There was a record low for Qualifying Finishers which is a testament to hold difficult this course was. Taking a look at the obstacles. I think the balance one was easier than the other cities. The paddle boards didn't take out a lot of people, and the bar doesn't spin all the way around, if you understand. The paddles moved down on either side if there was a lot of weight, like it should to make it difficult, but it seemed that as long as they hit it in the middle, there was no problem. For a lot of balance obstacles, speed is a great ally, but for this one, speed didn't seem quite as necessary, just precision. I think this was to balance out the difficulty of the second obstacle, the Ring Swing. Denver was similar to Cleveland in that the second obstacle wasn't a "slide down and grab" type. The Ring Swing actually required some strength, and if they hung there too long, which was very likely to happen, it could potentially take out a lot of energy. The "slide and grab" is quicker and the dismount is the hard part, but it doesn't require strength like the Ring Swing. The Ring Swing forces you to lift the ring over the hook twice, and it can hurt you if you can't make it on the first try. I've never experienced any obstacles, so I don't really know if the "slide and grab" are easier or harder than the Ring Swing. In my opinion, though, the Ring Swing looked like it could be more taxing. However, I suppose there is room for error with it. The "slide and grab" gives you one chance, for the most part, and the Ring Swing allows for more opportunities to dismount dry. The Bouncing Spider was a real killjoy. The last part of the Bouncing Spider proved to be the actual challenge. People couldn't grab/hold onto those barrels, and the trampoline was horrible, like trampolines tend to be. The trampoline got a lot of people, and grabbing onto a barrel. Matt always comments on how devastating the mini trampolines can be even to Ninja greats. You have to hit it just right and your form has to be perfect when you hit it. Veterans usually have experience and know how to handle it, but even they get tripped up, like Murray and Kaufman did. Once people grabbed the barrel, they had to take a couple swings sometimes to be able to dismount, but I'm not sure how many fell if they managed to hold onto the barrels; it was mostly the trampoline's fault. It also didn't seem like the mini Jumping Spider element hurt too many, either. This obstacle is actually a big advantage to rookies this year. The Jumping Spider in Vegas' Stage 1 is usually a killer for rookies who have never seen or dealt with the real deal. Making a homemade replica isn't really enough. This might have been a good feel for how ANW sets up the Jumping Spider and what form or technique is best. On the other hand, just like I said, the small scale replicas are not like the real deal. A lot of ninja gyms and ninjas create their own Jumping Spiders to practice on, but ANW's version is bigger and harder. The opening is farther away is the biggest difference. In Vegas, you have to get in deep if you want to stick it, but the small scale recreations are only a short jump away. Vegas also has a curved opening, and homemade ones don't. I don't know if that makes a difference, though. I think it's mainly the distance between the trampoline and the opening. So, maybe, the Bouncing Spider didn't help at all, but maybe/hopefully it did (for the rookies). The Railroad obstacle, and the Bouncing Spider were real killers. The Rail Runner was difficult because people couldn't make the transition, or they didn't have enough gas in the tank to make it up hill on that thing. Towards the end, people figured it out: you have to make short, consistent bursts of energy and movement to make it up without sliding back. If you got tired, stopped, and broke the rhythm, you'd have to start all over. People who completed it also seemed to have strong body control.
This city goes to show how much they've amped up the difficulty levels. Only 8 people finished. I was watching a really old episode of the third of fourth season (? before Akbar) and the hardest obstacle was the Warped Wall. It took out so many people and all I could think was how much the show has changed. Now people get up with ease; it's almost a gimme obstacle. The whole course was a lot simpler, too. People like Drew, Joe, Daniel, Kevin, Brian, Jake, or Jessie would laugh at it; any ninja great in this time could do that obstacle course in their sleep. It was almost laughable. Now, the courses are 10x harder. If someone can finish this, that is true strength. Years ago, the courses would not have been a true testament of the athletes' abilities. These city finals will be interesting mostly to see just what the courses themselves look like. They get crazier and crazier every year. Even Vegas. Stage 3 seemed like a beast last year, always makes me wonder if Isaac could do it again with these changes.
