The ReRACEables Podcast 21: Season 11, All-Stars, Power Rankings

The ReRACEables Podcast is back! Click the play button below to listen to The ReRACEables Podcast episode 21. In this episode, host Tom Dwyer @tribal_council_blog is joined once again by Josh, Lizzy, and Nicole to breakdown their power rankings from 11-1 for Season 11, All-Stars! Be sure to read Tom’s season preview below.

The world has been waiting for this…

Season 32 has ended, but the blog must go on. The thirst for watching, analyzing, and discussing The Amazing Race must be quenched. Over a year ago, my binge watching of The Amazing Race finished plowing through seasons 1-10. Was I loving every second of it? Of course. But it wasn’t enough. It took over a year, a global pandemic, starting a blog, and lastly, finding others with a burning passion for The Amazing Race to make The ReRACEables Podcast a reality. Fast Forward again, 20 episodes have been recorded, edited, and published, and in those we have covered everything about the race from top to bottomus for Season 32. Now that Will and James have had their NOLA proposal, the saints must go marching in a different direction. That direction is picking up where the original binge watch had left off. Season 11, All-Stars!

21 seasons/races ago, 11 teams began the journey of a lifetime, AGAIN! Best friends, beauty queens, married parents, and even a former winning team raced around the world for their second chance at the coveted million dollar prize and title of Amazing Race Season 11 All-Stars Champion!

That means it is time once again to book a flight on another adventure because watching “The Amazing Race” is an experience in itself. Here at The ReRACEables Podcast, we are excited to see this season unfold, the storylines be told, and some familiar faces or all-stars (and maybe not some all-stars), back racing around the world.

So, if the experience is already amazing, how could it get better? Glad you asked.

Without further ado, my Season 11 rankings. (Note: My rankings are going off what I learned from watching these teams on their previous season and the intro to the teams at the beginning of episode 1.

Group A - THE NO CHANCERS - If the race was run 1,000 times, they would win 0 times.

11. David & Mary (Coalminer and Wife, Season 10)

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If season 11 were somehow able to be simulated 1,000 times, I believe that David and Mary would win ZERO times. That’s right. They have no chance in winning the race. Let’s make the case why. On their season, season 10, they finished 1st once and it was only because Erwin and Godwin gave them a gift. (stupid choice by the brothers). Also, during their season their finishes in legs were

• Finishes – 10,7,7,5,7,1FF,6, Out. Also, note that when they came in 7 & 6 – the team came in last on a non-elimination leg of the race and was "Marked for Elimination"; if the team did not finish 1st on the next leg, they would receive a 30-minute penalty. 

In other words, they hung around the bottom of the pack for the entire time they were racing. On top of that they relied heavily on an alliance with Erwin and Godwin and Team “Bama” (first all-female team to finish the race) David and Mary claim they are here to prove they can do it without an alliance. 

• “I don’t have to have my alliance doing something for me” - Mary 

Yes you do Mary. It’s the only way you survived as long as you did. My guess is that the all-stars won’t be as kind to a weak team like y’all.

10. Charla & Mirna (Cousins, Season 5)

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This team, like David and Mary has no chance of winning. In season 5 they finished as Team #1 – ZERO times. I think that matters. They had a few 2nd place finishes before exiting, but they never really were a threat to win.

Do they make a nice story? Sure, I guess so.

• “Being a little person I’ve always gotten attention from people, but ever since we got off the race they look at me in a positive way” - Charla 

That’s great. I hope that Charla has continued to ride that wave since season 5 through season 11 airing and on through the present day. But, that doesn’t mean SQUAT when it comes to winning the race.

This quote from their intro says all you need to know. “We’re gunna be tough and we’re gunna win this time” (she laughs – laugh says “we have no chance!”) Even Mirna knows they have no chance!

Group B - THE CUP OF COFFEE OR TWO - They’ll stick around a couple episodes.

9. Kevin & Drew (Lifelong Friends, Season 1)

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Who doesn’t like a couple fat, bald, and self deprecating guys from New York? All the way back in season 1 they made one hell of a run at the inaugural million dollars but came up short finishing 4th overall. During their race they locked up Team #1 - 3 legs (1 with FF) which I like and they even had a 2nd and a couple 3rd place finishes in legs.  

Usually, two white male teams find success in these early seasons, but Kevin makes me feel less confident about their chances, “We both got married, 5 years older, 5 years more out of shape, I was a circle then, and I’m an oval now” 

Fun, Funny, Good Characters, Likeable, but no real chance of winning. Hope they stick around a couple episodes but that’s about all I see them lasting.

