Well folks, it’s over. Another season of The Amazing Race has come and gone and with it, we have winners! Tammy and Victor Jih, siblings from San Francisco and Los Angeles, California were declared the winners of The Amazing Race 14 after crossing the finish line first, naturally. All three of the final three teams had been bunched up at the final roadblock, the surfboard fence, where each person had to remember events from each leg, find a surfboard with the correct symbols and put them in the right order. Luke and Margie, mother and son, had been ahead at this challenge, arriving first and Luke having correctly placed the first 9 of 11 boards, but became caught on the last two. Cheerleaders and friends, Jaime and Cara caught up with the other two teams, and in the end their team and Luke and Margie helped each other to finish but ultimately Tammy and Victor finished first, got a lucky cab and claimed the one million dollars.

In my opinion this has been one of the better seasons of the reality season, in the fact that I didn’t dislike any of the last three teams and was happy with whoever won. My personal preference as a sentimental favorite was Margie and Luke, but I liked all three. But let’s take a look back at all the teams and some thoughts from our forum members on the season as a whole.

First out of the race were Jennifer and Preston and to be honest, I’m ambivalent about them. They weren’t in the race long enough to make a lasting impression. ‘Nough said.

Second out were the married couple, Steve and Linda and I felt bad watching Steve break down crying on the mat but I also had some strong feelings for the belligerence he’d shown his wife during their time on the race. I understand that the stress can wear on you but this is a woman you gave a vow to, you DON’T have to treat her like that. May this be a lesson in what a gift you have in her and love her for that.

Third out were Brad and Victoria and like Preston and Jennifer, I’m ambivalent. Don’t honetly remember them except they were married. ‘Nough said.

Fourth out were Amanda and Kris, once perceived as a strong team, which they were. They were U-Turned during the leg they got eliminated, by Margie and Luke, who did so hoping to give their friends Jaime and Cara a time advantage at the challenge. They were good looking as well but other than that, not much of an impression.

Fifth out were Jodi and Christie and this wasn’t much of a surprise to anyone since they’d spent the last few legs barely scraping by. They were flight attendants so to be honest I’d expected more of them, being the seasoned travelers they are.

Sixth out were Mel and Mike and this was a hard one because the father and son team had grown their relationship considerably and what a father Mel is, readily accepting his son’s homosexuality and expressing pride in having the son he did in Mike. Plus, he really pulled it out in an extremely physical challenge in a previous leg.

Next to go and the seventh team eliminated were Mark and Michael and man, this pissed me off. Why? Because on the previous leg, a non-elimination leg, they were given a FOUR HOUR PENALTY. Why? Because they bartered for a cab ride, having spent all their money going back for their bags left at an earlier challenge. This was a supposed rule, that you couldn’t trade stuff for rides or whatever on the race BUT my contention is this……….TWO FREAKING HOURS for each occurence? AND Keisha/Jen were out of  money too but they begged for a free cab ride and got it, essentially stealing a ride, so why no penalty there? Was this to punish the stunt men for previous rules broken? Read on further in the article to see our thoughts on the rules of the race.

Eight team eliminated was probably THE most celebrated elimination for many as Keisha/Jen made THE DUMBEST move in reality competition history (see our archives for the article about it). In the previous challenge Jen had to eat a lot of, um, “cuisine”, and having drank four bottles of water in the process she had a natural urge to urinate……..so what do they do, mere moments from the pit stop knowing they were in a race with Jaime/Cara to be the last team in the final three? THEY STOP SO JEN COULD PEE. Seriously, you pee down your leg or whatever, it’s a race for a million dollars, you DON’T stop to pee. They were a controversial team as it was, having perceivably made fun of Luke’s vocal expressions ( being deaf his verbal ability sounded different than a hearing person). They were strong competitors and probably could have fared well in the final leg but for me, I loved seeing them go.

So then it was down to the final three teams; Jaime/Cara, Margie/Luke and Tammy/Victor. All strong teams, all with their own weaknesses. Tammy and Victor had started the race with a strained relationship and at the leg in Romania it reached a symbolic breaking point, with Victor stumbling considerably and making him and his sister lost. They survived the leg and since that leg seemed to grow as siblings, becoming much more likeable by seasons’ end. Jaime and Cara were strong competitors as well, being former NFL cheerleaders they were also very attractive and often called Team Ginger by many internet fans. Jaime/Cara were also known for the close friendship with Margie and Luke as well as Jaime’s, um, often explosive impatience with the locals of any given country they were in. Finally, Margie and Luke. Luke was the first deaf contestant in the history of the Amazing Race and proved himself early, with him and his mother finishing first in the first leg; then starting a pattern of either first or fourth place finishes at the majority of the rest of the legs. Margie became known as the bionic woman, astounding many with her physical and mental strength, as well as overcoming extreme dehydration in Thailand. They showed that  a team can place strong despite any perceived disabilities and gave a lot to the race.

