Did anybody notice that the newest season of The Amazing Race has a contestant with a disability? Sarah is a triathlete who happens to be missing one of her lower legs. She’s already been the target of snide remarks from other contestants who were griping about her being able to pre-board flights. I fail to see how this gives her an advantage in the actual race, but this sort of reaction didn’t completely surprise me.
I was joking with my nurse that I should be compete on the next iteration of the show. I can just imagine the looks I would get as some rickshaw hauls my crippled ass through the streets of Pnomh Penh. It would be great fun until my ventilator gets crushed by a piece of luggage carelessly stowed in the overhead bin. Imagine the promo: “On the next Amazing Race, one of the contestants meets a tragic end! Tune in for this very special episode!” Cut to footage of me turning blue.
Mark,
I close my eyes. See your blue face on my t.v. screen. And image the smurfs’ theme song queuing up. (Somehow your dry humor always brings a smile to my face.)
Ciao.
Actually, being able to pre-board flights might give that team a significant advantage, presuming that it also means they get to choose how close to the exit they sit. When multiple teams are on the same flight, the ones who can exit the plane first often get a sizeable lead on the competition.
Seeing as how her prosthetic leg has put her at a disadvantage in a couple of tasks already (like climbing that rope ladder… she’s got to have a ton of upper body strength to have made it up that!), Sarah is going to need to try to use her disability to her advantage whenever she can to even things out.
From what I’ve seen, the Race usually comes down to who can keep their wits about them in stressful situations or, barring that, just plain luck (whichever team gets the cabbie who knows where he’s going, for example). So I think she’s got as good a chance as anyone else to win it all, especially since I take the fact that she’s a triathlete to mean that she’s disciplined and mentally tough.
Fairly new reader delurking here. Holy shit, I laughed out loud on this post! I watched two early seasons of “The Amazing Race” and loved it despite the inevitable incivility of the contestants. I recall a similar situation on “Survivor” with a deaf contestant whom everyone got annoyed that she had an edge because she could read lips. Seriously, though, I would love to see you kick some ass on reality TV.