BWW Recap: Music, Mines, and and Munchies on THE AMAZING RACE

I've been a fan of THE AMAZING RACE since I was ten years old. I've seen every single episode, and I've planned exactly how I'll Race when I'm finally on the show. Because of all of this, it would make sense for me to love any other superfan team that gets to race around the world. I should be rooting fervently for Justin and Diana. And yet...I don't love them.

Which means I've been disappointed for the past few legs, as they've had a steady first place lead for quite some time now.

I think part of the reason I'm rooting for a team - any team - to finally overtake The Green Team is because they just seem so cocky. I like a team with a good spirit, who not only races competitively, but who also takes the time to soak in their surroundings and appreciate that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Which is why I (much to my surprise, honestly) am really impressed by the Cheerleaders this season.

But I digress.

True to form, Justin and Diana arrived in first last week, and are therefore first to leave this week. Teams have to book their own flight to Krakow, Poland with the new Travelocity app, and Justin and Diana manage to snag the last pair of seats on the earliest flight. Blatant Travelocity product placement is nothing new for THE AMAZING RACE, but I do have to say, the Roaming Gnome was a lot better.

The other five teams all ended up on the same flight - another equalizer, which is simultaneously awesome and frustrating. It takes away the tension of waiting to see who's going to get where and when, but it makes everyone race their hearts out once they actually land. In fact, teams were so desperate to get to their clues quickly that they all dove into the pool to fish them out with their shoes on. Which is ridiculous. Now you have squishy shoes.

But again, I digress.

Already, it's Detour time! This week's challenge: Mine vs. Music. In Mine, teams have to take a little tiny elevator down into a 700-year-old salt mine, carry a plank of wood down a tunnel, load up a cart with a ridiculous amount of salt, and then bring that back to where they started.

No big deal. Except that it sounds exhausting. And tiring. And physically demanding. And actually a little scary, going that far down under ground into an incredibly old mine.

Anyway, if you don't feel like channeling your inner Sleepy or Happy or Grumpy or Dopey, teams can opt for the Music part of the Detour and push a piano into a crowded town square, learn and perform a piano piece to accompany a violinist, then ask for money from locals to reward your wonderful playing. Now, as a New Yorker with a slightly musical background, I'd do this one hands down. Mostly because I, like most teams, would think it would be less physically demanding.

But oh, how wrong I am.

Turns out it's a lot more difficult than everyone imagined to push a piano down an old, uneven cobblestone street. Most teams, though, after some struggling, managed to breeze through this challenge relatively quickly. The Cheerleaders, though, didn't have that kind of luck. You would think that because they are so used to winning over crowds, they'd easily earn their required amount of money, but they had no such luck. They were actually a little bit pathetic during this challenge, and essentially resorted to begging people on the street. Eventually, they succeeded, but after all of the other teams had already left. My new favorite team is in last place.

Guess who's in first? Justin and Diana. In fact, they're so far ahead of everyone that they're not really racing anymore. They're just taking a leisurely stroll through Krakow and doing some challenges for kicks and giggles along the way.

Darn them.

Back at the mine, the Texans, after getting a bit lost and squabbling over directions (come on, guys, don't turn into the Paparazzi!), manage to fly through the Detour. Physical prowess is about all they have going for them, at this point. They've made so many frustrating mistakes that I'm hesitent to even bring them up anymore. So I won't.

I'll move right along to the Road Block! In Serve it Up, teams must correctly identify seven traditional Jewish dishes and use given orders to deliver the correct number of each dish to a place called Klezmer-Hois down the block. The Green Team (obviously) has no problem with this, and they arrive at Klezmer-Hois - which also serves as the Pit Stop for this leg of the race - far ahead of everyone else. It's almost embarrassing at this point how far ahead of the pack that they are. Maybe it's because Justin has forcibly drilled this into Diana for so long. Or maybe it's because all of the other teams are just lousy. We'll just have to wait and see.

The Reporters and Alabama arrive in second and third place, respectively, after a pretty easy time at the Road Block.

The last three teams - Texas, the Cheerleaders, and the Paparazzii - are essentially all one big mess, and naturally, struggle with this challenge. The Paparazzi are each equally horrible to each other, but they manage to finish in fourth - before the Cheerleaders and Texas. Those two teams, however, have no idea that the Paparazzi have already completed the challenge, and think they're fighting to beat them. They decide to team up and beat the Paparazzi together, which is really just another choice in a long line of dumb decisions made by the Texans.

Because they are "working with" the Cheerleaders, the Texans decide that, instead of running ahead of the Cheerleaders to deliver their food first, they will linger behind, since the Cheerleaders did start before the Texans. Add that to the list of stupid decisions that team has made this season. The Cheerleaders maintain their ever-so-slight lead, and arrive at the Pit Stop seconds before the Texans, who officially arrive in last place.

But it's a non-elimination leg, naturally, so it's fine. The Texans will live to see another leg! Hopefully they won't mess it up. Again.

Who are you rooting for on THE AMAZING RACE? Are you for the Green Team or for...well, anyone else? Would you have agreed to work together with another team to stay out of last place? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @CourtHenley!

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