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It's hard to believe that I have been watching The Amazing Race for 14 seasons. I've been hooked from Phil Keoghan's first spirited "GO!" With the exception of a handful of missed episodes from last season, The Amazing Race has captured my attention and given me hour after enjoyable hour of fun television viewing. In a nutshell, I am a big fan and think that it deserves the Emmys it wins over and over and over.

My preference for Amazing Race over other shows has to do with the fact that for the most part, it doesn't require the manipulation and deceit that is virtually a necessity to win Survivor. Because of that unique quality, The Amazing Race is the only such show that I would legitimately want to compete on. Until that day, I will just continue to live vicariously through the show and provide my own recap and color commentary of how the race is shaping up each week.

So, racers ready? Go.

The new season kicks off in Los Angeles and with all the iconic locales throughout L.A., like the Hollywood sign or the Staples Center, they chose the recognizable but not necessarily majestic Los Angeles River as the starting line. You know, the one where Schwarzenegger was chased by a diesel in T2. It's not at the top of my list of places to start, but I have no Emmys, so who am I to question?

It's time to introduce who we will be rooting for and against. This time around there are 12 teams (one all female team, four all male teams, and seven male/female couples). Here is who we'll be following this season - or at least some of them.

First, there is Miss America 2004 Ericka, who is African-American, and Brian, her Caucasian husband. I only bring up their race because they specifically said they wanted to break any misconceptions about interracial marriages. This type of declaration scares me a bit because it sounds an awful lot the normal refrain from dating/engaged couples on the show that are there to test their relationship. And that doesn't always end up with sunshine and puppy dogs.

Next up, it's the reincarnation of Jonathan and Victoria from Season 6 - engaged couple Lance and Keri. Just from the introduction, I think I can hear the train wreck coming and I don't dare avert my eyes. Lance declares that he is a trial attorney and refers to himself as a "Street Lawyer," who "thrives on adversity." Well...okay then. You can almost hear the gears turning in the heads of CBS suits with plans for "Street Lawyer" as a midseason replacement about a lawyer dispensing justice on the streets of Boston. Just throw an acronym into the title, like JD or ESQ, and Les Moonves would be happy. And thanks to this team's ridiculous fashion choice of tying bandanas around their biceps, I am inclined to dub them Team Ultimate Warrior.

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