Well, the finale of The Amazing Race is tonight, and I'd like to point out (again) that I called the final four -- and the final three -- before the series started. Soooo... lets compare what I said then to what I think now.
- Jon & Al. What I said then: "They work well together, have travelled a lot, and seem to have a pretty good sense of humor." What I think now: the sense of humor clearly showed through (the mugging for the cameras didn't bother me at all -- it's their day job, what do you expect?), but what really impressed me was the way they treated everybody they came into contact with in a respectful fashion. There's no doubt in my mind that they were the class team of this race, and I bet if the other teams were asked "Which team (besides yourselves) is most deserving of the money?" the clowns would be the #1 answer.
- Kelly & Jon. What I said then: "Kelly "admits to being high-strung and obsessive" so it's clear that she's being set up as TAR4's Flo. Jon is a well-travelled jock." What I think now: Jon certainly hasn't had to carry her like Zach did Flo, that's for sure. Jon's smarter (most of the time) than he looks (most of the time); he really seems to have gotten under Reichen & Chip's collective skin, and I think it pays off tonight with some kind of stress-related mistake on their part. Fair play? It's arguable, but I think so. Nonetheless, I find them both so personally irritating that the only redeeming factor to them winning would be Flo getting knocked off her perch as the only woman to win.
- David & Jeff. What I said then: "Both these guys like to work out. Great--this year's set of Body Nazis." What I think now: basically, I wanted to hate them because they were beautiful. Unfortunately for my finely-tuned sense of indignation, they've turned out to be decent people and good racers. Yeah, they've been shown bumbling around a lot making little mistakes, but contrast that with the clowns, who are gone because of their one big mistake -- the only one we were really shown, at least. They've generally kept their cool and been good to each other (Jon & Kelly, I'm looking at you) and the people they meet (Reichen & Chip, I'm looking at you). Of the remaining three, I want them to win.
- Reichen & Chip. What I said then: "Their bio hints at some possible interpersonal touchiness, but I think that's just the mandatory downside stuff. On paper, they've got all the necessary skills, and if they have agreeable personalities, they'll join the Clowns among my favorite teams. " What I think now: nope, it sure wasn't throwaway 'mandatory downside stuff.' I have never seen such a combination of arrogance and thin skin. They're kind of the anti-David & Jeff -- I wanted to like them, but their behavior turned me the other direction. At Mach 3. I think the biggest question of the finale will be whether Chip avoids the stroke he seems to be building up to.
Incidentally, the travel probability I alluded to yesterday is now up to 85%. But that'll probably change before I blog again.
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