8. John Vito & Jill (Formerly Dating, Season 3)

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This team was an interesting choice to bring back for All-Stars. They weren’t stand outs for their season in any memorable way. They weren’t a final 3 team. They weren’t combative like other formerly dating couples, think Tara and Wil (season 2). They aren’t the eye candy “model” team. Leaves their story. They are connected to the 9-11 attacks with Jill’s brother passing. If that was the main motivation for bringing them back, I’m ok with it, but storylines aside, this team doesn’t strike me as a couple that will turn it around and have the race rekindle their love.

• “We knew the next step was getting engaged, getting married but we just kind of stopped working as a couple” - Jill 

• “Hopefully we will grow closer, take it one day at a time” - John Vito 

Those quotes say it all for me. I think to win the race, especially against other hungry, competitive all-stars, you can’t have a shaky relationship. Don’t see them staying in this too long.

7. Team Guido aka Joe & Bill (Life Partners, Season 1)

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Our next team is one that I feel was deserving of being called an all-star. Though they finished a very distant 3rd in season 1, “Team Guido” was the original “villain” of The Amazing Race or maybe the first team you really routed against. They raced with an edge, which I liked then and still liked during my rankings for season 32. In their season, they finished Team #1 once, 2nd place five times, and 3rd three times. They were even finalists despite never actually crossing the finish line. (Joe & Bill had fallen so far behind that they were unable to complete the final leg. When Joe & Bill departed from Takosha Lodge in Alaska and reached the last Detour, they were informed that the race was over and accepted a 3rd-place finish. via wikipedia).

The challenge for Guido won’t be their ability to get along, match their outfits, their competitiveness, nor their intelligence. For the life partners, the challenge will be their age. They are the self proclaimed “two gay grandpas” and through the first ten seasons, the “grandparents” teams may be gutsy, but they are not typically the most successful.

6. Oswald & Danny (Best Friends, Season 2)

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Oswald and Danny were on my second favorite season to this point. (Season 7 was the best for obvious reasons, keep reading.). During their season, Team Cha Cha Cha took a unique approach to racing. They were kind of nonchalant and as unemotional as you probably can be when running a race around the world for a million dollars. They were courteous to the other teams and especially to the people they met along the way. They were always looking for help in a hotel and made racing almost look, luxurious.

And, they were successful. In a very competitive season 2, Oswald and Danny were Team #1 three times and finished the race 4th overall. I think they will have success again in season 11. I like their approach to the race and see them using their strengths in communicating with people to help them make a run at this thing. My money’s on them sticking around for a couple cups of coffee for this race, or maybe something more luxurious, like a couple caramel frappuccinos.

GROUP C: SLEEPERS - so you’re telling me there’s a chance!

5. Teri & Ian (Married Parents, Season 3)

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“We’re back!”

They’ve already won me over with their introduction video. They nailed it. In their season, they showed grit and determination unmatched by any “older” team through 10 seasons. They were the runners up by only minutes behind Flo and Zach and they are back looking for redemption.

What I love about Teri and Ian is that they know who they are, how they operate, and don’t need to rely on anyone else to be successful. Ian is in charge and calls the shots. Ian drives. Teri navigates. They push each other to be better and they push each other the way an old married couple should. You got to love it. Also, the obstacles along the race don’t phase them and here is where their age and experience in life serves them. Wrong gas goes in the car? No problem, Ian can drain the tank and get the proper diesel into the tank and be back on the road.

I’m rooting for Teri and Ian. They are arguably the most memorable team of seasons 1-10 and one of the most fun. They were kind of like Rocky in Rocky IV when he is fighting Drago in Russia. At first, the Russian crowd rooted against Rocky, but by the end of the fight, they were all cheering his name. Same thing for viewers watching Teri and Ian. Hopefully, they follow up their season 3 performance with something better than Sly’s follow up in Rocky V.

HOO-RAH!

GROUP D: THE CONTENDERS - We are here to win.

4. Uchenna & Joyce (Husband & Wife, Season 7 WINNER)

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Our only returning winners are Uchenna and Joyce from season 7. First off, it makes you wonder if any other winners were invited back and declined or were Uchenna and Joyce the only ones. During season 7, they were a very capable team, kind of hung around, and in the end got VERY VERY lucky as they got a flight to reopen the gate and make a flight that ultimately gave them the opportunity to edge out Rob and Amber for the million dollars. (Shaking my head in disgust as I write it, but it needs to be said.)

The “all-star” moment for Uchenna and Joyce is arguably not even them winning season 7, nor the miracle at the airport on the final leg. Their moment was Joyce sacrificing her hair and having it completely cut off in order to complete a much needed fast forward in India. It saved them. Joyce’s willingness to do that says a great deal about her competitiveness and necessary grit to be successful in the race. I think this combined with Uchenna’s physical strength will help them get far again in the second go around.

