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So we meet again, fellow Amazing Race enthusiasts. After seven seasons recapping this Emmy Award-winning show for BOP, I feel wholly confident in one thing: I am always wrong about who I initially think will win and who does win. This unpredictability of the show and Race is one of the main reasons I love it. The underdog can win just as easily as the expected frontrunners. It all boils down to who they are racing against and the challenges the producers conjure up for them. Oh yeah, they are also invariably at the mercy of surly cabbies and rigid airline schedules. Regardless of these race-altering factors, you never can REALLY know how a team will fare until it unfolds.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at my sure-to-be-wrong pecking order:

11. Pam & Winnie (Friends/Nothing to see here…move along)
10. Chuck & Wynonna (Married/Permed Mullet proponent): Nickname - Team Big Bad Hair
9. Matt & Daniel (Friends/South Carolina firefighters): Nickname - Team SCFD
8. Caroline & Jen (Friends/relatives of John Wayne and Daniel Boone): Nickname - Team Cowboy Royalty
7. Joey & Meghan (Friends/Internet personalities): Nickname - Team YouTube
6. Katie & Max (Newlyweds/Villain wannabes): Nickname - The Honeymooners.
5. Jamil & Idries (Brothers/Doctors/Twins/Muslims): Nickname - Team Dead Ringers
4. Mona & Beth (Friends/Roller Derby Moms): Nickname - Team Sock ‘er Moms
3. Anthony & Bates (Brothers/Pro Hockey players): Nickname Team Slapshot Lockout
2. David & Connor (Father/son/cancer survivors): Nickname - Team Livestrong
1. John & Jessica (Dating/adrenaline junkies): Nickname - Meghan & Cheyne 2.0 (or Team MC2.0)

Jump on over to the full-blown introductions with further explanation as to why I have ranked them as listed above. We’ll wait for you…

…Good…you’re back.

For the New Year and new season, let’s catch up to our reliable host Phil.

Sweeping shots of the Los Angeles scenery fill the screen and settle onto our man Phil on the grounds of the Griffith Observatory. This will be where this season gets under way and I love the fact that the producers didn’t offer up any transportation to teams to get to the observatory. They are starting the Race by having to walk/jog/run up the winding road leading to the observatory.

Based upon the brief introductions of the teams at this point, here are the revelations that stand out to me: 1) Chuck thinks his mullet is his power and he has a deep passion for taxidermy. 2) Beth’s roller derby name is Fiona Grapple. 3) Pam & Winnie are still uninteresting.

While last season offered the twist of one team competing for $2 million, this time around, the producers minimize their financial gamble with a different twist: The winner of the first leg gets TWO Express Passes – one for themselves and another they have to give a competing team before the end of the fourth leg. For once, I can endorse forming an alliance on the Amazing Race.

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