Archive > The Amazing Race
TAR 8 - On-line Articles
puddin:
:holidayC: Good interview , thanks Pedaler .
I think we (I?) learned alot this season with the decoys and the crazy editing of the repetitive voice dubbing as well as how to play with those URL codes ( thanks banzai :winkC: ) .
We do NOT fall into the Bert's so called "Pundit " catagory =]/ .
puddin:
Multimedia
The following are various television show clips and other media clips relating to the Bondurant Kart Racing School. Enjoy them all and feel free to link your friends here to see them also!
The Amazing Race Video Clips
Clips from Season 8 of the Amazing Race featuring the Bondurant SuperKart School
Official CBS airing
Local CBS Nightly News
Local CBS Morning News
( links at his site )
http://www.bondurantsuperkarts.com/multimedia.php?page=vid
puddin:
“We Were in the Race to Enjoy It” – An Interview with the Amazing Race 8’s Linz Family
by Jenn Brasler -- 12/21/2005
RealityNewsOnline got the chance to interview the Linz family (right), the winners of this season of The Amazing Race. Read on to find out what they enjoyed most about the race (besides winning a million dollars), what they think of the Weavers, and the most important thing they think future racers should know.
RealityNewsOnline: Hi, Megan, Alex, Nick, and Tommy! Congratulations on your win! First of all, sorry if I ever called any of you guys by the wrong name.
I’ve heard that there are more Linzes back home. How did you all decide who would come on the race?
The Linzes: The team was assembled virtually by default. The oldest brother, Matt, 27, was expecting his first child in August, so he was out. TJ, 26, lives in Chicago, so logistically it was difficult for him to audition with us. Tim, 16, had summer obligations that he couldn’t leave.
RNO: What did you think were your strengths and weaknesses?
The Linzes: Our strengths were that we all had the mindset that we were in the race to enjoy it. The big prize was always in our mind, but more importantly, we wanted to have fun and not get bent out of shape over any mistakes that we had made. We quickly learned from our mistakes and improved our performance as a “team” with every new day. We all knew that we were giving our best, and if our best wasn’t good enough, then the million belonged to someone else. Another side of it is that luck plays a major role, so we kept that in mind as well, which kept our morale and level of enjoyment elevated.
Our weakness may have been our lack of a sole leader. We are all young adults who all want to have a say and make the “right” decisions. Although there were times when that didn’t happen, we kept it cool and moved on.
RNO: Did you think Megan would hinder you at all?
The Linzes: We know that Megan has a big heart and wouldn’t let her brothers down. She kept up with us and showed many people that the girls can run with the boys.
RNO: Most people I’ve spoken to think that you all should have received a time credit after the incident with your battery being drained. What do you think?
The Linzes: It definitely was a bummer when that happened because you don’t know if it means the end of the race for us. We took it in stride, though, and made the best of being stuck in the desert. We ran the race, though, knowing that production does the best they can to provide good equipment. It’s part of the race, though, just as flat tires, bad directions could be given, or slow taxi drivers. You deal with it.
RNO: What was each person’s favorite moment or experience on the race?
Nick: The Moab Desert was my favorite location. I enjoyed the rugged terrain and the opportunity to rappel. Of course, my face plant on the ski slope was enjoyable also.
Alex: I think driving through Montana and seeing how open and beautiful the landscape of our country was.
Megan: My favorite or most memorable time on the race was flying the plane in a 360 loop. I was terrified of flying and heights and this task really made me overcome those fears really quick. I really have an ex-boyfriend to thank whom is a pilot and kind of taught me how to fly a plane.
RNO: Who did you see as your toughest competition?
Megan: I think I can speak for my whole team when I say that all the teams on this race were truly tough competitors. We really enjoyed running this race with all of them. But to really choose one, I would have to say the Bransens were our toughest; they brought to this race so much heart and determination and we really say that in Papa Wally. I would run a race with that family any day.
We knew going into the race that anybody has a shot at the million dollars. The Aiellos were a group that we thought would be strong in that they had four grown men to put up a fight. A large part of the race is luck, and anything could happen. With that in mind, it goes back to why any one of the teams could be considered the strongest.
RNO: Is there anything you would have done differently on the race?
The Linzes: We all agreed that we overpacked. Most important piece of information for all future racers: pack plenty of undergarments and minimal outerwear change of clothes. You can get away with two pairs of pants and a few
RNO: You all seemed to be mostly optimistic and energetic throughout the experience. Did you go in with a certain attitude?
The Linzes: This was the chance of a lifetime. We knew that we wanted to make the most of our opportunity given to us. We knew it was going to be stressful at times, but we knew to keep a clear head and stay positive if things didn’t go our way. Having fun and taking it all in was the goal from the start.
RNO: Did anyone show him- or herself to be a leader on the team?
The Linzes: No one could be the stand-out leader for our team. All of us participated and included great ideas to get us to where we went. I think the race gave each of us the opportunity to see that we were all leaders in our own right.
RNO: Here’s your chance – what do you want to say about the Weavers?
The Linzes: The Weavers may have caught a bad break with being depicted as the villains of the race, but they are not bad people. I think they simply chose to run a different kind of race and not be as sociable with the others as we may have expected. Their attitudes caught us off-guard at times.
RNO: Have your family dynamics changed since the race?
The Linzes: No, in that we still are the same close-knit family we went into it. The jokes and banter amongst us is still the same. It was just a great thing to have done with our siblings and share the experience and winnings with the rest of the family who weren’t on the show.
RNO: What are your plans for the future?
The Linzes: Plan now is to enjoy our prizes and our “15 minutes.” After we split the money as we said we would (with the rest of the family) there isn’t much left to each individual, so no big purchases in the plans. Invest, invest, invest!
