Sunday night was the finale of The Amazing Race and Kat Chang and her teammate Nat Strand made history in the show’s 17 season span by being the first all female team to win the race! Congrats to them both!
I was having a conversation with a friend of mine literally last week about what keeps me interested in this reality show versus others I’ve watched in the past, such as Survivor and The Apprentice. First of all, I really enjoy traveling and I love seeing places I’ve not only been before, but more importantly, places that I have yet to travel too in The Amazing Race.
Secondly, I enjoy the team dynamics between the two people on the team, whether brother and sister, father and daughter, friends, husband and wife, etc. It’s really fascinating to see how relationships are strained or supported under competition and pressure. From a personal and Asian American perspective, I always find it interesting to see how Asian American team members perform on the show. I know if I did The Amazing Race, my brother and I would probably kill each other at times! In this particular season, the relationship between father Michael and son Kevin was pretty fascinating and a bit non-traditional, with Michael being kind of a goofball-at-heart like his son. Whereas when father Ronald and daughter Christina were on The Amazing Race, you could see Ronald’s transformation from an overbearing father to an understanding and trusting father.
I would say that Kat and Nat worked very well together as teammates, always supporting each other as the close friends they are, with their friendship growing stronger over the course of the race.
When Tammy and Victor were on the race, the older brother (by ten years) Victor and younger sister Tammy dynamic was also pretty interesting – with Victor becoming more accommodating to Tammy as well as Tammy taking more initiative and charge. Joe and Heidi made a great husband and wife couple during one season – too bad they didn’t make it as far in the race when they competed.
Finally, the reason why I enjoy The Amazing Race is that although it is a competition, much like all reality shows, oftentimes the competition is between the teammates and oneself. Rarely does the Darwinian ugliness of a winner-take-all mentality pervade the show or most of the competitors. The whole experience of racing around the world is a pretty amazing experience. The challenges themselves are often fascinating and at the end of the day, I think the show is a good metaphor for life. Experiene and live life to the fullest, because you never know when the race will be over for you.
Congrats to Kat and Nat on winning the race and making Amazing Race history. As a fellow Californian, I hope to meet the two of you in the near future and congratulate you in person!
