TARnalysis: Why Rob and Amber Lost the Amazing Race

Coming into this year’s All-Star edition of The Amazing Race, there was little question that Rob and Amber were the closest thing that the genre had to “superstars”. Twice competitors on Survivor, and now on their 2nd trip on The Amazing Race, these two were unquestionable favourites heading into things. And, after winning the first three legs, things looked to be on track.

Of course, things had to fall apart at some point, and fall apart they did: Rob and Amber ended up in last place tonight, ending their attempt to win The Amazing Race.Rob and Amber were good racers, perhaps even great ones, but they were not infallible. Their success was not due to speed, or intelligence (Phillipeans? Oh Rob.), but rather due to their ability to appear fast, to appear intelligent, and to appear as a threat. Other teams become preoccupied with them, distracted to a rather alarming degree, and they’re able to use their admittedly strong racing skills to jump to the top of the pack. For three legs, this worked very well. However, what went wrong in this leg that changed everything?

1. The Detour
This is where Rob and Amber made their first mistake, and it’s really an understandable one. When you’re confronted with a detour where there’s navigation and physical activity, it sometimes might seem smarter to go with the physical task. This was Rob’s logic: “I’m better at buildings things.” Detour choices are always hard, and boiling them down to their most important aspect is important.

The problem? The task wasn’t about building, it was about paying attention to details. In this case, Rob was smart enough to pick up the starting point of Seville, but he was not quite smart enough to realize that the Philippines was spelt incorrectly. And, when he knew that something was wrong, his first assumption was a large mistake, and not a small one. It was a small detail which cost them, and that has never been Rob and Amber’s specialty. Teams which took their time and went to the board for the proper spellings would have succeeded here…Rob and Amber did not. This put them on the 2nd flight, which would put them in a position to lose the leg.

2. The Leg Itself
However, at this point, it was the organization of the leg itself which took over in terms of leading to Rob and Amber’s downfall. It started when they arrived at the airport in a group of 5 where there were not enough taxis for each team; an unfortunate occurance, and one which cost teams in the last leg of Season 4 as well. In fact, in a lot of ways, the leg was designed much like a final leg where there was very little opportunity for movement in the final part of the race. Also, Rob and Amber are much better at navigating themselves than other teams, but the leg revolved entirely around taxi rides; this was yet another reason for their downfall, as it took away one of their key advantages.

After a short clue pickup, it became a game of picking numbers and twenty minute intervals, which kept them ahead of Mirna and Charla…until they got to the “End of the World” and found a roadblock that was both all about details, and entirely random. In the end, it was Mirna who found the letter first, and the trip to the pit stop was clearly exaggerated to seem longer than it was (I’m guessing even Charla would only need a few minutes lead to make it up). Rob was rushed, frantic, and eventually found his letter only to head to the pit stop to be eliminated by Phil.

Based on the end portion of this leg, it was an issue of happening to catch a cab at the airport that defined your position, and then happening to find a letter in the bag of mail. Their first mistake at the detour kicked their ass, and then the second part of the leg just wasn’t designed to allow them to use their usual strengths to their advantage.

But, as we say goodbye to Rob and Amber, let’s remember the rest of the teams who remain. Because, with Rob and Amber gone, I actually quite like how the field has opened up greatly.

Charla and Mirna
These two are just as annoying as ever, and just squeaked by thanks to a divisive roadblock. Their days are still numbered, but I’m glad they stuck around to this point instead of David and Mary: An angry, mean and insulting letter to them from Lance and Marshall was far superior to a lovey-dovey letter to David and Mary from one of the Backpack members.

Bill and Joe
Team Guido also got a less than glowing letter (Although Frank was much more “Haha I hate you” than Lance/Marshall), and they’re also in a tough spot in the race right now. They did well due to the end of the leg falling into their strengths of details and a focus on taxi rides as opposed to navigation…but as more navigation kicks in, I think they’re in trouble.

Dustin and Kandice
They’re in a pretty good position at this point of the race, but their mistakes as of late have been a bit too frequent, even though this leg worked well for them.

Uchenna and Joyce
They need to work on teamwork and making right decisions, but they’re still a strong team that can work hard and grind their way to a strong finish.

Teri and Ian
They’re actually in really good shape, and I think they’re a team that will benefit from a lack of Rob and Amber. They’re still under the radar, but with one less strong competitor they could find their way into the top 3 more often.

Eric and Danielle
They’re young, Eric is strong, Danielle seems compotent, and I think that he can carry her through the rest of the legs fairly well. Still, Eric and Jeremy (TAR9) had one bad leg that almost cost them…it could happen again.

Danny and Oswald
They may be remaining fashionable, but they’re also remaining competitive in a way that is quite impressive. They are building momentum, and this week’s 1st place finish could well be the first of many.