I was really bummed to see Jake Murray go out, as was literally everyone else. When Lorin Ball earned the POM Run of the Night, I thought Murray didn't get the fastest time, but I assumed he finished, so it was upsetting to see him hit the water instead of the buzzer. Murray is genuinely one of my favorite ninjas. Speed demons get me pretty nervous. When they go fast, they don't break in between obstacles or during. They don't rest or shake out their arms, and when you're trying to go fast you can slip up on any obstacle; the balance ones really get me, but anything can be their downfall because speed can interfere with focus or precision. On the other hand, speed also means skill. I don't think speed is a priority with the speed demons. I think it's on their mind, but it comes naturally. They set a pace for themselves that is comfortable, and it just happens to be quick, and it you can do that, I feel like that's some true skill and intense focus. It looked like Yager was proud, but a little sad that his time was beat and by so much. It's more about finishing than time, but it would never hurt to have the fastest time on your record. It looked like he knew Ball was going to best him, but he was still hoping. A lot of people need time in between to recuperate and think and calm down, but speed demons are just made for the show and excel. Murray was just such a surprise to see go down. I don't really know if it was because he was too fast or not or if it was just the trampoline. Maybe a combination of the two like they suggested in the interview. He realized he hit the trampoline too far forward, and Murray mentioned that he could have taken the extra second to reevaluate his position. Going right after Ball and hoping for that fastest time probably messed with his head a little. Everyone had this complete look of shock, as did I. Murray is such a wonderful competitor with a fantastic personality, and he did so well last season; I really wanted to see him again in Vegas, but he's not the first veteran or favorite to go out.
Others like fellow training partners Brian Arnold and Noah Kaufman. Brian made it into the top 30, and he gets another shot unlike Murray and Kaufman. He said he wasn't too tired at the point where he fell, and I definitely think he could have hit the buzzer if he hadn't smashed his face into the edge of the obstacle. Even though he fell, there wasn't too much of a reaction, not even from Arnold himself. Last year he said he trained really intensely for this and I got the vibe he was a little obsessed. I think he was somewhat bitter after Isaac won after all the work he had put in. This year, however, he seemed much more calm and happy, and it's probably because of his recent engagement. Now he has his wedding and new life to look forward to, and I think he's starting to let go of ANW a little bit. Not to the point where he will retire, but hopefully ANW will return to being more of a hobby and something that is fun for him instead of his whole life.
Noah Kaufman was someone I was really excited to see again, and I was just as disappointed to see him go down on the Bouncing Spider. Kaufman is someone who seems genuinely happy and supportive. I remember seeing him for the first time going up the Warped Wall, (which nobody failed on this week) and he held on one handed and cheered to the crowd. I was hoping his return to the show would be a little better than this, but he's still very prevalent within the ninja community, so that's a good thing. It's kind of a shame they got rid of the Wildcards this year. Last year they gave them all to women, and maybe that caused some drama leading them to eliminate them and put up a new women rule, but if they kept them around, Murray and Kaufman may have been able to compete in Vegas. The Wildcards are kind of cheap, and giving them to only women last year made me pretty mad, but now I'm wishing they didn't get rid of them. I like the new women rule better than just handing out "wildcards" but I still want to see some of my favorites like Murray and Kaufman in Vegas. I'm somewhat conflicted over the inclusion of Wildcards. When they weren't only for women, I didn't mind them too much. Perhaps it's better this way, though. Now only the legitimate ones go through because, like I said, the wildcards were a little cheap.
Sam Sann was yet another one to fall. Fortunately, he bested the Bouncing Spider. He just had back surgery, though, and I think it's really stupid to compete on a show like ANW after only a month or two of recovery from a major surgery. Ryan Stratis did the same thing. He had serious shoulder surgery sometime last year, and still competed because he didn't want to let people down and/or he had competed on every season and didn't want to break that streak. Either way, for whatever reason you have, it's dangerous to do that. Wouldn't it be better to take a break for one year to recover and rest than to risk hurting yourself even worse? Nobody would be mad at you for trying to take care of yourself. You wouldn't be letting anyone down. What if you did hurt yourself and then you couldn't compete ever again? That would be worse than missing one season. Even during Sann's run, Matt commented that it looked like Sann was hurting. It was a pretty big risk for him, and it's a shame he couldn't hit the buzzer for all his work. I'm not sure what I think about whether or not he could have finished if he hadn't gone crooked. His handlebars were off set, and it was too much to correct it and continue forward which caused him to drop. Had that not happened, could he have finished? I'd like to think the answer is yes. He was fairly close to the platform, and he could have definitely made it up the Warped Wall being a veteran, so I think he could have hit the buzzer.
Meagan Martin also experienced the same fate as Sann. I knew she didn't finish when I saw the Lorin Ball earned the POM Run of the Night. If Martin had finished, she would have gotten it, not Ball. It was like that in Cleveland when Labreck finished and got the Run of the Night even when she was up against Joe and McGrath and other greats. She completed the transition between handlebars, but her second pair got off set, and correcting them in addition to finishing the obstacle is too much even for a strong rock climber. Like Sann, if she didn't get crooked, she probably could have made it up the wall. Either way, she is still in the Finals, and as long as she figures out the Rail Runner by then, she can go far. Martin is someone who gets a lot of attention, which annoys me a little. She's one of the best female athletes, and I like her, but she isn't one of my favorites, just because she's overhyped. I want her to do well, and I think she can; I'm just not as crazy about her as others are, and she may be a big name, but I don't personally look out for her, if you know what I mean. She's still 1 of the 3 women who I think have the best chance on this show, though.
