S08.E12: National Finals Week 2

[OnceSane]

Quote

The National Finals continue in Las Vegas where the top competitors from the City Finals tackle the four-stage course. Competitors continue to take on Stage One, with 4 new obstacles: Snake Run, Giant Log Grip, Broken Bridge, and Flying Squirrel.

[slf]

Oh my God, poor Nick Hanson! He was so close. That's gotta suck. He did a great job, though.

I cackled when Brent Steffenson fell, not sorry. He still bugs me so much. (And how stupid was that pre-run segment? I hope the show stops focusing on their break-up so much. I don't think that many fans cared about them as a couple.) It looked like he couldn't spot the pad before he pushed off the log?

Edited September 6, 2016 by slf

[riverheightsnancy]

Wait, I thought this was a new episode? Am I on glue, because didn't we See Brent bite it already and the guy that is the "ZOMG-the oldest person to ever be on ANW". Did they both fail at the City finals and then (basically) repeat in in Vegas?  I agree, Nick Hanson did great. 

[ClareWalks]

Dear ANW, stop giving Brent Steffensen wildcards, thanks in advance. Dude can't even hit a city qualifying buzzer nowadays.

[slf]

I also enjoyed watching the Eagle Scout go out on the first obstacle. That guy is obnoxious.

Wow, Jon Alexis Jr. was making it through the course really fast but maybe too fast? When he made it up the warped wall he took a long time just getting into a standing position. It didn't surprise me when he fell, he looked exhausted. Poor guy. Hope he comes back next year.

Tiana's fall was spectacular.

Jessell, my dude. Has anyone ever looked so cramped on the Jumping Spider? He was so close. I honestly thought he was going to go out on the Broken Bridge. He made it really far for a rookie.

Matt Roesch, wow that was a little douchey. See, on Sasuke people have fun with their costumes and props but the Americans are so annoying (Caldiero dressed as Jesus?). "The King knocked off his throne!" Heh.

The ladies need to work on their trampoline skills. Natalie Duran has potential but that wasn't a good jump. It was nice to see her parents though, it was sweet how excited they were for her. 

Adam Rayl's mom looks like Sarah Palin, it's jarring. But he did a great job, advancing to Stage 2 as a rookie. Why do they make such a big deal about someone being a walk-on? 

I always think Drechsel is older than he is. He seems like he should be in his early thirties. His run was pretty smooth, except for that tumble on the Broken Bridge. But declaring yourself to be weakness-free? Do you believe in curses or karma or common sense?!

Najee Richardson! That fall on Broken Bridge looked painful but he recovered well and really flew on the Flying Squirrel (pun absolutely not intended). What an awesome job. 

Edited September 6, 2016 by slf

[Lantern7]

I think Brent qualified, as opposed to getting a wild card. It would be funny if Kacy outdid him on the course. And damn, the guys really piled on Jon Stewart.

[healthnut]

52 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Dear ANW, stop giving Brent Steffensen wildcards, thanks in advance. Dude can't even hit a city qualifying buzzer nowadays.

Brent qualified. Only women have gotten wild cards the past two years. 

[slf]

A 'while you were away' for Nicholas Coolridge? Ouch.

Dang, Meagan. Out on the third obstacle. I didn't think she'd go down that early.

[ClareWalks]

8 minutes ago, healthnut said:

Brent qualified. Only women have gotten wild cards the past two years. 

I thought he fell in city qualifying, and Matt or Akbar said he hadn't hit a buzzer yet this year.

It is entirely possible I hallucinated the whole thing. I try not to pay much attention when Brent or Kacy is onscreen.

4 minutes ago, slf said:

A 'while you were away' for Nicholas Coolridge? Ouch.

I know, right? Dafuq? I like that guy. There are so few finishers here I can't believe they montaged one.

Edited September 6, 2016 by ClareWalks

[slf]

Wind tunnel guy walked too much. What's worse: only making it a few obstacles in and falling or almost finishing and timing out?

Ouch, Catanzaro out on the same obstacle as last year. What was the issue? Looks like she hit the center of the trampoline and got good height. Did she come up short or could she just not hang on? 

