Looking at The Amazing Race Teams - Part 1

The new season of The Amazing Race premieres Sunday night, February 14, at 8 PM ET/PT. If you want to be a part of the blog pool, the deadline for joining is noon (ET) on Friday, February 12. The way it works is Margo is running the show ... well, maybe not the show itself, but the pool. Each participant is assigned a team to cheer on for as long as they last. The winners get mucho bragging rights and can prance around saying "neaner, neaner" to everyone else. Okay, I added in that last part. Margo should be coming around soon with the list and feel free to speak up in comments if you wish to join in on the fun!

Onto part one of the teams --

Joe and Heidi - This married couple hails from El Segundo, California. Joe Wang is 42, Heidi's 37. He's a software sales executive and she's a homemaker. They have two children. Heidi gave up a successful career in finance to stay home with the children.

Pros for them: Joe speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese. He also coaches youth sports which embody some good qualities for a racer (patience with others, will to win). Heidi lists traveling as a "hobby." Heidi also seems to be quite smart -- was voted "Most Likely to Succeed," "Most Likely to Win a Nobel Peace Prize," and class president in high school.

Cons for them: Heidi was also voted "Most Likely to Total Her Car." She says that Joe tends to be "intense, short-tempered, and thinks he's right all the time." Uh-oh. We've seen that before. I find that sort of racer hard to enjoy. Joe says Heidi can't multi-task. Huh? A mother who can't multi-task? Methinks Joe is wrong!

Jody and Shannon - Ah, a grandmother and granddaughter team! I know we've had grandfathers, but I'm blanking on whether a grandmother/female grandchild team before. Jody Kelly is 71 years-old, from Round Rock, Texas. She's a personal trainer. Shannon Foster is 22, from Georgetown, Texas. She's a healthcare outreach contract analyst.

Pros for them: Jody may be over seventy, but this woman is in great shape! Triathlons are listed amongst her "hobbies." She's proud of the fact she decided to lead a healthy athletic life and leave her sedentary style behind. Shannon is young, listing running, dancing, and swimming as hobbies -- all hobbies which require some stamina. She also seems well-schooled.

Cons for them: Jody thinks she's a comedian. That doesn't always work so well. All she could think to list as a pet peeve for Shannon is that her clothes are sometimes too revealing. Shannon thinks Jody can get a bit carried away and uptight. I don't know. They look like a pretty solid team to me despite Jody's age. (Mind you, I have nothing against 71-year-olds -- they just don't tend to fare well on the show.)

Jet and Cord - Jet and Cord, as unlikely as those names are, are brothers. They're also cowboys. Yippie-kiy-yay. For the icing on the cake, they're the real McCoys. Yep, that's their last name. Cord is a 29-year-old professional bull rider from Tupelo, Oklahoma. Jet is 30, a cowboy from Alda, Oklahoma.

Pros for them: Well, they're cowboys. If there's any horse-riding or bull-wrangling to be done, they're going to stomp the competition! On a serious note, they're both athletic, always a big help on the race.

Cons for them: Neither seem to be too well-traveled outside of the rodeo circuit, especially seem to be lacking foreign travel experience. Cord says Jet likes to voice his opinion (too much?). Jet says Cord isn't punctual. Both seem to think communication and decision-making might present problems. I wonder if they're going to wear their cowboy hats through the various countries.

Dana and Adrian - This married couple were high school sweethearts while attending Los Angeles High School. Adrian Davis, age 40, is in medical sales. Dana Davis, age 39, is a market manager. They live in Arlington, Texas.

Pros for them: They're (thankfully) not in the race to test their relationship or to work out problems one way or another. They seem to be a very solid couple with a good relationship. He seems to lean towards the athletic side while she's proud of her academic achievements. Both appear to be driven to succeed.

Cons for them: She says he burps. I so don't want to see a man burping all season. He better not! They don't seem to have any immediate big drawbacks. They might not be all that well-traveled in light of foreign countries and probably just speak English.

Carol and Brandy - Oh, a middle-aged and youngish-middle-aged female dating couple! I believe that's a first for the show! Both are from Los Angeles. Carol Rosenfeld is 47 and a consultant. Brandy Snow is 40 and an actress. Well, we've certainly had actresses on the show before!

Pros for them: Brandy speaks Spanish. Both enjoy traveling and might even have some foreign travel behind them. They're both very confident women who want to prove a female team can win. Carol seems to be more the intellectual while Brandy is more athletic.

Cons for them: There might be a bit of conflict. Brandy thinks that Carol tends to be too rigidly structured at times. Carol says Brandy is a biter. Yikes! I can see her running up to other teams now, biting them so they'll screw up a challenge! I don't know. I'm not seeing any obvious flaws with the team, but as they say -- others are younger and might be faster.

Brent and Caite - Dating models @@. Just what we needed, eh? Brent Horne (which makes me think of a porn name, something like Bent Horny ... heehee) is 28 and from Columbia, South Carolina. Caite Upton is only 20. Hmm ... I thought you had to be 21 to be on the show! But, you see, she's special. She's the Miss Teen USA gal who royally flubbed when asked a question about students not knowing geography (many people don't have maps). She's a model from Lexington, South Carolina.

Pros for them: Um. Well, they're young and healthy. They're both athletic. They're pretty people. Both have traveled a bit.

Cons for them: They seem a bit shallow. Both want to build their relationship. I don't know. Unless it turns out that their personalities are so intriguing that I want them to do well, I just don't care about this team. She got in there because she was dumb while pretty on national television.

Part two down the road, hopefully later today as I'm snowed in anyway!