S08.E05: Philadelphia Qualifier

[OnceSane]

Two new obstacles, Wall Drop and Rolling Thunder, are featured.  From Philadelphia.

[Lantern7]

Quick thoughts on the teaser:

1. Motherfucker, why is NBC moving the show to 9? I got a job that requires me to be there a little after 7 a.m., meaning I have to wake up at 4:30. Right now, I watch ANW on the condition that I go to bed after posting my thoughts. Also, I record enough shit on Monday nights as it is, and now I have to block out two hours? And I'm not home long enough to watch it straight. Damn it.

2. This is the closest course to where I live. While I don't know if I could justify a 90-minute trip and a guarantee that I wouldn't be home until the wee morning hours (if not the crack of dawn), I would have liked to have seen Joe Moravsky and Geoff Brittens up close. Especially Geoff's mutant forearms. I wonder if he could have those monsters insured.

ETA: Had to be reminded that Paul Hamm will be running. He ran on a few seasons of Sasuke with his twin brother. I think at least one of them got far.

[Fukui San]

Yes, I believe Morgan made it to the third stage and failed on the curtain cling.  It was a long time ago. Like 20 tournaments ago. 15ish years?

[slf]

Hey! Rachael Goldstein did so well! Made it to the fifth obstacle during her first run.

The Smiling Ninja was aptly named, I was so happy for the guy I couldn't stop grinning. Beat a brain tumor? Dude. Amazing.

Wow...the soft-core porn lighting in the ballet guy's intro...

The Phoenix was so great! I felt by for the guy, blowing out his knee after working so hard at gymnastics. He has a really good build and he just blew through the obstacles. (We have too few black ninjas, too. I understand it's often an issue of build- most of the black men who've tried out for this show (at least during the last two seasons) have been current or former football players and so they were just too heavy.)

I laughed when the ballet guy wiped out. Served him right for those idiotic comments about proving that ballet isn't just feminine.

Allyssa Beird was really good, but did I see her tugging her sports bra down? LOL.

Welcome back, Geoff Britten! I'm rooting for you, Popeye.

Edited June 28, 2016 by slf

[butterbean1]

Spoiler

Spoiler

I read somewhere else that Geoff Britten falls on the first or second obstacle on Stage 1 in Vegas.  Apparently, he has commented elsewhere on the net that he is done with American Ninja Warrior because it has turned too much into a reality tv show. 

I think there was some major drama surrounding him and Isaac Caldierodouchebag.  I read somewhere that Geoff said Caldierodouchebag hates his guts because Geoff ruined his life when he "stole his moment".

If it is true that Geoff is done with ANW, I can't say I don't blame him.  Too bad.  I really liked him.

 

[SophiaD]

Awesome!  FOUR women made it through on time?  I don't think that's every happened before!  Great job, ladies!  So, that means... at least seven women have made it to the City Finals, not counting any wildcards!  Jessie, Meagan, Natalie, and tonight's fantastic four.  

Am bummed for Abel Gonzalez, since he's always been a favorite of mine.  Joe Moravsky's daughter is such a cutie, and he's just a great big softie.

Anyone know what happened to Paul Hamm?  I thought he was supposed to be on tonight.

ETA:  Great to see Geoff Brittain, but he did seem a bit over it.  I imagine if I'd gotten all that way to come in second, and not get any sort of reward, I'd be a bit "meh" about the whole thing.  Glad to see him doing well.  Also, love the super-tall guy who came in second on time.

Edited June 28, 2016 by SophiaD

[Quilt Fairy]

8 minutes ago, SophiaD said:

ETA:  Great to see Geoff Brittain, but he did seem a bit over it.  I imagine if I'd gotten all that way to come in second, and not get any sort of reward, I'd be a bit "meh" about the whole thing.  Glad to see him doing well.

Except they're not treating him as a second place finisher, he's "the first American Ninja Warrior to conquer Mt Midoriama!"  Isaac Caldero is only mentioned in that Pom promotion.

[kitticup]

I may have missed this, but is there a reason why none of the contestants did the Rolling Thunder facing forward?  

I liked that four woman made it.  I was impressed with Flex and daytime job.  I think being a caretaker for a very disabled person would be very hard.  

I was also impressed with the 64 year old guy

i am very bummed about Abel.  He seems like a very nice guy.   Except for the rolling thunder this course didn't seem that bad.  

