Hellga

Me too... sure, some of the kids are likeable but still, it's not the same 'look and feel'.

Yep, that's the same link I saw. I am also unsure, but that's why I am willing to give it a try next summer. If they kept this season's format for another year, I would not have bothered. I would prefer they go back to their roots, but I guess that ship has already sailed. There are ninja gyms all over the place now, and purposefully training kids, and all that is not going to go away. I remember speaking with my uncle's friends who were pro soccer players in Europe in the 60s, before it was big business with big bucks - it was the same type of a process, a sport becomes a big business and it no longer has the same homey feel. No longer hometown boys but big trades and big money win titles. Sad but it's not going to change while there is money to be made off it...

Was it worth watching? I chose to do chores instead and I find that I don't really miss it, but if it was fun, I will watch later. Were they competing alone or were they running vs. each other? If the latter, I think I will pass.

My guess is that Matt and Ackbar's commentary is recorded separately after the season is filmed and edited, because we know the runs don't go in the order shown, but they sure make it sound like they were. So they would be using the age as of the airing date instead of the taping date... I don't know if knowing that Vance won twice in a span of essentially just a week makes it more or less impressive. On one hand, he didn't let the win go into his head, so it's tremendous mental strength and focus. On the other hand, if he was in prime physical condition and his competitors weren't, then no wonder it was the same result twice. Either way, I think it wasn't a good idea and that's probably why it wasn't widely announced and probably isn't widely known by broader audience, just those who closely follow the show news...

Yes he did have cerebral palsy. He did a tremendous job but I still would have preferred a different winner. I would not allow previous winners to compete - but they can't decide if they are a game show or a sporting competition, so it is what it is. On a separate note, I would like to award my personal 'worst episode editing' prize to the editors of ANW. This season is over, and I am undecided about next year, but I guess I will watch just to see how the changes in format work out...

I feel bad for Joe's wife more than I feel bad for him. She is the one who has to carry the load while he is spending all his time at the gym. I hope he has good sponsorships to show for it, at least. Vance is the only kid I am rooting against, simply because I don't think twice in a row is a good thing. I will be rooting for Nacssa and the Bergstrom kid (forget his first name) on Stage 4. And I think having five people going to stage 4 is kind of ridiculous in and of itself.

As if they heard our discussion from last week, a Bergstrom joins a Beckstrand on Stage 4 :) For some reason I thought Austin Grey fell last week... now that I know he is still in the running, I am definitely rooting for him.

Just call it Vermont. I am going to root for the oldies - Sean Bryant and Joe Moravsky. In the name of the show as it used to be, I am not really interested in kids who have been training obstacles all the frigging time. Ninja was fun when it was regular people with regular lives who also happened to have fun on obstacles, now it's just another 'pro' sport. If you make it 'pro' then it should be the expectation of everyone completing the course and just some doing it faster OR doing it prettier/showing off whatever. They are just trying to go all three routes at the same time and as a result it's not really coherent or doing anything that well. PS OK, Sean is out. Joe. And Jason Thwait.

I agree... I remember when I first discovered this show in 2015, it was so heart-warming with regular people showing their athleticism vs. the course. Now we have kid who are purpose-training for obstacles since early childhood who are running against each other with a few old-timers thrown in. I don't like the format changes or the 'look and feel' changes. I was thinking already that this might be the last season I will be watching - now that I read these news about changes, maybe I will give it a shot, see how the new format works out, but I am not really keen about the proposed changes...

Yeah they kind of blend together for me too, I always know they are two separate families, but I can't keep it straight who belongs with whom, where they come from, etc. I had the same thing happen with Najee Richardson. I liked him at first, but after his first season or at most two, he started to rub me the wrong way. The over-hyping doesn't help, I agree - it alone caused me to cheer against the guy from Hawaii (can't remember the name, he had blond curls and was friends with Nick Hansen, whom I do like a lot) and Ryan Stratis and Brent Simms (though their ugly beards were a strong contributing factor).

So sad that Daniel fell so close to the end. The last three obstacles are just brutal. Oh well, as soon as I saw him, I knew he didn't finish, otherwise he wouldn't be shown so early.

I am happy for Jason Twaith and for Sean Bryan. I never cared for James McGrath...

I don't like this ninja vs ninja format. And I like Daniel Gil

I am watching but this season I am just not that into the show. I think I might call it quits when this season ends... it doesn't look and feel the way it did when i first watched it in 2015.

I am finding that I am not enjoying this season all that much. When I started watching, it was amateurs running for the fun of it. Now it's kids who are purpose-training on the obstacles who do, and it's maybe more polished, but it feels more 'professional' and to me - not as interesting. I am more interested in people's innate athleticism and joy of competing vs. someone who trained and trained and trained and now can do these obstacles in their sleep and focus their whole lives around this sport. Meh. That's like artisanal items vs. machine-produced - machines might do neater and more consistent work, but the artisanal is more interesting and unique, despite its possible imperfections. This might be my last season watching...