Congratulations to Colin and Christie!
Though last night’s finale of The Amazing Race was overshadowed a bit by the premiere of Big Brother, it was still one of the most satisfying finishes in the history of the Race! While I was disappointed that Victor and Nicole didn’t make it into the final three (and Leo and Jamal’s struggles during the final leg of the race felt a bit like karmic retribution), I was very happy to see Colin and Christie win the million dollars.
To understand why, you have to know a little about the last time that Colin and Christie were on the race. 15 years ago, when they took part in the 5th season of the Amazing Race, Colin and Christie were a strong team but they were also so intense that it was easy to view them as being that season’s villains. Colin was constantly yelling and getting angry at taxi drivers and neither one of them seemed to really enjoy the journey. It appeared that the other teams couldn’t stand them. The first time they ran the race, Colin and Christie came in 2nd, largely because Colin got into an argument with a cab driver.
After that season of the race, Colin was very vocal about feeling that he had been edited to look like a villain and I think he kind of had a point. Some of the other teams from that season also said that Colin and Christie were not as bad as they were portrayed on the show, as well.
And that brings us to The Amazing Race 31. During this race, we saw a new Colin and Christie. This time, they seemed determined to enjoy the experience no matter what. They were still fierce competitors. They still had their intense moments. But gone was the anger. Instead of yelling, they supported each other. Instead of getting upset and frustrated whenever they ran into difficulty, they instead remained (for the most part) calm and they worked through it. In short, they provided a master class in how to run a great race.
And, last night, it paid off for them. They won and they earned the victory. I love a good redemption story and that’s what this season provided. Tyler and Korey also ran a good race and should have no reason to be ashamed of their second place finish. As for Leo and Jamal’s third place finish …. well, what can I say? I wish it had been Victor and Nicole running the final leg. But, Victor and Nicole are now engaged to be married so everything worked out well for them, regardless.
This was really a good season. I was skeptical when I heard the concept. I wasn’t sure that we really needed to have an entire season of Big Brother teams vs. Survivor teams vs. Amazing Race teams. But, in the end, everyone did their best and they were a lot of fun to watch. This was the type of season that reminded me why I love this show in the first place.
And the good news is that The Amazing Race will be back! Season 32 has already been filmed and will be airing next year!
Well, that’s it for now. Thank you everyone for reading along with these recaps! I’ll be over at the Big Brother Blog for the rest of the summer, covering Big Brother! And this blog will start up again as soon the next season of Survivor begins!
Otherwise, I’ll see y’all over on the Big Brother Blog or here in a few months!
Peace and love,
Lisa Marie