Did the Panther run?  I kinda feel like there were a lot of old contestants we didn't get to see, like Panther, Kung Fu Ninja, the short order cook.  

[Chaos Theory]

Wow 4 women.  The more the merrier I say.

Impressed by the 64 year old.  Tgere have been pretty impressive newbies this season.  Even those who didn't go all the way like they guy who ran on one leg a few episodes back.  Impressive still.

 

Woth so many women this is going to be a fun season. 

[slf]

I'm thrilled with the number of women who made it through. Seven female contestants through and there's the possibility of at least one or two more being wildcards. And we're not done with the qualifiers yet, I don't think. This is turning into a very promising season.

[SanLynn]

Didn't they hype Paul Hamm too? Seems strange that they hyped him and then didn't follow through. Weird.

Thrilled that 4 women made it from Philly. The rolling thunder was crazy difficult if you ask me.

Ryan Stratis is one of my favorites but I'm more than a bit concerned he's putting too much strain on his shoulder. Hope he gets to wherever he gets to this season okay!

[Lantern7]

Because I posted on this thread last week, I got spoiled about the four women advancing. I interpreted that as those ladies completing the course. Damn, can you imagine what would've happened? After Woman #3, the crowd would've heard two gunshots, only to find out Matt and Akbar's dicks had exploded from pure joy.

Anybody else get nervous for Geoff? Middle of the show, poor showing in TNW, he had to bow out of USA Vs. The World . . . but he didn't fail. He seems like a cooler guy to be with than Isaac. And while I'm thinking about it . . . how powerful must Pom be if they could hook Isaac to their sweepstakes after he didn't come back? Maybe he really likes the stuff.

I still like Matt and Akbar. I can't help it. Akbar probably knows a scant few will get his "BRITTEN'S GOT TALENT!!!" line, and he just doesn't care. He will run that sumbitch into the ground.

Damn, Joe Moravsky's got a cute baby. Liked the ear protection. I reckon he can deal with infants after spending time with Rob. HEEEEEEY-OOOOOOOOH!!!!

Where was Paul Hamm? I mean, nobody from the Sasuke days ever drops by on ANW.

ETA for slf: Philly was the end of qualifiers. The show goes into regional finals courses starting July 11 . ..  and the show moves back to 8, which means I can watch it "live."

[slf]

Stratis is one of my favorites but I wish he'd stop with the yelling. I was worried when they said he'd had an operation recently; he should have sat this year out and given himself time to heal. I just don't see how he can stay in the competition with his shoulder like that, he barely made it halfway through the course before he was clearly hurting.

3 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

ETA for slf: Philly was the end of qualifiers. The show goes into regional finals courses starting July 11 . ..  and the show moves back to 8, which means I can watch it "live."

Ah, okay, I thought there was at least one more to go, but oh well. Seven female contestants is more than enough for me.

[Kromm]

Haha. Captain NBC got "while we were awayed".

InstaPoll: How do people feel about the now accepted practice that EVERY contestant comes to the show with some self-generated "{something} Ninja" nickname right from the word Go"?  At the very least Captain NBC pre-dates that and has a different kind of nickname.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Kromm

[Kromm]

Oh, if nothing else this episode reassured us that NBC isn't stupid enough to let that dillhole Isaac Caldiero forever be known as "The First American Ninja Warrior". They have very carefully parsed things so that the far more genuine seeming, less arrogant Geoff Britten is that, and Caldiero is simply the "American Ninja Warrior Champion". 

Heck, the only issue with Britten was Ackbar's fault, for that stupid "Got Talent" line (a joke that a good part of the viewership, having never seen Britain's Got Talent, probably finds confusing).  Britten himself is gold.

re: the women. And once again our hosts "blah blah blah history" us to death.

Edited July 1, 2016 by Kromm

[mlp]

To answer your poll question, Kromm........................It doesn't really bother me that so many rookies come on with a ninja name picked out but I do think it's silly.  Proclaiming themselves some variety of ninja right before they fall on the second obstacle seems embarrassing to me.  Better they wait and earn it.

[SanLynn]

I'm sick of something ninja names myself. I find it a bit annoying if I'm being honest. LOL

[Terrafamilia]

It's like when George Costanza tried to engineer his own nickname. It should be something others spontaneously generate, not something you apply to yourself (and you cross your fingers that it isn't stupid or embarrassing).

