Another Amazing Race Conclusion

For those of you who still haven't found your way to the best "reality" show on television, shame on you. The Amazing Race is the most entertaining adventure you will find on the tube. Last night was the conclusion of the latest Race, spanning two hours. The first hour ended with a non-elimination which I was anticipating. Uchenna and Joyce survived elimination but had all of their belongings and money taken from them. Puerto Rico is not such a beautiful place to start the final leg of the Race when it's 2 in the morning and you are trying to beg for money to go places.

Rob and Amber and Ron and Kelly pretty much kept stride for stride through the Race and this leg was little exception. That is until Ron and Kelly took a wrong turn and ended up missing the airport entirely. (BTW - How long did they stay on that road knowing they had made a wrong turn? It seems that the finger pointing and bickering kept them in the wrong direction for way too long.)

When Rob and Amber barely made it on that first flight to Miami I was not a happy camper. It was frustrating to see Uchenna and Joyce come back from so much and miss that plane by mere seconds. But oh the joy that flooded my soul when the pilot agreed for them to board as well! (The look on Rob and Amber's faces when they saw Uchenna and Joyce must have been totally fulfilling for the comeback kids.

Thankfully, Miami proved to be exactly what Uchenna and Joyce needed to pull it all together. I was practically screaming at the television when they were stuck outside the gates at the end. ("Tell the cabby you'll be right back with the rest of the money and finish the Race! The other ousted contestants will give you whatever you need to repay the cabby in a heartbeat!") It was during this time frame that Uchenna and Joyce displayed their character and proved to the world why they were deserving of the win. Having taken care of the cabby, Uchenna and Joyce made their way to the mat where Phil told them that they had just won the Amazing Race.

It was great to see Uchenna and Joyce beat Rob and Amber. It was great to see that the other previously eliminated contestants were hoping that Uchenna and Joyce would win. (It was a classic image to see and hear Patrick begging for the winners to be Uchenna and Joyce.) The way these two had run the Race with both respect to the other contestants and the people of other cultures was absolutely fantastic. It was evident that they had helped others along the way and only took care of their own business, without trying to hinder anyone else's.

In the end, Uchenna and Joyce stood bald-headed and crying on the mat, winners of the Amazing Race and $1,000,000 richer. They plan to try to have a baby and if they cannot get that to happen they plan on adopting one. (This decision was no doubt influenced by the leg that stopped in South Africa at the children's orphanage.)

Rob and Amber getting lost in Little Havana was a wonderful development.
Ron and Kelly coming in a distant third was satisfying.
Uchenna and Joyce winning the Amazing Race was everything that I have been rooting for for the past month and a half.