S07.E09: Houston Finals

[OnceSane]

The top 30 competitors from the Houston Qualifier tackle the Houston Finals course, which includes such obstacles as the Salmon Ladder, Walking Bar, Crazy Cliffhanger and Invisible Ladder.

[VartanFan]

So happy for Sam Sann.  I've liked him for a number of years and was sad for him when he hurt his foot (calf?).  

 

Had to mute Brent's run.  

 

Otherwise I was pretty bored.

[Lantern7]

Thank you, Sam Sann. Thanks to Kacy wiping out in the prelims, you gave Matt & Akbar the release they so desperately needed. Too bad the teaser gave away Sam's epic run. That, and the "Pom Wonderful Run Of The Night" wasn't awarded yet. Still, it was one helluva run.

 

Damn, who needs competitors with attitudes when you have killer obstacles like Walking Bar and Crazy Cliffhanger? Those are the real villains of the show.

 

I wasn't cringing when 5-foot-nothing Kacy was in the booth, but I can understand why others would tire of her. At least she wouldn't endanger herself climbing up a massive obstacle to be with her loved one, Brent.

 

Before I forget . . . did the Human Panther get minimalized? I remember him qualifying in the prelims.

[Taeolas]

Well, I've been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt for the past two courses, but 3 for 3 with just 5 finishers TOTAL shows they aimed too hard for the course design this year.

 

The Houston Course itself in parts didn't seem too bad. I think the Walking Bar was the killer element. It was too new and people didn't know what to do with it or how to do it (Even though it's spiritually similar to the Stage 3? obstacle last year the twist seemed too much). Next year it'll probably be fine, but for this year, they could probably have done without the rope element of it and just let them jump to the end. While it wasn't really a factor, the psych factor may have been enough to throw people off a little. 

 

The Crazy Cliffhanger was probably fine overall; it's known and people have trained on it; but after Salmon Ladder and Walking Bar, the arm strength is drained. 

 

Sam gave the lesson on how to do the Invisible Ladder, and showed it's very doable. You need to have your legs moving so you can use your side to side momentum to your advantage and give your arms a bit of a break. I don't mind that as a new finisher in any case. 

Edited July 28, 2015 by Taeolas

[Quilt Fairy]

I couldn't figure out what they were talking about when they said the 15th guy is definitely going to Vegas and oh, by the way, now we have Sam Sann on the course. If you're 15th, you're on the bubble not assured of going to Vegas. And since Sam San DID finish, he should have gotten bumped.

 

I was sorry to see that Jonathon Horton didn't make it to Vegas.

 

Had to mute Brent's run.

Me too! Kacy is a great athlete, but the voice gets a little squeaky.

[anarchyangel84]

I love this show- so happy for Sam Sann. He's so sweet and humble. He trains others and makes them better- he deserves to do well. It really surprised me when they said that he's a hairdresser. I don't know- I just pictured him doing something else.

I'm really glad Brent made it through as well. I always thought he & Kacy were so cute- but it just occurred to me that he hasn't done as well since he got with her. This season has been different so far- hopefully he keeps going. I hope Kacy gets a wildcard though. I'm not one of those crazy feminists- but I don't really think it's fair for women. The obstacle that Kacy went out on, because of her height, there's no way in hell that she could've made it up to that bar. Some of the other obstacles- like the jumping spider- is almost impossible for women- and even some men to do. It's not their fault they're shorter than others. I'm not saying these people should get special treatment- but give them a chance.

[jcin617]

Sam gave the lesson on how to do the Invisible Ladder, and showed it's very doable. 

 

Only 1 person who's made it to the ladder has failed it, everyone else completed it.   The ladder isn't what's getting people, it's been the two obstacles just prior.   

[theatremouse]

I couldn't figure out what they were talking about when they said the 15th guy is definitely going to Vegas and oh, by the way, now we have Sam Sann on the course. If you're 15th, you're on the bubble not assured of going to Vegas. And since Sam San DID finish, he should have gotten bumped.

I thought they had announced that guy as 14th, not 15th. So it made sense Sam didn't knock him out.

[Taeolas]

Only 1 person who's made it to the ladder has failed it, everyone else completed it.   The ladder isn't what's getting people, it's been the two obstacles just prior.   

 

True, but after it was introduced in Venice, there seemed to be some chatter here that it might be too difficult. In KC, we didn't really see it exercised enough to make a good judgement call on it. But the two that made it up here in Houston have, IMO, showed it's fine as a finishing obstacle, with Sam really showing how to do it properly. (Most of the guys who did it power up with their arms and fail to realize how useful their legs can be, even if it's not readily apparent).

 

At this point, considering how badly the course designers have over-targeted the courses this year; I'm a bit worried about what we'll see in Vegas. This may end up like (IIRC) the first season where the first stage took out all but 5 or so competitors.

 

I thought they had announced that guy as 14th, not 15th. So it made sense Sam didn't knock him out.

 

That's what I heard too, but I usually skip a lot of that chatter so may have misheard something.

[Aliconehead]

Venice had two people that failed it, Kevin Bull and David Campbell

[lorikauai]

I agree that they way over-shot with the city finals courses this year. I prefer to have more than one or two finishers. It's not so fun watching nearly everyone fall on the same obstacle. I would have liked to see more people attempt the crazy cliffhanger. I hope Jonathan Horton gets a wild card spot. He is amazing, especially considering his height disadvantage.

