BWW Recap: Bonds are Tested on THE AMAZING RACE Premiere

"Good luck. The world is waiting for you."

Tonight at 9:30 PM, we will once again hear Phil utter what are probably the most exhilirating words that these 11 teams will ever hear as the 26th season of THE AMAZING RACE kicks off. Maybe it's just the superfan in me talking, but I cannot wait.

Seriously though, for those of you who don't know me, I'm flat out obsessed with this show. I've watched it since Season 1 premiered when I was 10; I've auditioned for the show with my cousin 4 times (so far); I got up at 3 AM to go to the New York Season 25 premiere last year; I have an Amazing Race doormat; I have a Race clue card signed by Phil; and I may or may not have made a custom t-shirt that says "Future Season 26/27/28/29 Winner" with removable numbers (you know, so I can use the shirt in multiple different audition videos). So yeah, when I say I cannot wait for the premiere tonight, I mean it.

This year, the eleven teams are a mixture of dating couples and randomly paired people who are about to embark on the most intense blind date ever (I'm thinkin' this whole dating theme is the reason my cousin and I weren't picked for this season). It should be interesting to see how two people who have never met each other prior to taping the show interact when thrown into a high pressure situation. We all know how dating couples will interact, so that bit won't be as interesting. But still, the contrast will be fun to observe.

Join me right here tonight at 9:30 PST and on Twitter @CourtHenley as the season premiere of THE AMAZING RACE 26 begins! There will be a lot of yelling about forgetting clues and losing passports. It'll be a grand time.

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9:34 : This whole matchmaking thing is a little weird. Is this The Amazing Race or a cut-to-the-chase extreme version of The Bachelor? Like...there are a lot - and I mean a lot - of things I would do to get on this show, but...this isn't one of 'em.

9:36 : Whaaaat? A U-Turn on the first leg?!

AND THEY'RE OFF!

9:40 : Wait, two Olympians? Well they'll do fine. Also, here's hoping those truck stop people will be funny and not annoying and angry. It could go either way.

9:45 : Hurry, people, there's no time for showering on The Race!

P.S. I'd freak out if my car started giving me instructions about my next clue.

Wait a minute, hold the phone: a Las Vegas showgirl? The last Las Vegas gal that was on the show was Rachel. Of Brendan and Rachel. AKA the most annoying person ever to (dis)grace the Race's finish line. I'm worried.

Ok. Back to the show. A Race selfie? Really?

9:49 : I take personal offense to the girl who said she though New Kids on the Block did better than the Backstreet Boys on tour. She seems like a nice girl, but we could never be friends.

9:52 : Japanese trains look AWESOME! Aaaand I'm already over the selfies.

9:58 : Interesting: a blind date team is in the lead!

Detour choice: syncing steps. That other one is just too much sake. And the bottles all look the same. And the names all sound the same. No way.

10:02 : Seriously, that's a lot of sake. But at least those dudes look fun!

WAIT this syncing steps challenge looks AWESOME. Clearly the better choice, and that's coming from one of the world's most uncoordinated people ever.

10:07 : For a guy who says he's got great rhythm, he's counting a little bit too fast...

In other news, I wonder how much sake these guys have had by this point.

Holy stinking cow, they got that on the first shot?! I guess Harley and Jonathan are way better at remembering sake names written in a foreign language than I would be.

10:11 : You know, the whole idea of giving teams a camera/video camera is kind of growing on me. I've always said that the hardest part of The Race for me would be visiting all of these amazing countries and not being able to document it. But the selfies have to stop. Just in general, really.

Pro Tip: if you have to ask the question, "Are we making a mistake?" the answer is automatically YES.

10:17 : I don't know what this groovy little song is pumpin' in the background, but it's making me happy.

Cab drivers. They hold your Race life in their hands. Most of the time, they mess it up.

10:20 : Phil's hiding in a parking space? Is he going to hide and be all deceitful like that really annoying motorcycle that parks between two pick-up trucks?

I feel like my moving to Los Angeles has perfectly prepared me for that pit stop. You've never experienced real stress until you've tried to hunt down a parking spot in LA while on a time crunch doing a run for work. Talk about sweating bullets. I wish these teams luck. If anyone's from LA, they'll have no problem finding this pit stop.

10:23 : Somebody please get these lawyers a dictionary.

Why don't teams search the outside of the building first, and then go floor to floor? Oh, right, because that would make sense.

10:29 : You know, I like Jelani and Jenny. They seem fun. Good for them. Let's just hope they don't choose to not use that Express Pass later on if they face elimination like that one team did.

10:41 : I always feel bad for the stragglers, especially the first leg stragglers. That's gotta be so stressful.

Also, Bergen and Kurt will almost definitely be two of my favorite people on this race. They seem hilarious.

10:43 : Oooh, they play rough. They used the U-Turn. It's gonna be that kind of game, isn't it?

Wait, stop, I like Jeff and Lyda! I don't want them to go! They're probably going to go, though. 10 sakes is a lot, in case you didn't realize that from me saying it about fifty times before.

Hayley and Blair are fun though, too. They're quirky and I like that.

10:48 : WOAH, they did that sake challenge so quickly, too! Good for you, Jeff and Lyda!

Poor CJ and Lebya. See? You have to watch out for those darn taxis. They can mess everything up. Of all the ways to get eliminated on the first leg, though, something out of your control is probably the best way to go. It's not like you were stupid and forgot your clue or couldn't figure out how to finish a challenge. You know you did everything you could. It just wasn't mean to be.

10:56 : Who's it gonna be?!

10:57 : Poor Jeff and Lyda. I liked them. They seemed like genuinely nice people, and they tried so. Hard.

I have to say, as far as premiere episodes go, there wasn't anything that dramatic that happened tonight. So far, the random pairs seem to be doing a little bit better than the dating couples, but I don't think that necessarily will mean anything in the long run. There's no clearly obnoxious team just yet, but I'm sure true colors will start to show sooner or later.

And in case you couldn't tell, I don't like the selfie addition.

Who are your favorites? Who needs to get eliminated, and right now? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter @CourtHenley!

And don't forget: THE AMAZING RACE moves back to its regular time slot this Friday, 2/27 at 8:00 PM.

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