[Lantern7]

Holy crap. Kacy deserves to be nominated for roughest landing. Barely touched the propeller, did a 540 flip into the water. Damn. I feel bad for her. She doesn't suck, but she doesn't seem comfortable putting an entire gender on her shoulders. Oh, and she has gone farther than I would have. I weigh at least forty pounds heavier than the largest ninja.

Anybody else kindasorta wants an award for t-shirt design? One class for rookies and Vegas newcomers, another for vets.

[slf]

Brent Steffenson went out at the Oklahoma City Qualifier. I just watched it on YT.

[ClareWalks]

1 minute ago, slf said:

Brent Steffenson went out at the Oklahoma City Qualifier. I just watched it on YT.

I thought he fell! Did he get far enough fast enough to qualify for the finals? That must be it. So no wildcard, but still, he ain't exactly setting the world on fire lately. 

He also just seems to make it all about him all the time. It's a big turnoff when he inserts himself into Kacy's moments (like when he climbed the tower after she finished the city finals in 2014, or tonight when he HAD to run up and give her a hug as she was about to go).

[healthnut]

22 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

I thought he fell in city qualifying, and Matt or Akbar said he hadn't hit a buzzer yet this year.

It is entirely possible I hallucinated the whole thing. I try not to pay much attention when Brent or Kacy is onscreen.

He went far enough fast enough in both the qualifying and the finals but it's true he didn't hit a buzzer. 

Way to go NBC! They just completely spoiled Geoff's run, not that it wasn't telegraphed but seriously?!

ETA: I guess that was footage from last year...WOW. 

Edited September 6, 2016 by healthnut

[slf]

1 minute ago, ClareWalks said:

I thought he fell! Did he get far enough fast enough to qualify for the finals? That must be it. So no wildcard, but still, he ain't exactly setting the world on fire lately. 

He also just seems to make it all about him all the time. It's a big turnoff when he inserts himself into Kacy's moments (like when he climbed the tower after she finished the city finals in 2014, or tonight when he HAD to run up and give her a hug as she was about to go).

Yeah, far enough fast enough. He went out on that obstacle where you have to jump the bar from one set of curved hooks to another. That's the one where Kacy was walking arm in arm with his dad. He went out at 3 minutes. I sincerely hope the show dictated what his pre-run segment would be about because it being all about his breakup with Kacy annoyed the hell out of me; if he brought it up, yikes.

Joe Moravsky seems like such a decent guy, I was thrilled for him making it. I'm rooting for him alongside Britten and Graff.

[mtlchick]

18 minutes ago, slf said:

Did she come up short or could she just not hang on? 

Pretty much.  It looks like she managed to touch it but a bit low to fully grab it.  Really surprised Meghan is out.  I had hoped she had a chance this year. 

 

Meanwhile...GEOFF IS OUT?!  Aw, nuts.  At least he seemed ok with what happened.  His daughter seemed more upset. 

Edited September 6, 2016 by mtlchick

[Lantern7]

Got spoiled about Geoff. Did not expect that on Snake Run. Holy crap. The past year has not been a good one for him. He's gonna obsess about that until the next time he hits Vegas. Damn. Sure, Makoto Nagano went out in the first stage a few times after he achieved Total Victory, but he didn't go out on the first friggin' obstacle.

ETA: Geoff fell ill prior to USA Vs. The World, and his squad didn't make it far on Team Ninja Warrior. I'm willing to bet this family man wouldn't think he had a bad year since winning conquering the course first.

[slf]

Poor Geoff Britten. God, that sucks. Out on the first obstacle when he was the first person to ever complete Stage 4? Ugh. He's such a champ, so classy.

[ClareWalks]

Mouth dropped when Geoff fell. I have such a man-crush on him (alhough I'm a woman).

OMG, when Jake Murray took that corn dog out of his fanny pack, I died.

[Lantern7]

Damn, I should be upset with Jake Murray showing off after finishing the run. So why am I laughing? I think he's the only person that can out-crazy Neil Craver.

ETA: Jessie finished fifth overall. While I doubt she'll make it to Stage Three (baby steps), that's impressive.