[Fukui San]

I think in the future they should remove the hanging by your arms obstacle just before the Warped Wall in the city finals to get more people into the more interesting new obstacles in the second half.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was sorry to see that Jonathon Horton didn't make it to Vegas.

Me too! I am still so impressed that he got up the warped wall again. I really hope he gets a wild card spot to Vegas.

 

I love this show- so happy for Sam Sann. He's so sweet and humble. He trains others and makes them better- he deserves to do well. It really surprised me when they said that he's a hairdresser. I don't know- I just pictured him doing something else.

 

I'm not one of those crazy feminists- but I don't really think it's fair for women. The obstacle that Kacy went out on, because of her height, there's no way in hell that she could've made it up to that bar. Some of the other obstacles- like the jumping spider- is almost impossible for women- and even some men to do. It's not their fault they're shorter than others. I'm not saying these people should get special treatment- but give them a chance.

I was happy to see Sam Sann get through too. I agree that he seems very sweet and humble. He is so calm and cool when competing too.

 

I am a feminist (I'm not sure what qualifies as a crazy feminist) and the height issue sometimes bothers me for both women and short men. Most of the tasks on American Ninja Warrior are geared toward upper body strength which naturally favors men, which I'm fine with, but I hate when I see women and some of the men fall short (ha, no pun intended) simply because of their height (or lack thereof) because there is no way to remedy that. No matter how much you work out or train, nothing will make your arms and legs longer. When it comes to the spider obstacle or others that require a certain arm length, it's literally impossible for most of the women. I'm not saying they need to redesign the course for women or short people but it really bums me out when I see an obstacle that is physically impossible for anyone under 5'6" to do because some of the competitors are really strong and agile but their limbs just aren't long enough to complete the course.

[jhlipton]

I think the Walking Bar was the killer element. It was too new and people didn't know what to do with it or how to do it (Even though it's spiritually similar to the Stage 3? obstacle last year the twist seemed too much). Next year it'll probably be fine, but for this year, they could probably have done without the rope element of it and just let them jump to the end. While it wasn't really a factor, the psych factor may have been enough to throw people off a little. 

 

The Crazy Cliffhanger was probably fine overall; it's known and people have trained on it; but after Salmon Ladder and Walking Bar, the arm strength is drained.

 

It wasn't the transition to the rope that was the killer on the Walking Bars (which seemed to be similar to the Salmon Ladder to me).  It was knowing how to pivot, when you have no strength at all left in your arms.

 

I wish we'd seen more people get to the Crazy Cliffhanger.  The transition to the final hang looked like real killer, but only a handful of athletes got to try it.

 

I couldn't figure out what they were talking about when they said the 15th guy is definitely going to Vegas and oh, by the way, now we have Sam Sann on the course. If you're 15th, you're on the bubble not assured of going to Vegas. And since Sam San DID finish, he should have gotten bumped.

 

He was definitely 14th.  I think they took it as given that Sam would make it to Vegas.

 

I'm not saying they need to redesign the course for women or short people but it really bums me out when I see an obstacle that is physically impossible for anyone under 5'6" to do because some of the competitors are really strong and agile but their limbs just aren't long enough to complete the course.

I mostly agree but then we wouldn't have seen Kacy do that fantastic leap on the poles last year.

Edited July 29, 2015 by jhlipton

[Adira]

I'm not saying they need to redesign the course for women or short people but it really bums me out when I see an obstacle that is physically impossible for anyone under 5'6" to do because some of the competitors are really strong and agile but their limbs just aren't long enough to complete the course.

 

I agree.  I hate it when obstacles are just physically impossible for someone who's shorter to do them.  It'd be nice if more obstacles were like the Body Prop, where they can adjust them based on the height of the competitor.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

My secret ANW wish has been for the course to be adjusted for each person's height. I know that will never happen because it's not very practical but it would really level the playing field while still being challenging.

[ClareWalks]

I am a girl, but I have a man-crush on Daniel Gil. His spirit animal would be a unicorn monkey with a lion's mane. 

 

Kacy is hard to listen to. She is like a hummingbird.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

His spirit animal would be a unicorn monkey with a lion's mane.

Playing the saxophone!

[SmithW6079]

Kacy is hard to listen to. She is like a hummingbird.

More like the squeaky in a dog's toy. I muted Brent Stephenson's entire run because of her. And there's something about him that puts me off. Maybe it's because he's supposed to be a "master ninja warrior" and he keeps failing the course and getting shown up by the novices and walk-ons.

 

I must confess, when I saw Daniel Gil the first time, I thought he was "transitioning." I was sorry to see him fall.

 

And what was with the guy whose story was how his mother wanted to squash his ninja dreams? Why would you share that (or agree to share that) on national TV? Even if she was watching via phone and supporting him now, it still reflects badly on her.

 

Did Sam Sann's run happen right after Jeremiah Morgan's? Because when the blonde was interviewing him, it sounded like the buzzer in the background. There were only three finishers, weren't there, and one guy made it before? Or do they show all the athletes out of order? 

 

I was sorry to see Jonathan Horton didn't make it either. 

Edited August 11, 2015 by SmithW6079