The spelling bee is only 2 weeks away! Orthographers, unite!
The World Cup 2014 is only 4 weeks away! Footballers, unite!
The Amazing Race 25 Finale is this Sunday!
The Survivor 28 Finale is Wednesday!
I have recently been hooked AGAIN onto Amazing Race and
Survivor (I started watching both shows in 2003) and can’t believe they’re
STILL both on. And they still produce at near-elite levels, although both
clearly are past their prime. For Amazing Race, that was the 10 or 11 seasons
where there were 2 races a season and all-star seasons lined up and powerhouse
teams and drama like Rob and Amber, The Globetrotters, etc. whereas now they
resort to recycling a lot of these done-before teams to try to rekindle some of
that old flame, and Survivor does the same…….the best season in my opinion and
should be consensus was Survivors Heroes v. Villains, a season that truly came
together in terms of great characters (Rob v. Russell), great gameplay
(especially on the Villains’ side) and intense outcomes. Absolutely riveting TV
that gets evoked occasionally in spurts in the current shows, but not to the
degree of those times. Why do I still watch, though? The answer partly is
because I still like these competition shows (not the drama part of it, CBS, c’mon!)
where normal people compete against others, but a big part of it is……..
Tradition. As I get
excited about all of these repeating events, I find myself succumbing to
tradition…..something that’s reliable, the tried and true, and realize that I
have a penchant for relying on tradition, and things that I can trust.
Tradition is important, like being excited about Christmas and getting ready
for fireworks on Fourth of July, tradition allows one something to look forward
to, some continuity in one’s life. It’s the same reason why companies use the
same suppliers over and over again, or why I eat tuna sandwiches over and over
again……..I know what it does for me, and I am satisfied with it.Especially in
cases of the spelling bee that come only once a year, I like to inundate myself
with it for that day, and then log it away in the back of my mind. If life is a
marathon, every year would be a cycle or a lap, where you pass the same
roadsigns and scenery each time you pass. Each time you see something you
notice something different about it, look at it a different way, or form a new
opinion about it. And that’s what’s exciting about these events. You know what
you’re gonna get, but there might be a bit of a twist. It also preserves some
order in one’s life, like, “OK I’ve made it to Memorial Weekend and the
Spelling Bee. What do I need to accomplish for the rest of the year?”
One thing I’ve gleaned from watching YEARS (even a decade
now!) of Survivor/Amazing Race: the gameplay towards the end can actually get a
little worse, especially in Survivor. By Day 39/40/41 or whatever it is on
Survivor, these guys get hangry (angry because you’re hungry) and belligerent
with each other and just generally can’t stand each other, as well as possibly
getting tired of being there and ready to go home. Whatever the case, it seems
to lead to poor decisions in the endgame and allows for only the most steadfast
and iron-willed of players to separate towards the end (as well as go on
immunity runs). This was observed last night by Jeff Probst – “Tony could just
be losing his mind out there!” Very possible indeed. On the Amazing Race, I
find that boneheaded driving directions and not reading the clue itself actually
occurs MORE towards the end of races than towards the beginning when everyone’s
still excited and motivated, a product of most likely travel fatigue, sleep
deprivation, and irritation. Good thing to remember if I ever………EVER get on
reality TV.
In fantasy baseball, I ALWAYS get streaming pitchers like
Bronson Arroyo, Mark Buehrle, and Joe Saudners. These guys have been there for
me, one knows what they are, and once in a while they’ll give you something
different, like a 10-K game.
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