[slf]

Jake Murray with the fanny pack and the corn dog is how you have fun without being douchey. Good for him.

[Chaos Theory]

Stage 1 just ate everyone up.   

Damn Geoff Briiton.  Although he took it well and I still love him and his family.

Also disappointed that Meagan and Casey didn't do better.

Brutal stage 1 course.  Just brutal. 

[VartanFan]

Mehhhhhhh.  I was bored.  I mean, so many went out so early - it's like the vets take some of the early obstacles for granted.  I don't know why but I sort of feel like Britten threw it.  Or like, maybe he just didn't give a shit when he started the course, or something.

Happy about the Weatherman.  

The show seriously needs to revisit the wildcards...and not let Brent or Kacy back.  Seriously. 

 

ETA - You can see how popular the show has become when you look at the sheer number of commercial breaks. I feel like it gets worse every year and then we're left with strong competitors relegated to 'while you were away'.  I start the show after 9 and am done on time.

Edited September 6, 2016 by VartanFan

[SophiaPehawkins]

So bummed about Geoff and Meghan. What's worse is that they went out so early.

25 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

He also just seems to make it all about him all the time. It's a big turnoff when he inserts himself into Kacy's moments (like when he climbed the tower after she finished the city finals in 2014, or tonight when he HAD to run up and give her a hug as she was about to go).

Same. I recently watched Kacy's city finals run and was so turned off by Brent. It seems like he has a hard time letting her have her moment. Both of them, though should take some time away from this show. The courses are getting progressively difficult and I don't see them keeping up. 

On a positive note, I was supremely impressed with the Philly guy (Najee?). His swings on the last obstacle were a thing of beauty. His gymnastics background was evident.

This is my first full season watching, but do they always have stage 2, 3, and 4 in one episode?

Edited September 6, 2016 by SophiaPehawkins

[Quilt Fairy]

41 minutes ago, slf said:

A 'while you were away' for Nicholas Coolridge? Ouch.

They did that in his city runs as well. Who the hell did he piss off? I want to see my pretty boy.

[Lantern7]

I'm good with Brent leaving. While I wouldn't want Kacy to be seen deteriorating like Kazuhiko Akiyama (the first Sasuke champion), she doesn't strike me as somebody starved for attention . . . unlike Brent "Hey, Let Me Risk Life And Limb To Congratulate My Girlfriend" Steffenson.

[srpturtle80]

I, like Geoff's daughter, kinda felt like crying when he went out. He really seems to realize that this isn't life or death, as evidenced by his answer to Kristine's dumb questions during his post-run interview. 

And Jake Murray totally cracked me up with the corn dog. 

[healthnut]

I think the ninjas spend so much time training upper body that the obstacles that require agility or trampoline skills really get them. I don't blame them, just to get to the finals, the city courses are very upper body intense. Maybe next year, they train differently once they qualify for Vegas. Tonight's episode was really deflating, it's super disappointing that only four women made it past the second obstacle. 

Looking forward to that crazy body prop in stage three. 

[Taeolas]

I swear Mother Nature herself doesn't want Kacy to get further. She hit the trampoline well, and almost had the propeller. But if you watch it looks like a gust of wind moves the propeller a few inches and JUST out of her reach. 

I think the Broken Bridge was the only obstacle that didn't knock anyone out. But it did serve another good purpose; most contestants will trip on it and land hard, knocking the wind out and making the monkey bars a bit harder (especially with the time counting down)

One more ep for this season. It'll be interesting to see how the next rounds go. And Jessie is still in the Top 5; incredible.

[Chaos Theory]

I think Geoff Britton just messed up.  No matter how good you are: sometimes you just mess up.  What I liked was how well he handled it.  It's not the only thing in his life.  He handled it amazing.  Winning is easy.  You show who you are when you lose.  Geoff Britton acts like he has things in his life more important than ANW.  You know things like his family and a job he loves.   Geoff Britton is still awesome.

[shoregirl]

I gasped when Geoff Britton  went out on the first obstacle.  His poor daughter was more upset than he was. I liked his attitude about it he laughed , shrugged and said that American Ninja Warrior. I think he has a good view about the show he seems to have fun and he's good at it but it's not the most important thing in his life. 