[Lantern7]

Anybody else hoping for a ninja-based episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia? I know that they did something similar for "The Gang Gets Invincible," but I think it would be easy to get away with than an ep based on the upcoming Democratic National Convention. Mac would totally think he'd be a ninja.

[Quilt Fairy]

9 hours ago, Terrafamilia said:

It's like when George Costanza tried to engineer his own nickname. It should be something others spontaneously generate, not something you apply to yourself (and you cross your fingers that it isn't stupid or embarrassing).

Yeah, but it probably means good business for the people that print t-shirts.

[slf]

I really do dislike the self-chosen names. Having not seen any seasons prior to season 7 I'm curious if this is a tradition or if some people got ninja nicknames and suddenly every new rookie wanted one or what. But it can be really embarrassing as @mlp noted when they give themselves one and then fail early into the obstacle.

Britten has the best ones, though: Popeye, which pleases me, and First American Ninja Warrior, which is the very best nickname of them all.

[Kromm]

4 hours ago, slf said:

I really do dislike the self-chosen names. Having not seen any seasons prior to season 7 I'm curious if this is a tradition or if some people got ninja nicknames and suddenly every new rookie wanted one or what. But it can be really embarrassing as @mlp noted when they give themselves one and then fail early into the obstacle.

Britten has the best ones, though: Popeye, which pleases me, and First American Ninja Warrior, which is the very best nickname of them all.

The announcers are responsible for most of the older ones. The exceptions would be people like "Captain NBC", who used to come in costume and compete as "characters". The specific thing of using a descriptive term followed by the word "Ninja" is basically all Matt Iseman's fault. Then indeed what started to happen was that people noticed that if they came up with their own name, it would increase their chances of them (and their whole related backstory) getting on TV, with Iseman shouting that Ninja name during their run.

Ackbar, in contrast, comes out more with slogans vs. nicknames. For him it's more stuff like "Britten's Got Talent". I don't recall if it was him or Iseman who came up with "The Fantastic Four" just because four women made it to the finals, but it's more Ackbar's style even if Iseman came up with this one.

[SnideAsides]

On 1/7/2016 at 9:53 AM, Kromm said:

Heck, the only issue with Britten was Ackbar's fault, for that stupid "Got Talent" line (a joke that a good part of the viewership, having never seen Britain's Got Talent, probably finds confusing).

Not to defend the commentary (because ugh), but I feel like people still probably remember it from back when Susan Boyle was a person people cared about. And even if they don't, it's not that big a leap to think the UK has its own version of America's Got Talent.

[WasillianWarrior]

On 6/30/2016 at 4:48 PM, Kromm said:

InstaPoll: How do people feel about the now accepted practice that EVERY contest comes to the show with some self-generated "{something} Ninja" nickname right from the word Go"?  At the very least Captain NBC pre-dates that and has a different kind of nickname.

All I know is that someone is making a killing by printing said Ninja names on brightly colored t-shirts for the friends and family to wear in the stands. 

[Kromm]

Ones I'd like to see:

(okay not really)

Baby Ninja
Ice Cream Man Ninja
2Legit2Ninja
Ninja Ninja (for someone who's an actual nunchuck wielding, metal star throwing ninja who decides to compete in ANW)
Housewife Ninja
Water Delivery Man Ninja
Astronaut Ninja

[mlp]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Don't give them any ideas, Kromm.  Papal Ninja was bad enough.

[simplyme]

13 hours ago, Kromm said:

Ones I'd like to see:

(okay not really)

Baby Ninja

Apparently you were not as scarred for life as I was by Ninja Baby, the man who wore a balaclava, baby bonnet, and giant diaper and not much else during Season 6 (I think?).  Or possibly you erected a protective mental barrier over that memory. *shudders* He may even have been on more than one season.

[slf]

20 hours ago, simplyme said:

Apparently you were not as scarred for life as I was by Ninja Baby, the man who wore a balaclava, baby bonnet, and giant diaper and not much else during Season 6 (I think?).  Or possibly you erected a protective mental barrier over that memory. *shudders* He may even have been on more than one season.

Okay I gasped when I read this. I've got my fingers crossed this is on Youtube.

On 7/5/2016 at 10:05 PM, Kromm said:

2Legit2Ninja

If there is a God....

[jhlipton]

Training and appearing in ANW can't be cheap with VERY little likelihood of reward, so I think a fair number of contestants are sponsored.  A cute nick-name and logo, which the local gym can display or that can be used on a Kickstarter / GoFundMe campaign,  is more likely to get the funds needed.