'The Amazing Race' (CBS)
Note: XFINITY is the perfect pit stop for “Amazing Race” fans. Every Monday after an elimination leg, we’ll have an interview with the team that was sent packing and the full episode. Follow @gordonholmes on Twitter for immediate updates.
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Teams on “The Amazing Race” have come to expect almost anything. Ponies that lose their minds, compasses that are nearly impossible to work, and marker-stealing realtors are pretty much par for the course.
But something as innocent as a low curb on a poorly lit street? Nobody goes into the game expecting to get hurt. “The Amazing Race’s” Boston Strong firefighters were able to overcome a freak injury but fell victim to some bad advice.
I had a chance to speak to Michael and Scott in the days following their elimination and asked about their wrong step, their wrong turn, and markergate…
Gordon Holmes: First and foremost; Scott, how’s the ankle?
Scott Strazzullo: My ankle’s hanging in there, Gordon. It’s been a little bit sore. It’s like a high-ankle sprain. I’ve been doing some exercises and physical therapy with it. It’s been better.
Gordon: I guess they didn’t get footage of the actual accident. What happened?
Scott: Mike and I were running down the street at a good pace. We were really on a comeback. And the area we were at had a lot of cobblestones and high curbs. We were taking a peek at the map. I played a lot of football and I never got injured, then I get injured on a curb. I stepped on it and rolled forward and my own body weight went over the ankle. It blew up very quickly.
Gordon: Michael, did you give any thought to hoisting him up on your back?
Michael Ward: (Laughs) Gordon! I’m a strong guy. But a man’s got to know his limitations. I got a good view of it all and ironically the other times we had no problem. We were running from the start line to the train station. We wanted to get their quickly because if you miss it by a few minutes it could put you hours behind. We didn’t see anybody else out there. If you miss a train, you’ve got nobody else to blame. There was not much light, and he was running sideways and reading the map trying to read the light. There was a little curb and he caught his ankle the wrong way.
Gordon: So, no fireman’s carry? I watch wrestling, I know all about that.
Scott: (Laughs) I think he was more likely to drag me.
Michael: We were actually going to use a wheelchair at one point, but we couldn’t get it off the boat.
Gordon: It seems like you guys still ran a really solid leg. No pun intended. You were even in the lead over Tim and Te Jay before you ended up getting some bum advice with identifying the pendant.
Scott: We got out of there and we were moving at a good clip. What tied us up is we couldn’t run and go look for things like we normally would. We went to a hotel and they didn’t know what we had there. People said we shouldn’t have gone to a bar. But it was the afternoon and people weren’t drinking. We thought the locals would know what they were talking about. People ask why we didn’t go to the museum, well we didn’t find it initially.
Gordon: To rewind a little bit, I spoke to Lisa and Michelle after they were eliminated, and they claim they were at the board first and that’s why it was OK for them to heartlessly tear the marker from your hands. What’s your take on that?
Michael: We love Lisa and Michelle. They’re sweethearts. If America had gotten to see them, they would’ve had a different impression of them. Nobody wants to get knocked out early. There’s a battle to survive. It’s understandable.
Scott: We had no malice towards them at all. I think we were first at the pole. We were there first and Mike definitely had the pen in his hand. I admire their moxie. You go all out. We went all out.
Michael: We had a pen first in our hand that we brought with us, to make notes. We had the pen ready. It was a grease board so that pen wouldn’t write. I had already written an “M” and an “I.” When I was writing, I then grabbed the grease pen because I saw they were going to dive for it. They pulled it out of my hand. It was all instantaneous.
Scott: It seemed like a cheaply done thing, but we weren’t going to cry over it.
Gordon: What’s the reaction been like back home?
Scott: They know us very well. I think a lot of people thought we were going to do better. But I also think it was one of those things where they saw what happened and they saw that we kept fighting. You never give up. You never know what’s going to happen. We were in the back of the pack, and I think if some of that stuff didn’t happen, we were going to take the lead. We were a fast team, even if you didn’t get to really see that.
Michael: We actually pulled into the parking lot at the museum. We were not stupid players.
Gordon: I never got that impression.
Michael: There was one team behind us. We didn’t know if they were 10 seconds behind or what. You have to assume they’re on our tail. For Scott to get in and out of that car was a lot of work. We pulled into the lot that said, “Museum Parking” but then we saw the hotel. You have to go with locals. You have to rely on people in each area for information or you don’t succeed. The woman didn’t know. We appreciated her honestly. It’s not like we could run up these hills. We didn’t have that option. So, the next building we saw was the bar. They were locals. They gave us the history of that brooch. He knew all about it. He said they make them up at this store. The store we went to sold them. They made them there.
Gordon: You guys always seemed to be at the back of the pack. But I think you’re going to leave behind a legacy of staying positive in the face of some bad luck.
Michael: We tried to find the good in things. We work under a lot of pressure. We see a lot of bad things.
Scott: Keep moving forward no matter what.
Michael: There were several teams that don’t get along so well with each other. Scott and I, we always try to encourage each other. Negativity breeds negativity.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes
Tags: Amazing Race
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