The youngest member of the Wolf Pack, Ian Dory, was actually the only one to hit the buzzer, which if you hadn't watched would be almost unbelievable considering there is such talent in that group. Dory has a lot of potential. The year Isaac and Geoff won, he was right behind them, only a jump or two away from finishing Stage 3 with his buddy. I don't remember where he fell last year, but ever since 2 years ago, he's definitely been on my radar.
I was happy to see Michael Stanger again. I remember him from years ago because of his wife's condition and their story. It is amazing to see her healthy and strong again because her illness was so terrible. Being a wife and a mother and having to deal with that is really sad. Even Stanger thought she wasn't going to make it, and I was afraid one day he'd compete and she wouldn't be there. If I stopped seeing him altogether I would have assumed the worse. I don't know if ANW really contributed to her healing or not. He started training to get stronger to help her but also to prepare for the show, and she started to train along side of him which caused and aided her healing. I think they could have done this without the show being motivation because her health would have been enough, but the ANW goal was still there, and maybe it added more motivation for them, something else to fight for, or Michael's training specifically for the show was what roped her into working out in the first place. Anyway, I think that would be really cool if ANW did help heal her and their family, but all that matters is that she's doing so well, and it's a very touching story. Not to mention, he was a walk-on. That actually surprised me because he has such a noble cause, running for his sick wife. The fact that he waited in the walk-on line proves his determination, too. It's also another plus for the Walk-ons.
Neil Craver and Geoff Britten were not to be seen! I'm really bummed about Britten for obvious reasons, but Craver is fun to watch. I haven't even seen him on the sidelines or anything like his friend Grant. I found both of their reasonings. Britten wants some time away from TV and all the lights, and Craver recently had surgery. It's a personal choice not to compete, and for Craver it's really good that he's not because he's letting himself heal. Unfortunately, I haven't even seen them on the sidelines, so I wonder if they don't know what has happened and are watching the show like everyone else. There is still a lot of talent, it's not like Geoff is the only one I think that can finish, but I would have loved to see him come back, especially after last year when he fell on the first obstacle in Stage 1.
The City Finals will be much more exciting because the Qualifiers weed out the weaker competitors. I don't mean to sound really mean, and everyone on that show is stronger than me, but at least within the context of the show, we get to see the best of the cities. I think Denver could be the most frightening because there are only 8 finishers. There is a pretty good chance that those who couldn't finish the Qualifier part can't finish it in the Finals when it's harder and they aren't strong enough to finish the whole course. I do have faith in Brian to do well even though he didn't hit the buzzer. I also expect Martin and Sann can do well if they don't get off set the next time.
Shoutout to the 3 women who cracked the Top 30. Not only did they manage that, but they were 23, 24, and 28, and I think that's impressive because it's not like they barely cracked it, Martin and D'Aurelio were somewhat deep into it beating out a few guys on time. If a woman can hit the buzzer on this year's City Finals, I think it'll be more impressive than three years ago when Kacy did mainly because of the Invisible Ladder. That obstacle being the last obstacle is a killer. Competitors are already aching and tired, and the Invisible Ladder is a lot harder than the previous Spider Chimney. Not to mention that they've increased the difficulty altogether. I don't really believe any woman will make history like they're always babbling about, but there was a lot of talent this year. I feel like more women were actually qualifying within the Top 30. I think with this new women's rule, there will only be 12 women (2 from each city) because I don't believe more than 2 will qualify legitimately.
I'm really excited to see Kevin Bull and Josh Levin next week take on the back half of the course, but from this city, alongside Arnold, Sann, Stanger, and Martin, I will definitely be on the lookout for the finishers including Ball, Yager, Dory, Knapp (which I wouldn't have guessed the K is pronounced, I thought it was silent), Richard, Copeland, Duncan (with the crazy mom), and Kostreski. I believe the last name goes by the nickname The K.O. Ninja, so even though he is a rookie, let's hope his name holds true and he can best the Finals course. I won't lie, I thought there would be more rock climbers since it's Colorado, so I thought there would be more finishers. It's pretty shocking that this was the city with the lowest amount of finishers. Maybe it's the talent, maybe it's the course? The Rail Runner was pretty brutal. I wonder how the City Finals will compare with each other. Some rookies are doing better than the veterans; the new generation is coming in. Let's hope so because with favorites dropping out early, we need some people to cheer on.
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