Sassygal161965 says of the season, “TAR 14 was the first time that I went into a finale thinking all 3 deserved the win!!
I think Margie is a great mom and that her son has been raised to go for the brass ring!”

My co-HBIC, TheKdd, says, “I hate that it’s over . And I agree with Sassy. What a great season. The last three teams were great, and Margie IS the bionic woman. I mean seriously, she outperformed EVERYONE on the race. I guarantee if there is another All-Star race, we will see Margie and Luke in it.”

Our resident Medical student, 19wingz, says, “I was really hoping M/L would win, but I think Luke let it get to his head too quickly that he was getting the surfboard thing wrong and instead of checking all previous things, he automatically thought it was the last. Oh well, like you guys here, I didn’t care which of these three won for the first time. I liked ‘em all, just some more than others. Yet another good, solid TAR season!”

KaraokeDiva says, “I don’t dislike the winners at all.” That’s our good ole KD, short, sweet and to the point she is!

With all this I have a few things I’d like to see with the next season.

1) NO FREE RIDES. If you don’t have money for a cab then do what Uchenna and Joyce did the season they won, they begged money off locals in the area.

and 2) I wish there was a way that we could see the rules put forth to the teams on the race. It seemed like such obscure ones popped up this season, particularly with the stunt men and it confused many viewers.

So there you have it, the YakkityYaks interpretation of the season. Want to add your own voice?  Head on into our forums!

Congratulations again to Tammy and Victor, winners of the Amazing Race 14!

What an exciting week we have coming up here. Idol is making it’s way to the final three tonight, America’s Next Top Model breaks it down to final 3 tonight, and the Amazing Race finale airs on Sunday. So, who do you want to win?

Well, as far as American Idol goes, I would like to see Allison win. I think she is the most genuine, the most talented, and will do the best in the post Idol world. Actually, it would be better for her NOT to win, and get her own contract (which she most certainly will) with more creative control. Good for you Allison. I hope you go far, whether kicked tonight or crowned the winner.

America’s Next Top Model. Well, look at that, another Allison in our midst. Well, she is absolutely interesting looking… I hope she does well. Problem is, with her walk, I highly doubt she will win this thing. She may not even make it into the finals. Celia just kinda looks, well, old to me. I think they should kept some hair on her. Aminat… Her photos have been lack luster to me. So my prediction for the winner? Teyona. Her pictures have been great, and her walk on the runway is terrific. She’s my pick.

And….. Amazing Race. Tammy Victor I think will win this thing. I like them, but I didn’t much care for three legs being in China with the advantage they had. I would really like to see Margie and Luke win for sure. What are your thoughts? Come on into the forum and let us know!

In probably what is one of THE dumbest moves in The Amazing Race history, Kisha and Jen, sisters and one of the final four teams in The Amazing Race 14, lost the slot in the final three by mere SECONDS due to Jen stopping to urinate. Yes, you heard me right. She stopped to pee and thusly lost the last slot to Jamie and Cara. By SECONDS.

Now, to explain why she stopped to pee, at the Roadblock challenge she had to eat various local cuisines, including grasshoppers and starfish. Hard to swallow, absolutely, so she drank four bottles of water during the challenge in order to complete it.

Sure, when you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go BUT were it me, I would’ve peed down my leg on the way to Phil before stopping. Public humiliation would be well worth it for a chance at the million dollars! So Kisha, Jen…………..DUMBEST MOVE EVER. In an earlier leg you remarked that Luke getting bitten by a bird was Karma, but this is the biggest Karma and Crow sandwich I’ve ever been witness to! Have to ask, was stopping to pee worth the million dollars? How do you like them apples?

Have an opinion on this? Head on into our reality forum!

I thought you all may be interested in seeing this one… I really hope Margie will be okay. When you are done viewing the video, go check out “Elimination Station” – The house the eliminated teams live in… it’s quite interesting. Thank you to HapyHouswf for pointing us to it! I didn’t even know it existed! Don’t forget to come on in the forum and join the Amazing Race convo!