Amazing Race: Is the race finally starting?

CBS Recap

This season is finally starting to get better.  I think really they just needed to get out of South America.  Those South American episodes were so slow and dull.  I don't blame the continent though, I blame the teams and CBS.

Is it just me or do none of these teams seem to be in any particular hurry?  This season has been on par with watching a fun walk/run.  You know the "races" where they don't actually get your time and it's all out of shape people doing it for the t-shirt? That's this season of Amazing Race.

My favorite team by far is the Cowboys, but even they seem to be just strolling along.  Don't get me wrong, it seems like they are having a ton of fun, but how did they fall so far behind the Undercover Detectives?  They both went on the bungee cord at the same time and suddenly some large out of shape detectives are able to put that kind of distance between them?  Cowboys are slacking.

I have to give props to the Cowboy who refused to take off his cowboy hat when bungee cord, that's awesome that it stayed on, but why risk it falling off?  He must have glued it on or something, because if you're really racing why would you risk losing your hat?

Speaking of the Bungee Cord challenge, the beauty contestant gave it a glowing review.  "That was the most fun I've had in my whole life!" while her boyfriend is sitting next to her with a completely dead face.  For some reason that made me laugh.

I liked the idea of the new Intersection challenges where you have to work with someone from another team.  I thought it would work out so that one team would have to wait a long time for a slower team and causing more friction between them, but it didn't seem to.

Note to future Amazing Race teams, if you are given the choice between eating a small helping of Kraut or trying to kick soccer balls, know that eating Kraut is faster.  I don't care that you don't like Kraut.  I don't like Kraut either but I also know that kicking soccer balls takes a lot more time.  Are you racing or are you on vacation?  Don't tell me that you can't kick soccer balls at home, you're not missing out on anything.  EAT THE KRAUT!  I believe this is the reason that the Detectives were so successful in this episode.

I was really excited about the beer challenge because I thought that the teams would have to navigate another challenge being drunk, but it didn't happen.  I probably would have just chugged the beer, then gone outside and thrown it all up.  How many beers was that 6?  8?

Anyway, I hope somebody puts a fire underneath the collective asses of these teams.