USA vs. the World

Quarantine

*Wow! It's been nearly 6 months since I posted! Granted, it's the off-season for ANW, but it was crazy to see the time stamp on my most recent post. Time flies regardless of whether you're having fun. You know, I enjoy watching college and professional football, so maybe this blog can double as ANW in the summer and football in the fall. Then the weird lull will be spring. Maybe March Madness? We can try next year (cause it's cancelled this year). Or not. We can have a break. Whatever. All right, I'm getting into a weird place, let's just start this thing.

Okay, this post is going to be very scattered and a little more personal. So, I know this ANW special aired months ago, and I did watch it, but I decided I wasn't going to write anything on it. I didn't (and still don't) have much to say about it, but I have changed my mind because I am in quarantine! Kind of. I'm not sick nor do I know anyone who is affected, and I'm socially distancing simply because I have nowhere else to go.

Anyway, I am a college student at Michigan State University, and they officially moved all classes to a virtual setting. They also have closed a lot of restaurants, facilities on campus, and general businesses. So, for the past few days, I have been in my apartment doing my school work (kind of, it's hard to focus, as I'm sure some of you can relate). I'm also an antisocial introvert, so it's not the end of the world for me. (I'm sure some of you can relate to this, too.) Anyway, I have a lot of work to do, yes, but I'm going to write a post anyway.

Team USA

Okay, I have to look some stuff up because I don't really remember everything. The USA team was a slight shock, not going to lie. Drew and Daniel were obvious. Jesse was, too, I suppose, since there are only a few women who I would expect to be asked to be on Team USA. Now, Adam Rayl, Karsten Williams, and Michael Torres were surprising, Karsten especially. Michael Torres had a great regular season, and Adam Rayl is always a good choice, in my opinion, but this year was definitely not the strongest team I have seen. My dream team would change depending on the number of athletes allowed, but in general, my dream team is Drew Drechsel, Joe Moravsky, Daniel Gil, Jessie Graff, and Geoff Britten. (I don't know about the last member of my 5 member team. It fluctuates between Jamie Rahn, Adam Rayl, Najee Richardson, James McGrath, Josh Levin, Jake Murray, and Geoff Britten. I'm probably missing someone else I really like, but the 5th slot always changes per season based on who has been the hottest. Rahn and Rayl are fairly consistent from what I have seen in the past. Also, as I am typing, I just realized I forgot a major, major name: Nicholas Coolridge. Possibly scratch all those other names. Coolridge would be an excellent choice. I have debated this a lot in the past an will continue in the future because there are a lot of new kids comin' in such as The Kid and Tyler Gillett--who has actually has some seasons under his belt--and someone else who surely exists.) Now, with that (and by "that" I mean everything I said before the dream team rant) said, Team USA should have won. Period. They lost on a technicality. They were literally sweeping away the competition in nearly every single round. Now, y'all know how I feel about this competition being held on American soil. It is unfair. For those who haven't been blessed with my rant, I'll repeat it. Yay.

My Problem with USA vs. The World

Team USA literally just ran the courses. Drew just ran Stage 3, people ran Stage 1 and 2, so they're all very familiar with the obstacles, the order, the feel, everything. If they allowed Team Europe and Team Australia to play on the course for a little bit of time, it would probably even things up. But, they have explicitly said that this night is the first time some of the athletes have seen this particular course. Plus, based on their clips of them running in their home countries, the courses seem less extravagant than the US counterpart, less funded, less grand. It's the home advantage. Truly, actually, I think it's the fact that Team USA just ran these exact courses! I cannot stress that enough. I don't know the exact amount of time, but it's the same course, and I'm pretty sure they tape this special after the regular season. It's so unfair. Plus, Team Europe and Team Australia had almost all new members. Team USA also got the best of the season. I'm not saying Europe and Australia didn't offer the best of the best, but the fact is that they might not have the best. They are all from a different continent and had to travel to Vegas for this. The traveling is one thing, and the foreign country is another. I can't be the only one who realizes that Team USA has a huge advantage in these competitions. 

