The Amazing Race 23

Episode 2: Power Rankings

By Daron Aldridge

October 6, 2013

Penalty shmenalty.

New at BOP:
Share & Save
Digg Button  
Print this column
5. (tie) Chester & Ephraim: Friends and former Houston Texans teammates, and Nicky & Kim: Baseball wives. I figured both of the teams would do well, given their familiarity with competitive sports and they still might, but the first leg didn’t offer much to debunk or verify that notion. They both did well, didn’t mess up and basically were "middle-of-the-pack" teams. Kim displayed some weakness with the fear of paragliding creeping in but it was all for naught as she did the task with no issue. I suspect that either team might be able to break out or flame out but I will give them the benefit of the doubt and a tie for fifth ranking.

6. Ally & Ashley: Members of the LA Kings Ice Crew, the blondes had a better than predicted leg and do seem more mentally ready for the Race than I expected. Also to their credit, Ashley was the one that pointed out Leo & Jamal’s second Roadblock clue-reading error. This shows that they are aware of what is going on but that observation actually benefited another team. If she had kept it to herself, then the Afghanimals would likely still be in the Iquique Harbor. It’s nice to be nice but on the Race but it may cost them.

7. Brandon & Adam: Friends and beard enthusiasts. These fun-loving friends seem to have set the bar low for themselves to just be faster than one team and they lived up to these sub-par standards on the first leg. I hate to put a team so low since they seem to be a pair to truly enjoy the Race experience, yet nothing was shown to exude anything more than just a "don’t get eliminated" mentality. But thanks to my lack of confidence in the other remaining teams’ abilities, I have them ahead of two teams.




Advertisement



8. Leo & Jamal: Cousins and self-described “Afghanimals”. All bluster and little aptitude. That’s my assessment of the cousins after one leg. They have the enthusiasm of a five-year-old hyped up on sugar the night before the first day of Kindergarten, but that exuberance and their adolescent preoccupation with Ally & Ashley doesn’t exactly make them a formidable Amazing Race team. In the first leg, they foolishly let their cab leave the first Roadblock, fell for the tricky wording on the paragliding task and, as the most costly slip-up, wasted time with Jamal rowing instead of Leo. While I feel Mr. & Mrs. Dr. learned from their mistake, these guys…not so much. I don’t feel they are in this for the long haul, but should be around a bit longer than…

9. Tim & Danny: Childhood friends from Oklahoma. As is the case with Ally & Ashley, likable doesn’t always translate to Race success. Sadly, nice guys rarely ever finish first on this show. If you add in that these guys are this season’s "Aw Shucks" yokels, they take another hit on Race longevity. Previous season’s Jet & Cord also hailed from Oklahoma and were a particularly strong team and STILL couldn’t win on TWO different seasons. OK Tim & Danny aren’t the cowboys and will likely be the next eliminated team.

We are only a few hours from finding out if the teams live up to my rankings or if I just completely embarrassed myself.


Continued:       1       2

     


 
 

Need to contact us? E-mail a Box Office Prophet.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
© 2024 Box Office Prophets, a division of One Of Us, Inc.