I mean, in some respects. Rachel's very competitive as well, and she is a challenge - she's feisty! And that challenge obviously doesn't translate well on television or bode well for me, especially the way it's perceived, but Rachel actually appreciates that challenge from me. And another consideration that many people don't realize is at that point we had spent 18 or 24 months apart, and now we're 24/7 together and competing in a variety of challenges and traveling around the world, so it was very difficult for both of us."

Rachel, you got very emotional at the end of the Race when you were speaking about your relationship with Dave. How has your relationship changed thanks to the Race?
Rachel: "Yeah, it was very emotional. I never cry - I even cried watching me cry last night! Very emotional. I think even though it showed the little spats we had, I think it was just a phenomenal thing for our relationship. Like Dave said, we were apart so much, so to have an entire month together, especially when we had checked into the mat and we got to spend some quality time together in a hotel, I think that was a [great thing] for our relationship. And the thing about us is that yeah, we can argue, but then we make up right away and we forget about anything that we had."

So what was your favorite moment from the Race?
Rachel: "Oh gosh, definitely, hands down, the African safari. The most beautiful, awesome thing I've ever seen in my entire life."
Dave: "Yeah, hands down it would be the same as well - the safari and the crater was absolutely phenomenal. The most surreal, majestic experience of my life."

And as well as the $1m, you've got all those prizes from winning all the legs. Which are you most excited about?
Dave: "I would actually say the trip to New Zealand. Not above and beyond the money, but the trip to New Zealand - that definitely I'm looking forward to!"
Rachel: "Absolutely!"

So as a successful team, what one piece of advice would you give future contestants going on the show?
Rachel: "I think the big thing is just, like I said, read through things very carefully and take the time to read through things. Make a very conscious decision rather than an impulse decision."
Dave: "As far as success goes, I would say again attention to detail and be detail-oriented. I didn't necessarily see the Race as anything other than a job. Rachel and I would check out and check into the mat like we were punching the time clock, so I didn't necessarily consider the ramifications of how people would perceive it based on an edit or any of those factors. Rachel and I just competed to the best of our abilities, and I think ultimately if you want to ensure success you need to be detail-oriented and just focus on the Race at hand."

You mentioned seeing Bopper last night - are you going to keep in touch with any of the Racers?
Rachel: "Oh yeah, definitely."
Dave: "Yeah, I actually do - more so than Rachel. Bopper, Ralph, Elliot and Joey I'm in touch with very, very frequently."
Rachel: "Yeah, the guys didn't have quite as many arguments as the girls! Even though I wasn't involved in the arguments I tried to stay out of everything, so I didn't really become that close with any of the girls."

You mentioned that you weren't involved in many arguments, but do you feel like the ones you did have are in the past and you can move on and be friends?
Rachel: "Oh yeah, definitely. After the wrapping of the show we all had a big fun festivity together and we all made up and yeah, we're all friends. We talk to each other, we write each other emails. So yeah, we all made up in the end."

And what's next for you? What are your plans for 2012?
Rachel: "Well, back to work as usual!"
Dave: "I'll be returning to work tomorrow as well. We're in NYC now - we should be back in Madison, which is our home town, some time probably about 4pm, and it's back to work tomorrow morning and another possibly ten plus years in the army!"
Rachel: "Work as usual!"

At least you still have all of those vacations to look forward to...
Rachel: "Yeah, exactly!"

bc922:
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Amazing-Race-Winners-Rachel-Dave-1047025.aspx

Amazing Race's Rachel and Dave: It Was a Relief to Win After Our Mistake
by Joyce Eng

Dave and Rachel Brown made history on The Amazing Race 20, claiming the $1 million for a franchise record eighth victory on Sunday's finale — but not before making some other dubious history. The married Army couple accidentally skipped a second Roadblock and arrived at the finish line, where they became the first team ever to be turned back by Phil Keoghan for not completing the final course. They managed to recover and officially win the Race. "Can we say we won it twice? I said on the show last night, we had eight and a half wins since we went there once," Dave tells TVGuide.com. "It was such a great feeling when we got back the second time knowing we did it correctly and realizing that we were still first." See what else they have to say about their win, what they're gonna do with the money, and their U-Turn drama with Art and JJ.

Congratulations! How does it feel to win after almost losing it?
Rachel: [Laughs] Thank you! It was just a relief, I think. A huge relief! We definitely didn't want to be the first ones to lose from a screwup like that.

How did you miss the Roadblock? Did the cab drop you off and you didn't look to see if it was the right place?
Rachel: Well, the cab dropped us off at a couple of spots. We kept getting out and people were saying "Oh, it's that way." It was really a dirt path, so we found a route marker, but it was the wrong route marker, obviously, because it was for the final challenge. So we just stumbled into it because they were only about three-quarters of a mile apart. So imagine our surprise when Phil told us we had to go back.

They didn't really show your reaction. What went through your mind when he told you?
Dave: Actually, my initial reaction, having completed the first Roadblock — the shaved ice one — that was a 45-minute helicopter ride afterward from [one island to another]. I was under the impression that I had done something wrong there and there was no way obviously that we could recover from that. At that point, it probably would've been a three-hour cab drive and we wouldn't have had the money to cover it. We were both quite taken for a couple of minutes until we refocused our energy and we figured out there was another Roadblock.
Rachel: At first, I thought Phil was kidding, so I was laughing. I think they showed some of that. I was like, "Aw, very funny, Phil!" But he wasn't laughing back!
Dave: We've seen the show in the past and there was no way Phil was gonna joke about whether or not you just won The Amazing Race. For as much time and effort that they put into the production aspect, I knew that we had done something absolutely catastrophic.
Rachel: And we had no idea where the other teams were. We figured Brendon and Rachel were right on our tail, which is kind of funny because we didn't see them. Even when we were paddling the first time, we thought, "Are we first or second?" We had no idea because we didn't see them.

