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Last season, I broke down the previous seasons’ first and second place finishers by their relationships to determine the odds of what type of team would win. While I did correctly predict that the winning team would be “Dating/Engaged,” I woefully picked the wrong “Dating/Engaged” team.

So here is the revised information with last season’s (undeserving) first and second place teams included:

First place:

• Seven “Dating/Engaged” teams
  
• Five teams of “Friends”
  
• Four “Siblings” teams
  
• Two “Married” teams
  
• Zero “Parent/Child” teams

Second place:

• Six “Dating/Engaged” teams
  
• Four teams of “Siblings”
  
• Three teams of “Friends”
  
• Three “Separated” teams
  
• One “Married” team
  
• One was a “Parent/Child” team

Just how far off were my picks last season? Check out this embarrassing display:

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	My Pick	Actual Final Placement
1	Ethan & Jenna	Ernie & Cindy
2	Andy & Tommy	Jeremy & Sandy
3	Amani & Marcus	Amani & Marcus
4	Laurence & Zac	Andy & Tommy
5	Ron & Bill	Bill & Cathi
6	Justin & Jennifer	Laurence & Zac
7	Liz & Marie	Justin & Jennifer
8	Ernie & Cindy	Liz & Marie
9	Kaylani & Lisa	Kaylani & Lisa
10	Jeremy & Sandy	Ethan & Jenna
11	Bill & Cathi	Ron & Bill

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I am man enough to admit when I am wrong but not smart enough to stop myself from continuing to try (and likely fail) to be right. That being said, I am 100% confident that the non-winning streak of “Parent/Child” teams will continue. Of course, that’s only because this season doesn’t have any such teams. Here’s my take at the new crop of Amazing Racers.





If the big talk exhibited during the one-and-a-half- to two-minute team interviews holds, then this will be one of the most competitive and ‘got at it alone’ seasons we have seen. Several teams declare they’re not here to work together but to just race the race by themselves and let that be the deciding factor.

Joey "Fitness" & Danny: Wow! The producers have found a way to make the show appeal to the highly sought after Jersey Shore audience base. These two friends hail from the Garden State and proclaim themselves as unapologetically "Guido." Joey’s a trainer and Danny’s a club promoter but both embrace the "Guido lifestyle" of gym/tan/laundry. Of course, they are quick to defend themselves against the inherent meathead stereotype but I am unconvinced. My guess is that despite being a physically strong team, the race will be too much for them to wrap their heads around and they will be the first ones eliminated.

Dave & Cherie: This one’s a bit difficult to accept. I mean what kind of a heartless individual would predict a sweet, fun-loving team of married Ringling Bros. clowns would be the second team to exit? I guess that would be me. Previously, Dave & Cherie spent five years actually in the circus but have been serving for last six years as “ambassadors of laughter,” or rather clowns that travel to cities ahead of the circus. The married couple says they want to break down the stereotype of clowns but I think clowns themselves reinforce whatever stereotypes there may be every time that put on makeup and oversized shoes. The married couple intends to leverage their non-threatening attitude and a lot of luck into others carrying them to the end. It’s refreshing to see people down-to-earth but the more competitive teams will steamroll them.

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