American Ninja Warrior

Edit: I realize in my initial post, I never actually congratulated Drew. He'll never read this, but Congratulations Drew Drechsel! It's really amazing that you won after all you hard work and dedication. It's truly admirable, and I hope to see you soon! First things first, I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read my posts/rants. I realize I haven't really made things very easy with my large, long blocks of text. So, starting with the final post of the season, I will try to start implementing some organization. We'll see what happens. Initial Thoughts I really, really wanted Daniel Gil to win. When I saw Joe drop, and Daniel was shown last, I knew he would finish Stage 3. I wanted Gil to win so bad, you don't even know. I'm not mad that Drew won, I'm just not happy, not this year. If you've looked at my previous posts, you'll know why, but of course, I'll still talk about it today. The course wasn't my favorite, e...

All right, I'm just going to get it out there: I'm disappointed. When you're trying to remember all the people who did not  make it instead of the people who did, you've got a problem. There is no excuse or reason to justify having 21 people pass Stage 2. How is it that Stage 1 was more difficult and had more upsets? Honestly, Stage 2 was dumbed down majorly. Look, half the people I'm not actually that upset with because I'm bias and I like them, but I know they're not Stage 3 material. Since only 2 people have ever stared down Stage 4 in regular competition, Stage 3 is actually the behemoth to defeat. I just don't think 21 people should have a chance. Otherwise, what even was the purpose of Stage 2 if everyone passed it? So, clearly, we've got to start with talking about the actual course. I hate Giant Walk the Plank. Catch and Release or the jungle gym or ring swing type obstacles were better. I know a couple people messed up on it, but I don...

Well, we have a few things to talk about, don't we? I guess we can start with the obvious: Drew Drechsel wet on Stage 1? The first year ever that he messes up on Stage 1 he has the Safety Pass? I'm not saying that's rigged or anything because it would probably be pretty difficult to arrange that, but not impossible. I don't really see the point, though, so Drew probably just messed up. It's just very convenient, that's all. True to my word from previous posts, Drew has used his pass, so I am no longer on his side. Just having the pass is one thing. As we saw from those who earned the Speed Pass, they run a little differently. The confidence and security changes the mental aspect of someone's run, and yes, it is still an advantage, but it's not as intense as the Safety Pass. So, while having the Safety Pass still has an effect on the winners, it's when they actually use it that bothers me. Drew has been deserving of winning it all the other years that...

I'm not going to lie, this week's episode actually might have had more (major) downfalls than buzzers. I was a little surprised that the Diving Boards gave people so much trouble, but they were also in the OKC city course. I think it's a little unfair that some people got to see it/try it before they might have faced in it Vegas. It probably doesn't mean too much in the long run, but this has happened before, and frankly, I think all the obstacles in Vegas should be exclusive to Vegas, at least for that particular year. Spin Your Wheels also looked difficult especially in comparison to their previous 2nd obstacles. They also didn't change the course quite as much as I thought, I think. I usually expect them to drastically change the Stages of Mt. Midoriyama. I think we see that more in Stage 2 and Stage 3, though. I think Stage 1 can be kind of boring, despite all the upsets we still see. Don't get me wrong, I do like it, and they have managed to keep Stage 1 fu...

Obviously, we have a lot to talk about regarding the competitors, but let's start off with the course. Cincinnati was definitely easier than Baltimore and Tacoma, and I'm not just saying that because we had female finishers. I firmly believe that Jessie Graff could have hit a buzzer if she was in Cincinnati, and it would have been more unlikely that Jesse Labreck and Michelle Warnky would if they were in either of the previous two cities. However, it still would have been interesting to see them on Angry Birds. Women might have actually had a better chance because they're lighter. But, I guess we'll never know. Overall, I still think Tacoma was the hardest city finals course. I know 22 people fell on Angry Birds last week in Baltimore, and it would have been unlikely that we would have seen a finisher even if a handful of people passed Angry Birds due to Cane Lane. However, since no one reached the 9th obstacle, I am not completely taking Cane Lane into consideration ...