Did you think about how you could be the first team to get turned back and lose?
Rachel: I think we were so determined that we didn't try to think about it. We were just like, "OK, we have to complete the task and keep moving forward."
Dave: Yeah, we worked our way up the path. As you saw, there was a woman outside [who] directed us and we ran down and Rachel killed the challenge. She crushed it!
Rachel: It took me two times [to slide down the hill].
Dave: Yeah, just two! That was not editing.
Rachel: The first time was so painful. It felt like all the skin was ripped off my back because I was going down on my bare back on the grass when I wiped out. So the second time, I was just so determined not to wipe out because it hurt so bad the first time.

Did you think you were first after that? Did Art and JJ indicate if they had seen Brendon and Rachel?
Dave: We were under the impression that Art and JJ were in the lead when we arrived. [When we were done], we drove the ATVs to the paddleboards and I would say for the first quarter-mile, we thought we were in first place. Then I glanced over and I saw fresh ATV tracks and I go, "Wait a minute! Maybe Art and JJ aren't telling us something. Maybe Brendon and Rachel are out in front." The last portion when we were paddling across, you heard us say to each other, "Hey, I'm proud of you," without realizing that we were the first team. But what was definitely reassuring after completing the Roadblock was knowing where the finish line was.

And you also have the record for most leg wins. Eight out of 12 is pretty tough to beat.
Rachel: Yeah! It hasn't been broken in 20 seasons, so hopefully we'll have it for a while.

I talked to Phil last week and he called you, Rachel, his season MVP.
Rachel: We saw that! That was awesome! Thanks, Phil!

And he told you, Dave, to give her more props in Tanzania and a lot of fans think you're too hard on her. You guys also fought frequently. Do you think you're too hard on her?
Dave: I think, as any married couple would, we had the tendency to bicker. The Race is basically a microcosm of life. It's an over-amplified version of life. You're competing in a variety of challenges and just traveling around the world can be very difficult for some couples. We obviously did something right. Rachel did absolutely phenomenal at all aspects of it. I was very supportive of Rachel. Maybe it wasn't shown as frequently, but every challenge we would complete, I motivated her — whether it was positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement — to do absolutely the best we could. And it worked out pretty well for us.
Rachel: Yeah, we fought, but that's not an accurate representation of what we're like.

Let's talk about the U-Turn fiasco. How shocked were you that Art and JJ were so hung up on it?
Rachel: We were completely surprised! We had no idea they would act that way. We talked about U-Turning Brendon and Rachel in Germany, so that was a bunch of legs before the U-Turn leg. By the time we got to the U-Turn leg, we knew [Nary and Jamie] were so far behind that it did not make sense to use the U-Turn. We just did not want to create enemies for no reason.
Dave: Even in discussing it in Germany, it had to have been a logical use of the U-Turn, like if we were second to last and it was a last resort. If we had done it, it would've been a completely emotional decision and there's no need in creating unnecessary work on other teams and creating enemies.

And you accidentally created a new enemy.
Rachel: [Laughs] Exactly! We thought they'd get it, but they obviously didn't.

Did they talk to you at all the rest of the Race?
Rachel: Art did. Art was nice. Every time at the airport, he was nice and would come and say hi. But JJ was a complete baby! [Laughs] He refused to talk to us. ... All the teams made up after the wrap. We all talk and we're all friends.

Do you guys ever think about Leg 3 in Paraguay when you became the first team to not complete a single task and stay in?
Rachel: Oh my God! Yeah, a lot of firsts for us this season! Oh, that was a terrible leg. I never want to see watermelons again!

Did you think you could get eliminated or were you confident that you were far enough ahead that you would be safe with the two-hour penalty?
Dave: Once I put that bottle on my head, I knew it was a completely terrible decision on both our parts. She obviously can dance; she crushed the Bollywood dance. She should've completed that water dance one, but we were physically and mentally exhausted from the watermelons. During the cab ride, the smog and the heat took their toll on Rachel and she actually vomited in the back of the cab in between my legs into a bag. So when we arrived, she was out of it and there was no way in hell she could've competed, so I did it. And obviously my head is not conducive to retaining a bottle, that's for damn sure. [Laughs]

So you purposely broke all 20 bottles?
Dave: Oh yeah! I knew we had a pretty decent cushion, thankfully due to the use of the Express Pass. It was a two-hour penalty for not completing it versus a four-hour penalty for not attempting it or quitting. I think there was only 20 minutes remaining when the next team arrived.
Rachel: We were just happy to stay in it at that point.

Dave, is "complete and utter failure" your favorite phrase? You say that a lot.
Dave: [Laughs] No, it's not! For some Racers — whether it was Marcus and the football analogies that he used — these are the personalities that are created based on who you truly are in real life, but it's an over-exaggeration of who you are at times. That was one instance.
Rachel: It was better than [Vanessa and Ralph's] "cheese and crackers!" [Laughs]

What are you up to now? What are you gonna do with the money?
Dave: Right now, we're sitting in a hotel room that's in complete disarray from last night's festivities. [Laughs] Bopper's down the hall. We had a pretty eventful evening.
Rachel: We got an hour and half of sleep.
Dave: We've talked about [the money] and just having the financial freedom and stability and not having a mortgage. We'll probably invest money at some point and probably establish our family.

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