RNO: What do you want to say to all of your fans and the people who watched you on the race?
The Linzes: Thanks for watching! Although the race format was different from past seasons, hopefully the excitement and suspense of each episode was there. We had the privilege of visiting amazing locations in this great country of ours, and we hope that our journey will prompt others to make a very affordable trip to cities like the ones we visited. You don’t have to leave your country to go outside of your “bubble.”
Megan: To all those people and fans that watched the race, thank you so much for all your support and love for Cincinnati. “Who Dey” and go BENGALS! We really have enjoyed every minute back at home and with our friends and family.
http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=1&article=article5947.art&page=2
puddin:
Bransens recount their Amazing Race adventure
BY KATHRYN SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER
"We were this close!" lamented Beth Bransen, holding her thumb and index finger about a centimeter apart.
And as millions of television viewers saw Dec. 13, one Park Ridge family was that close: to $1 million.
Wally Bransen and his three daughters, Beth, 26, Lauren, 22, and Lindsay, 20, recently finished in second place on Season Eight of CBS television's reality series, "Amazing Race." Teams of four family members raced around the world, with no money and a few personal belongings, competing to be the first to the finish line and a $1 million prize. Ten teams received clues in each leg of the race, pushing them through a grueling scramble to avoid being eliminated.
Missed by that much
In the final leg of the race, the Bransens finished second by about a minute and a half, just barely losing sight of first place. But their team did win free gasoline for life and two cars, which they plan to sell to split the proceeds. They also won $25,000 for placing second in the competition.
Wally and his daughters spent a month filming the show last summer. The four did everything from sifting through coffee beans and driving up a volcano in Costa Rica to re-enacting the Civil War in Pennsylvania. Other destinations included Panama and Yellowstone Park.
The idea to get on the show developed from Beth's interest in the previous season. Originally Beth and Lauren were going to apply for one of the show's two-person team series. But after some thought and family discussion, their unstoppable four-person team was formed.
The foursome made an audition tape last winter in their living room, and soon it was on its way to CBS headquarters.
"I said to them, 'You're not going to get on,'" Wally said. "But I said, 'I'll do it to get them off my back.'"
Just days later, Wally got the call that would turn the next few months of their lives into an endless stream of interviews, applications and tests.
"I was screaming all up and down my dorm hallway, 'We got a call back!'" Lindsay said.
The Bransens were picked from a pool of 20,000 teams from around the country to embark on an unbelievable journey - for which none of them was "fully prepared," Beth said.
Soon the four were ready to leave their mother, Judy, and brothers, Brian, 18, and Mark, 24, to set out on a month-long trip of a lifetime. But there was a catch: no one could know where they were. CBS asks contestants to keep details of the show under wraps until the series has been aired.
Where in the world...
"I had to lie all summer," Judy said. "Wally was supposed to be on an extended business trip in Europe...Beth was visiting a friend in California, and Lauren and Lindsay went with their aunt on a charity trip to Nicaragua."
And when they returned, Wally and his daughters had to keep their lips sealed until the season aired this fall. Judy watched her family run, drive and paddle around the world with millions of other American viewers- and she was on the edge of her seat along with them.
Family and friends flocked to the Bransen house each week to cheer on the Bransen team, at times overflowing the house with avid viewers. Wally's parents drove in from Indiana each week to share in what the Wally called the year-long "centerpiece of our lives."
The Bransen daughters were also quite nervous once the show started airing on CBS, they said. They had no idea how the show would be edited, or what they would look like on TV.
Lauren was mortified when an episode showed her mooning another team after a long-running joke with the race's eventual winners, members of the Linz family.
"I wasn't thinking they would ever put that on TV," she said. "I was screaming."
Just 'being us'
The reality show is known for airing family disagreements and team backbiting on national television. But the Bransens kept their cool, they said. Overall, the editing process was kind to them.
"For us, it was pretty accurate," Wally said.
The Bransen daughters agreed, saying the show "was just us being us."
The show also helped them re-live the ups and downs of the competition, they said. Sometimes it was frustrating to think about what they could have done better, Beth said. She spent several restless nights replaying the last leg of the race in her mind, she added.
Although many Park Ridge residents were following the Bransens' journey each week, the Bransens said they don't think the show has brought them too much celebrity. The family did an interview on the CBS Early Show, and people have recognized them as the three blonde-haired daughters who were on the Amazing Race with their dad, Wally.
"It's always about my dad," Beth said. "It's always, 'How's Wally? Go Wally!'"
The Bransens, who bonded with many other teams on the show, including the Godlewskis of Des Plaines, still keep up with the other families through e-mail.
And now it's back to the daily routine for the Bransens. The show has finished airing, and the weekly watching parties have dispersed.
Lindsay, a junior at Hope College in Michigan, is finishing a degree in social work. Lauren is an account manager in event marketing. Beth recently finished a masters degree in social work. The Bransen daughters hope to open their own boutique someday, possibly with the money they won on the Amazing Race.
But the Bransens assured curious friends and family they will never forget their experience, and the bond it built between them.
The Bransens are already enjoying their free gas cards and figuring out how much money they'll have to distribute among them after taxes.
"Wait. We have to pay the taxes?" Lindsay asked.
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/ni/12-29-05-784958.html
Pedaler:
--- Quote ---Beth, 26, Lauren, 22, and Lindsay, 20
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---Brian, 18, and Mark, 24,
--- End quote ---
Yikes, All the children are two years apart? I think Mom is the toughest one in that family >*&
Does anyone know if TAR8Vet and his daughters won X dollars of gasoline every year for life or won Y gallons of gasoline every year for life? Sure hope they have BP stations up in Chicagoland.
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