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Caroline & Jen (Friends): Tentatively named Team Cowboy Royalty. Why such a name? Simple…Jen’s the granddaughter of John Wayne and Caroline is a direct descendent of Daniel Boone. Plus they were in a country band Stealing Angels together for years. The years in the band and constant travel should serve them well on the Race but Caroline (straight blonde hair) admits that the pressures of airports will stress her out while Jen (curly blonde hair) is the calming voice of the team. But in the challenges themselves, the roles will likely reverse with the more gung-ho Caroline willing to take the risk and Jen being the one needing encouragement to do things out of her comfort zone. In my opinion, all it takes is the more hesitant Jen to mistakenly volunteer for a Roadblock that is too much for her to handle emotionally and they will be eliminated. I'm going with an eighth place finish for them.

Joey & Meghan (Friends): Tentatively named Team YouTube. This pair of Internet personalities are best friends from Los Angeles, who have parlayed YouTube into their careers and have separately amassed pretty substantial followings of subscribers. They are admittedly in it for the adventure because they feel there is nothing like The Amazing Race in the world. Citing their history of having to work hard for their success, Meghan admits that they may not expect to win but they will work hard every step of the way. In their introduction video, they seem more grounded than I expected but they do have a high probability of “Hey, look at me…aren’t I so clever/witty/zany?” annoyance. As a team that I really want to like, I hope I’m wrong but these hopes of mine are usually dashed before the end of the first leg. Their spunk and enthusiasm should carry them for a few legs but not too deep into the Race. Give them seventh place.

Katie & Max (Newlyweds): Tentatively named The Honeymooners. For a team that has only been married for a month when this season was taped, they are more than happy to be touted as this season’s villains. They have the perspective that they’re in the race to win and not make friends. Max declared that they will do anything to win, as long as it doesn’t penalize them on the Race. Their collective hyper-competitive personalities could work for them but given an admission that communication is their biggest hurdle, it doesn’t matter how much of a competitive streak you have if you can’t work together. She is a former NFL cheerleader and has a doctorate degree. They are choosing not tell people about her education because they view Katie as the secret weapon on the team. I suspect that they will align themselves with another team and spill their secret pretty early on because egotistical people like them LOOOOVE talking about themselves. They have it in them to give a decent run on here but they are probably not as great as they think, so I predict they end up a middle-of-the-pack sixth place.

Jamil & Idries (Brothers): Tentatively named Team Dead Ringers (minus the being evil part). These brothers admit they represent various cross-sections and Race-indentifying labels: African American, Muslim, twins, and doctors. They strategize that they will be a "flying under the radar" team because people typically underestimate them. On the Race, they will simply play into those assumptions but quietly make their way to the end. They acknowledge that being so similar means they share similar strengths and weaknesses. It’s refreshing to have a pair of twins with self-awareness and that I want to do well after the nightmare that was last season’s Sri Lankan sisters. I am optimistic for Jamil & Idries to make it to the fifth place.

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