Amazing Race Pool: Final Results

Well, it's finally over, leaving our Sunday nights cold and empty for the foreseeable future. I appreciate the Amazing Race's slimmed down approach to reality television (no three hour finales like Survivor, or 5 hour weeks like American Idol), I still wish that the finale had some more bells and whistles to it. A half hour of interviews after the race would give us a chance to learn about some of those behind-the-scenes questions we sometimes have, and the final Detour (Cut the Cod or Catch the Crab) was serviceable, but not special.

Despite that, I loved the final Roadblock on the scale. It ensured that all three teams had a real chance to win, and gave a leg up to the best puzzle-solving team member, in this case Rachel. It's always nice to see some form of skill being rewarded on the show. Rachel and TK were the easiest winning team to root for in a long while, so a happy and satisfying ending.

But what about the pool?


Amazing Race Dunce: Kim

I had to twist Kim's arm to get her to join in the pool in the first place, and she decided that randomizing her picks would be a noble experiment. It doomed her almost immediately, as her score sank like a stone week after week. But wouldn't it be interesting if she finished in the same ballpark as someone who chose their picks with lots of care?

Raw Final Score: 253 (-49)
Endgame Bonus Points: 290 (+250)
FINAL SCORE: 543







Amazing Race Wannabe: Carl

Carl, with all of his hard work, wound up only 20 points ahead of Kim's random picks, which calls to mind stories of expert stock traders breaking even against stocks chosen by throwing darts against a wall. He was competitive to the very end, but his fate was really tied to Jennifer and Nate, his first place pick. When they went out in fourth, his chances of success grew very slim.


Raw Final Score: 475 (-176)
Endgame Bonus Points: 90 (+50)
FINAL SCORE: 565







Amazing Race Fan: Dawn

New kid on the block Dawn spent most of the pool languishing in fourth place, hurt early when her first place pick, Ari and Staella, were eliminated in the season's first episode. Despite this rocky start, she kept it competitive all season, and finally made a late surge against Carl. She was the only one in the pool to correctly pick the finishing order of the final three teams, so she really rocked the endgame.

Raw Final Score: 568 (-102)
Endgame Bonus Points: 270 (+230)
FINAL SCORE: 838





Amazing Race Superfan: Matt

I had a great time the entire season, despite the constant choking on Paul's dust. I got a great bump in the finale, but I needed Nick and Don to come in second in order to take the gold. As it was, I lucked out by choosing Rachel and TK to win; they certainly didn't seem like the best team throughout the season, but I rode their success to the end. Their performance ensured that I maintained a decent lead over Dawn and Carl.


Raw Final Score: 709 (-85)
Endgame Bonus Points: 290 (+250)
FINAL SCORE: 999









Amazing Race Genius: Paul

Well, he joined the pool on a whim, but that didn't stop him from turning in the most astute set of picks in the pool. He racked up an enormous lead by consistently displaying faith in Azaria and Hendekea, and he also benefited enormously from his placement of Nick and Don in third place. Not even curses and bad wishes from two different states could stop him from turning in the best overall performance. In a scoring system designed to leech points from all players, he was able to stay near 1000 the entire pool. He lost some major ground in the finale, but it wasn't quite enough to cost him his 113 point lead.

What's Paul win?
-- Title of Amazing Race Genius
-- Free entry into the next free pool (Survivor and/or Dancing With the Stars)
-- Bragging rights
-- A target to be worn on his back next season
-- Wishes of death from all other pool players

Raw Final Score: 952 (-38)
Endgame Bonus Points: 160 (+80)
FINAL SCORE: 1112

Congratulations Paul, and thanks to everyone for sending me your picks with so little prompting. Next time, I hope we can have a few more people (Carissa, I'm talking to you), so if anyone knows someone, just let me know. Feel free to post your thoughts on this season of the race, or to congratulate Paul, in the comments section.