Breaking Down The Amazing Race 20 Teams

Seeing as the season premiere for The Amazing Race 20 is already over, I guess the time for bios is gone, but what I can do is break down the teams based on what I watched Sunday night.   Let’s go in order of how they finished….

Dave and Rachel

I just can’t get over how this is clearly going to be Maci Bookout in 10 years with whatever boyfriend she has at the time.  I think every M/F team has a legitimate shot at winning, and being in the army, this team could go deep into the game.

Brendan and Rachel

The token “famous” people of the season.  Brendan and Rachel are best known for Big Brother, but they’re taking the Jeff/Jordan, Rob/Amber route and trying their luck on The Amazing Race.  Jeff and Jordan were booted pretty early, and that doesn’t shock me. To put it nicely, as far as TAR goes, Jordan makes a good Big Brother houseguest (meaning: She’s not good at doing anything bit sitting around a house all summer).   Rob and Amber finished 2nd because they’re both fierce competitors, and that’s around the place I can see Brendan and Rachel finishing.  Easily top 5, maybe even winning it.   Rachel may come off as whiny, but once you begin a competition, she is scary to watch.

Art and JJ

Honestly, I don’t even remember these two being on the show this week. That’s the impact they made.  Great, border patrol agents.   Well, if The Amazing Race has a competition to catch people crossing the border, Art and JJ may have a chance.  Otherwise, I expect the first ‘mental’ competition to quickly put these two in last place.

The rest after the jump

Nary and Jamie

This team strongly reminds me of the doctors from season 18 – Nat and Kat.  I mean shit, Jamie even looks like the blonde from that team….

I almost wonder if “Jamie” was really Nat (or Kat?) who got bored and is now posing as a federal agent trying to win the show again.    While Jamie and Nary have odds against them (it’s very hard for F/F team to win), I think this is the team that can do it.  They’re the badass version of the doctors, and what Art and JJ want to be.

Vanessa and Ralph

Another team I barely remember. Middle of the pack, hard to really get a grasp on them so far, but they finished this leg, so you have to give them credit there.

Elliot and Andrew

Twins who want to make it known that they’re not gay.  I know it wasn’t as bad as it sounds there, it was more of a joke, so don’t get worked up.  Anyway, they kind of remind me of the snowboarders from what, last season?  M/M teams generally do pretty well, as long as they’re not morons.  This pair could be in the running for a bit.

Kerri and Stacy

The “badonkadonk” cousins (coined by Bopper and Mark), who ironically didn’t appear to have great asses… we’ll have to judge that further.  Forgive me for not knowing which is which, but this was the team where one of them was terrified of heights, but managed to still jump out of the plane.  Because of that courage, I give them a few more weeks than I originally would have.

Dave and Cherie

Clowns who spent most of the episode crying. Not very cheerful if you ask me.  While they may be nice people, this is clearly a “throw-away” team that doesn’t have a legitimate shot at winning and won’t be surprised if they’re gone next week or the week after.  Sorry guys, tears of a clown indeed.

Mark and Bopper

Stereotypical redneck team, and is clearly having no problems living up to the stereotypes.  Seem like good guys, however I’m sure if they make it to week 5 or beyond, they’re quickly going to become ‘that annoying team’, but don’t worry, I’m not sure they’ll make it that far.

Joey “Fitness” and Danny

You have MTV’s Maci Bookout in 10 years playing for team Dave and Rachel, and here you have (pick any Jersey Shore cast member) in 10 years.  The problem for this team is they seem about as smart as the cast of the “Jersey Shore”, so while they may squeak by a few more weeks, there is no way they crack top 5. I hope you enjoy your 15 minutes “fitness”.

Misa and Maiya

These two are already eliminated, which is good for them.  Honestly this may have been the worst team I’ve seen in awhile, although the team that forgot their passports last year was up there.  While they may be smart people, they clearly got way too flustered by the race and made a ton of mistakes.  Despite about 3 mistakes I counted, they still had a chance to move on, until their 4th mistake.  They ran into the courtyard with Phil (who was pointing at them), looked around and left.  This allowed the Jersey Boys to slip in and seal their exit.

My top 5: (in no order)

• Brendan and Rachel
• Dave and Rachel
• Elliot and Andrew
• Nary and Jamie
• Vanessa and Ralph

Predicting a winner is very tough because all it takes is one dumb move to eliminate yourself from the race at the end, but the first weeks you can make mistakes and still have a chance to advance (as Misa and Maiya proved).  The teams listed above clearly have what it takes to overcome mistakes and survive the first few weeks.