Edited September 6, 2016 by shoregirl

[90PercentGravity]

Is Nicholas Coolridge the freegan who lives in his van from last year?

[slf]

2 hours ago, 90PercentGravity said:

Is Nicholas Coolridge the freegan who lives in his van from last year?

Yes he is.

[absnow54]

I don't know why but I sort of feel like Britten threw it. Or like, maybe he just didn't give a shit when he started the course, or something.

I had that feeling too. He could have crumbled under the pressure of maintaining his Grand Champion status, or he could have just gone with the flow and had fun with it, and that's what I think he ended up doing. ANW is full of so many egos who are super intense about the competition, and pretty much dedicate their life to it (and have successfully made a career out of it), but Geoff Britten comes across as a guy who has a family and a life outside of the show, and is just doing this for fun. It was pretty apparent when the correspondent was asking him about training for next year and he just laughed it off like the 2017 competition was the last thing on his mind right now.

Wow, Jon Alexis Jr. was making it through the course really fast but maybe too fast? When he made it up the warped wall he took a long time just getting into a standing position. It didn't surprise me when he fell, he looked exhausted. Poor guy. Hope he comes back next year.

Seriously, enough with all this coverage on Brent and Kacy's showmance, give me a post run interview with Jon Alexis, because it looked like he knocked the wind out of himself 2 or 3 times and could never recover. He looked totally spaced at the end.

[Chaos Theory]

Brent and Kacy still get ratings and they are popular inside of ANW so the show will for better and worse continue to pimp them out.  Kacy I don't mind.  I like her and just wish she was better.  I think she has gone as far as she is going to go.  But as long as she holds the record of only woman to complete National Finals she will be a thing.   

Edited September 6, 2016 by Chaos Theory
Woman not person

[Morgan of Hed]

Kacy is the only woman to complete a city finals course, not the only person to complete national finals.  I think she should have to prove herself next year by at least getting out of the city qualifiers.  I like her, and it's no fun to see her crash and burn, obviously psyched out under all the pressure.

[Chaos Theory]

I thought I corrected that.  It's what j meant.  Correcting now.  I do like watching her when others compete.  

[fivestone]

15 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I thought he fell in city qualifying, and Matt or Akbar said he hadn't hit a buzzer yet this year.

It is entirely possible I hallucinated the whole thing. I try not to pay much attention when Brent or Kacy is onscreen.

I know, right? Dafuq? I like that guy. There are so few finishers here I can't believe they montaged one.

 

14 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

They did that in his city runs as well. Who the hell did he piss off? I want to see my pretty boy.

Re: Nicholas Coolridge. They profiled him during qualifying this year, I think. But the fact that they aren't focusing on him much now says to me that he must make it pretty far and they don't want us to OD on him. I could be wrong, but that's the feeling I get.

Hope we don't have to hear anything about Kacey the rest of the season. Let's make it all about Jessie, Nicholas, Joe, Najee, Fanny Pack Ninja Jake, Island Ninja Grant (whom I find totally adorable), and the other deserving competitiors who completed stage 1.

[Hanahope]

Obviously its a tough course when only 16 men finished in time (and 1 woman - Yay Jessie!), but I'm a bit surprised that more women don't do better overall.  I see that several of the obstacles almost require a certain height (shorter people did worse on propeller, spider jump and warped wall), but there are plenty of taller women.  Idk, Jessie Grath made it look easy, so just thought that more women would have done better/gotten farther in the course. 

I haven't watched before now, so I have no idea of the history, other than I understand that the show ran many years before anyone finished all 4 stages at all.  And last year they had twice as many finish round 1, but no women at all.

[gemmalogical]

2 hours ago, fivestone said:

Re: Nicholas Coolridge. They profiled him during qualifying this year, I think. But the fact that they aren't focusing on him much now says to me that he must make it pretty far and they don't want us to OD on him. I could be wrong, but that's the feeling I get.