Europe has been getting worse, too. I really think this is because they are so scattered. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the first time that these members are meeting. They may be representing Europe, but they're from different countries with different shows. At least Australia competes in the same country/show. 

I probably could have guessed that Europe wasn't going to win, especially since Sean McColl wasn't there, and Europe hasn't really been that great the past couple years. Australia, I feel, had a better team last year. Let's set aside the fact that they won. On the course, they were still second compared to Team USA, also setting aside the huge advantage Team USA has. Before Stage 4, it felt like there was no competition which wasn't very exciting, honestly. That's why I didn't really have anything to write about when it first aired. Then came Stage 4...

Stage 4

Now, we've established that Team USA has an unfair advantage, and I was not rooting for USA, to be frank. So, even though they dominated Stages 1-3, I suppose on an ethical level, they didn't deserve to win. Then again, did Australia deserve it? They won on a single rope climb. I don't remember the exact scores, and I am not going to shuffle through to find the numbers, but USA was ahead by so many points; they were winning everything. So, for it to come down to Stage 4 and have Australia take everything felt so unjust. With Team USA's home advantage and Australia's technical win, it seems like no one should have won. Although, I suppose it's more fair that Australia won because at least it was on legitimate rules. Yet, I'm still unhappy with the results. Trust me, though, I would have been complaining if USA had won because I would have whined about how unfair the playing ground was. So, really, I'm just never happy. That's the take-away from this random post in March when no ANW is happening. 

Also, can we talk about that for a moment? This horrible virus has postponed ANW for an unknown amount of time. That is not okay. Personally, I am not worried about getting sick at all. I have a great immune system, and if I get sick, I get sick. I'm not freaking out, and (hot take) I think everyone is overreacting. Anyway, the producers announced that the L.A. taping was postponed, and they don't know when it will happen. For now, I also assume the other cities (D.C. and St. Louis, I think) are also postponed or the schedule will be adjusted to makeup for lost time. In their announcement, they did state that the season wasn't cancelled and that everyone would have a chance to run the course. This is good news, but it's crazy how this virus is messing up the world. My feelings for ANW, with its changes and evolution, has evolved into something other than what they were a few years ago, but I still enjoy watching, and I still plan on watching many future seasons. It's actually one of the few things I have a strong interest in, and one of the few things I have a decent memory of. (I have an absolutely terrible memory when it comes to everything.) Also, this would have been one of the only years that I could have seen a taping live. They are planning on visiting St. Louis, and I have family in the area to stay with. Plus, it was going to be in May, which would have been a good time in between school and internship/work. Now, who knows what will happen and when? So, I am a little bummed. Truly, my real goal is to see Vegas live because then, all my favorites should be there, but still. A regular city would have been cool. Plus, since they are doing 4 nights (2 nights?) worth, I would have been able to see more people versus previous seasons in which they had multiple cities so the entire pool of competitors was spread out. That doesn't sound very clear, does it? (and I'm a writing major, so... I've got that going for me.)

Anyway, this blog is much more of a stream of consciousness deal, so this post was a little longer than I thought. Then again, I always think my posts will be short, and then I rant and it's, like, 20 pages long. Maybe I'll start talking about completely random things interspersed with my ANW posts, and it'll slowly evolve into a weird ramble of nothingness. One tidbit I'll throw in as extra bonus content, I love the sound of typing on keyboards. Right now, I have this silicone cover over my laptop, but I took it off as I was writing the second half of this post, and it sounds so good. Anyway, I'd be down for nothingness, but it sounds more like at-home therapy than a real blog. So, for now, I will stick with American Ninja Warrior. Of course, who knows when my next post will be. If they push taping back, season 12 may be pushed back, too. Whatever, though. I'll still watch if I can!

So, until then... stay safe, don't die, and talk to you in the summer!