So, I didn't think Kansas City would be filled with too much excitement when they advertised for Lance Pekus and the Towers of Power. Don't get me wrong, I think Lance Pekus is a great competitor, and it's probably just a personal opinion, but I didn't think anyone was Drew Drechsel or Joe Moravsky level. I was definitely pleasantly surprised at the competition here though.
Starting with the biggest name: the Cowboy, Lance Pekus. His story was similar to JJ Woods in the sense that it was a redemption story. I think ANW is a bit overdramatic about these types of situations because they play the really sad music during the bio and show the dramatic clips of the competitor looking defeated, and then pump it up and show them working twice as hard. Which, again, don't get me wrong, there's no doubt in my mind that they work really hard after they fall really hard, it's just over the top because I'd rather see them succeed then listen to their story of how they amped up their training. I come to see their runs, that's what's exciting. That's the bulk and appeal of the show is to see these amazing people who are insanely strong. You get that in some of the clips they show during the bio, mostly from their training and homemade obstacles, but ANW really throws some hard punches to these athletes, but people like Pekus can dodge them so easily, and that is what I want to see. I, obviously, don't know what it feels like to work for something for a whole year, and then fall on the second or third obstacle, but I realize it must be devastating. Especially in a show like this when you don't get a second chance (as a man) and you have to wait a whole other year to get another shot. It's a very support based community, so being on the sidelines cheering on friends is still great, but as a competitor, you want to be on the course showing the world what you can do when you know what you're capable of and slipped on something silly. Even though it's such a friendly group, I think there is always a little bit of bitter-sweet feelings when someone else is getting the glory and not you. It was great to see him back in action, and for him to get the fastest time and the POW wonderful crazy healthy run of the night. Something I really like about Pekus is that he lives on a farm. He doesn't have access to these high quality, Ninja specific gyms. He just uses his own farm equipment and resources like hay bales and his barn rafters. I think he does have a warped wall, but who doesn't? I like this because it's closer to Japan. In Japan, they're all regular guys with regular jobs like gardeners and shoe salesmen, but in America, they're owning and working Ninja gyms specific to the show. Lance is this cowboy farmer guy who uses his resources and his livelihood (before the show) to train, and to me that's pretty cool
Next, The Towers of Power. It was really disappointing to see Polizzi fail because he definitely could have hit that buzzer. He slipped up and accidentally dropped the bar on the Bar Hop making it pretty much impossible to complete. I'm sure he won't make this mistake again, and in the finals, he'll definitely go pretty far considering these two are so jacked. Mears was a good run, one of the fastest. Again, with the bio, I thought his story was a little too detailed. Something like that should be more personal. Some people don't mind or even want to share a lot about themselves, but I don't think it was necessary. Maybe it was, though, because it showed how much this particular run on ANW meant to him and his wife. It was a touching story (a bit lengthy), and I do appreciate a little insight into competitors lives.
Ethan Swanson? What do you say about someone like that? That's someone I see and don't believe. What he does is scary in multiple ways. When it's shown that he can jump from building to building and hang off of huge bridges, you shouldn't expect anything less from him.
The other competitor I'd like to see was Tyler Yamaguchi. He was friends and training partners with Swanson and others, I believe, and he is only 5'1", and the shorter competitors are fun to watch. I don't really know why, it's probably a personal thing, but when someone is small/short, there is a disadvantage sometimes, and there's just something about seeing someone with a clear disadvantage fly through with no problem.
The last person was "The Lizard." He probably could have hit that buzzer if he hadn't done that weird thing on the Bar Hop. Matt and Akbar were even confused, and said it was a rookie mistake. Hopefully he learns from this, and he can show us what he's got in the finals.
I'm looking at fansided.com for the list of finishers, and a fair amount of names I don't recognize. Sometime (actually a lot of times) ANW focuses on people who don't make it, and the people who do don't get a lot, if any, recognition, and, as I've probably mentioned, these are the people I care about and want to see and know. Some people have a nice story and being on the show might mean a lot, but if they only make it past one or two obstacles, it's a bit anti-climatic, and boring. I would think that ratings, sponsorships, promotions, and such would come by showing the really good athletes. The show is about change in people's lives and inspiration, but I think it's mainly about the strength and the physical aspect versus the emotional. That was the whole point of the show, it's the core, the draw, and probably what Sasuke focuses more on. That's what a lot of people want to see, and what a lot of people are interested in. It's really cool to see people complete these crazy courses, especially with them getting harder and harder each year. When someone makes a miraculous recovery on the balance one, or they pull through Crank it Up, and when they hit that buzzer after showing tremendous strength and endurance, that is what is absolutely amazing. The bios are filler, and if they were just a little shorter, we could see more people run. If you haven't noticed, it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine.
Broc Bebout, Dennis Lappin, Dave Cavanagh, to name a few were some finishers I don't remember even seeing getting a shoutout. There is a good chance I missed it, but I know for a fact some don't even get a "while you were away, _____ finished." Brad Spine, Bobby Bohannon, and Wes Whitlam were some who didn't hit the buzzer but moved on who I hope to see more of. Jeremiah Morgan is another who I don't remember seeing at all, and I would have recognized him because two years ago he was one of only a few to finish his city finals. I think it was 1 of 2, the other being Sam Sann in Texas. He made it to Stage 3 that year, too, I believe. I would really like to his run in the finals.
Some people are definitely favored. I don't really know why, but ANW always seems to be looking for a sob story. Like I said, I do like a little look into their lives: you feel more connected, you like and know them more, and you remember them, and I like a sweet story and I love a funny snippet into their lives. For example, Drew and James had a cute odd couple story about how James is a total health junkie and lives by the book while Drew is a little more lazy and carefree (which makes me love Drew even more). Or Mears' story or anything about death or illness or running in memory, I just wish it was a snippet into their lives. Anyway, I've probably ranted about this in every post, and I realize it's annoying, so I will try to make this the last post in which I complain about bios.
P.S. I know this is two weeks late, but I was lazy, and, let's be honest, no one is going to die just because I didn't post the Tuesday after. It's okay.
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