Though they won once before, the concern for them comes in their relationship. In the intro Uchenna mentions that they are “Growing apart, haven’t had the child, failed invitero, it’s caused stress” and Joyce added that they are “Still trying to uncover that secret to a happy and successful marriage”. Tough to take a relationship that is rocky like that and test it on a race around the world. I guess money doesn’t solve everything.

3. Dustin & Kandice (Beauty Queens, Season 10)

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The team that could have been the first all female team to win The Amazing Race. During their season they were Team #1 – 2 legs (1 on the intersection), they were chippy as hell, not afraid to cut in front at the airport, not afraid to use their beauty to their advantage, and claw, scratch or bite to get to the mat first.

They have a certain “phony” or superficial quality to them which I think serves them well on the race. I like that they are coming off of being on the previous season and that freshness will likely serve them and be an advantage in comparison to the teams from earlier seasons.

I think they have all the tools to make a run at winning the whole thing and being the first all female team to win the million, but they have some stiff competition ahead of them in the rankings.

GROUP E: THE FAVORITES - If you ran the race 1,000 times, they would win it the most.

2 - Eric & Danielle (Dating, Season 9)

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Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the favorites! Our first favorite is the only “new” team, Eric and Danielle. Phil brings us up to speed telling viewers “They fell in love and started dating” to make sense of why this team is even a team at all. It makes sense to have cast them. It also adds a unique wrinkle to the term “all-star”. In season 9, each of them had different partner.  

• Eric – playboy, chasing girls, came in 2nd place with friend Jeremy. 

• Danielle – attractive Staten Island girl, dressing to show off, came in 8th place with friend Dani. 

Eric and Jeremy were DOMINANT. The most dominant team in the first 10 seasons. Despite the domination, they got edged out at the Red Rock amphitheatre where it all started for them by the hippies. Danielle on the other hand, struggled during the race. The Staten Island girls looked good on TV, but not as good racing. They finished 8th.

However, they are favorites because of Eric’s strength, competitiveness, past performance, and chip on his shoulder. I like that they are young, in shape, good looking, and in a relationship that seems to be working.

• “more anxious about it this time, can make or break a relationship” - Eric

Though Eric can’t be “bro-ing” around with Jeremy this time, I think he will take the steering wheel of this team and will them to the end of the race. There is only one team that is ahead of them and it’s part because they are a strong team but also because of my bias. Otherwise, Eric and Danielle would be my #1 team. (Reminiscent of season 32 with having Riley and Maddison #2 behind my bias pick, Gary and DeAngelo)

1. Rob & Amber (Newlyweds, Season 7)

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Bias pick? Of course! No surprise here. The blog is named after Survivor’s Tribal Council, and Boston Rob and Amber are Survivor royalty. That aside, they were also phenomenal competitors in season 7 of The Amazing Race, and came within one controversial San Juan airport decision from winning the race over Uchenna and Joyce and rocketing their super-duper CBS fame even further!

By the time season 11 of The Amazing Race aired, Boston Rob and Amber had spent the previous years building their fame and place in America’s living room on Survivor. They appeared on Survivor: All-Stars.  Filmed Nov-Dec. 2003, aired Feb.-May 2004. Then, Season 7 of Amazing Race – Filmed Nov.-Dec. 2004, Aired March-May 2005. Next, on April 16, 2005 at Atlantis Paradise Island in The Bahamas. CBS aired a two-hour special about the wedding, entitled Rob and Amber Get Married, on May 24, 2005.

The point of mentioning all this is that Boston Rob and Amber have one advantage over the rest of the teams, they are celebrities. They have the advantage of people knowing who they are and can use that to their advantage. This also plays into the confidence that they must have felt back when season 11 was being filmed. The disadvantage however, is other all-stars knowing Rob and Amber are celebrities too. It paints a target on Rob and Amber as it did in season 7.

Besides celebrity status, Boston Rob and Amber were also dominant during their season. They were Team #1 on 5 legs and in typical Boston Rob fashion, he was part of the most memorable moment of the first 10 seasons binge watch when he forfeited the Road Block on leg 3 of the race, taking a 4 hour penalty, and then influenced 2 other teams to do the same! LEGEND! This changed the game forever in my book. Rob introduced a new level of strategy into The Amazing Race as only he could.

The key to their race will be can they live up to the pressure. Boston Rob and Amber are both skilled competitors and strategists, but will fame, their expectations on themselves, and playing the “villain” catch up with them and screw them over?

Time will tell but the rest of the competitors better “SMARTEN UP” or else there’ll be another duck boat parade to celebrate a Boston Rob and Amber championship!

Looking forward to seeing how it all unfolded back in season 11. Hope you will join me and the crew for the ride on The ReRACEables Podcast. Please, no spoilers!

Thanks for reading. Be sure to outlike, outcomment, and outshare the rest.

The blog has spoken!