Amazing Race: All Stars

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

All's fair in love and war. If your catcher's not disguising his signs with a man on second base, you deserve to have your signs stolen.

Perhaps I'd dislike the way they play a little more, and perhaps I'd feel for the other players if those other player weren't whining so much about it. But the more they whined, the more I wanted R&A to play them like fools. It's one thing to be annoyed at them being sneaky and manipulative. But DO something about it. Don't bitch and moan and expect them to suddenly make nice. You know what you're up against, do what you need to do to either accept it or fight back.

IOW, descend to their level. No thanks. I’d rather watch a show where teams win or lose based on their racing abilities, not on how well they can screw the other teams. (I hate the Yield for that very reason.) As I said before, if I wanted to watch Survivor, then that’s what I’d be watching.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by JWBear

IOW, descend to their level. No thanks. I’d rather watch a show where teams win or lose based on their racing abilities, not on how well they can screw the other teams. (I hate the Yield for that very reason.) As I said before, if I wanted to watch Survivor, then that’s what I’d be watching.

No, I didn't say descend to their level. There are other options: i.e., do a better job of avoiding them and not giving them the chance to "cheat" off of you. Don't fuel their fire by yelling at them. If play your game and don't waste your time and energy on them. If your game really is the better way to play, you'll win. Whining, yelling at them, crying foul when none is committed does zilch except make them look better and you look foolish.

Of course, I still don't consider anything I've seen Rob and Amber do "descending" to anything. The WORST thing that they did was when Amber said "got it" when they came back from the wrong direction, and the only way that's bad is if Mirna and Charla did exactly what you're saying Rob and Amber do wrong, namely take cues from other teams.

But in the end, Rob and Ambers actions should have no bearing on the other teams. Fortunately for them, it does. If the other teams would stop whining and start thinking, Rob and Amber-like tactics would become moot. As long as they continue to want everyone to play nice rather than ensuring that they aren't "victims", they will continue to be "victims".

[Nephythys]

Besides that- I was not aware that taking advantage of circumstances that help you run the race was cheating, or somehow dishonest.

Rob and Amber did not victimize anyone, they just knew how to take advantage of situations to make them work to their advantage. If the other teams don't want to do that and wanted to spend all their time hating them for being in the race- that was their problem, not Rob and Ambers.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Nephythys

Rob and Amber did not victimize anyone, they just knew how to take advantage of situations to make them work to their advantage. If the other teams don't want to do that and wanted to spend all their time hating them for being in the race- that was their problem, not Rob and Ambers.

Which is why I put "victim" in quotes. And why I stand by my baseball analogy. And why I say that accepting Rob and Amber's style as a valid style is NOT the same as saying the only way to beat them is to "sink to their level". You don't have to steal signs in baseball to combat a team that steals signs. You just have to be better at disguising your signs.

Getting away from Rob and Amber, look at how Mirna and Charla dealt with the team that followed the same cab as they did (was it the Guidos or the BQs, can't remember). They obviously talked to a cabby, paid him, and got in their car to follow him within sight of that other team. What was that other team going to do, patiently wait until they were out of sight and find their own way? If you say that's what you'd do I say you're full of it. If someone shouts an answer to a puzzle in their excitement, would you pretend you didn't hear it and figure out yourself? I doubt it. If you don't want people following you or using your knowledge, don't make it readily available. Part of this kind of race is being on the ball and if you can't keep your guard up, oh well. Either do a better job of protecting your knowledge, or accept that it's going to be "stolen" and work around that. But don't get bent out of shape and blame the other team for your sloppiness.

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

...The WORST thing that they did was when Amber said "got it" when they came back from the wrong direction, and the only way that's bad is if Mirna and Charla did exactly what you're saying Rob and Amber do wrong, namely take cues from other teams...

Originally Posted by Nephythys

…Rob and Amber did not victimize anyone, they just knew how to take advantage of situations to make them work to their advantage. If the other teams don't want to do that and wanted to spend all their time hating them for being in the race- that was their problem, not Rob and Ambers.

You both are forgetting them stealing the directions that the flight attendant wrote for U&J. That was pretty slimy, IMO.

They haven’t been trying to screw other teams as much this time as much as they did in season 7, but they sure haven’t been saints either.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by JWBear

You both are forgetting them stealing the directions that the flight attendant wrote for U&J. That was pretty slimy, IMO.

And what was U&J's response?

[Nephythys]

Stealing?

Did Uchenna leave it there for Rob to take? Yeah, I think he did- even if he did not mean to.

Responsibility lies with Uchenna and Joyce- if you don't want someone to pick up that paper, don't leave it there.

Once again- Rob and Amber made use of something that happened to be staring them in the face- so they took it. I find it impossible to believe that any other team would not have made the same choice.

The goal is to win a race- not sainthood or an award for being pious.

[Alex]

The event with the flight attendant wasn't actually shown and the two accounts differed so I don't know what actually happened.

But I wouldn't be surprised if they did somehow steal it and I also wouldn't be surprised if a relatively benign event that was whined into exaggeration.

[Nephythys]

Uchenna saw Rob take it- so the paper had to have been left there away from Uchenna and Joyce in order for Rob to take it. Had Rob snatched it from under their nose I would imagine there would have been a confrontation.

I think Uchenna saying that Rob "stole" it was hyperbole on his part.

[Jughead P. Jones]

Originally Posted by JWBear

You both are forgetting them stealing the directions that the flight attendant wrote for U&J. That was pretty slimy, IMO.

Well, yeah...but Uchenna and Joyce are at least still in the race.