I so hope you are right. I was speculating that he must go out early on Stage 2, so they weren't wasting any time on his editing. Fingers crossed that you are correct. Speaking of the pretty -- did we see Kyle Cochran at all this year?

I was gutted for Nick Hanson. Such a lovely guy. He's young, though, and has lots of time.

As much as I am all for women getting their shot, I would have liked to see Michael Stanger get a wild card. Time is critical for that family.

Edited September 6, 2016 by gemmalogical
spelling

[Chaos Theory]

1 hour ago, Hanahope said:

Obviously its a tough course when only 16 men finished in time (and 1 woman - Yay Jessie!), but I'm a bit surprised that more women don't do better overall.  I see that several of the obstacles almost require a certain height (shorter people did worse on propeller, spider jump and warped wall), but there are plenty of taller women.  Idk, Jessie Grath made it look easy, so just thought that more women would have done better/gotten farther in the course. 

I haven't watched before now, so I have no idea of the history, other than I understand that the show ran many years before anyone finished all 4 stages at all.  And last year they had twice as many finish round 1, but no women at all.

A few of the obstacles women don't do well on.  The propeller bar is tough for the height impared.  Only two women have gotten passed the spider jump (Jessie and Meagan Martin) and no woman until now has gotten past stage 1 warped wall.    (Jessie failed there last year and Meagan Martin has gotten that far at least once but I forgot what year.  I have no idea about Kacy).

For the most part women are getting stronger but there will always be obsticals that women don't do well on and there are several that always show up on stage 1.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[HawaiiTVGuy]

18 hours ago, slf said:

Wind tunnel guy walked too much. What's worse: only making it a few obstacles in and falling or almost finishing and timing out?

Ouch, Catanzaro out on the same obstacle as last year. What was the issue? Looks like she hit the center of the trampoline and got good height. Did she come up short or could she just not hang on? 

I could have sworn the propeller was moving ever so slightly (probably due to wind) as she was launching, so that probably hurt her a little, but it seems like she doesn't get a lot of bounce overall compared to the other competitors.  Not sure if it is because she is overall smaller/lighter, or if considering her history on trampolines, she didn't accelerate as fast because she was afraid of overshooting it again.  It seems like her weight puts her at a disadvantage on the trampoline which caused her to shoot for the outer edge of the trampoline the previous two times which contributed to her previous mishaps.

[fivestone]

I didn't like Natalie Duran at first earlier in the season because she seemed obnoxious, but she grew on me in the end, and I do think that she's going to come back stronger. I hope so. I can see where a couple of other women have the potential to follow in Jessie's footsteps if they can figure out the propeller and the warped wall. I'm thinking Michelle Warnky, Jessie "Flex" Labeck (who legit qualified for the finals), and I still haven't written off Tiana Webberley or Rose Wetzel just yet.

I like Meagan Martin, she seems sweet and is a great competitor and I know she's landed the spider jump, but it seems like her nerves get the best of her. It's like Jessie respects the course and all, but at the end of the day, she has a certain confidence and knows that she kicks butt. I don't get that sense with Meagan. Maybe she is just a really humble person, but I don't see that same strong confidence within her.

But good sweet lord did I laugh my butt off and rewind and laugh again when Natalie jumped on the trampoline and took her swan dive. I mean, if she had to go out, might as well make it look as good as she did there!

Edited September 6, 2016 by fivestone

[SophiaD]

I really like Tiana Webberly, too.  I hope she comes back next year.  Also disappointed that Michelle Warnky didn't do better this year.  I think Jessie LeBreck has a legitimate shot - she's tall and very strong.  I'm not sure why Rose Wetzel isn't doing better.  She's an incredible Spartan racer.

I'm still not surprised that Kacy didn't do better.  Because she's so light and small, she has much less leeway than the others.  She has to hit things *perfectly* or they won't work out.  I hope she manages to have a run of her lifetime next year and can then retire and concentrate on her next steps, whatever they are.

Sad to see Geoff Britten go out on the first obstacle like that, especially since his daughter seemed inconsolable.  Sad for Nick Hanson, too, who I also really like.  I really like Grant McCartney, the reinvented Flip Rodriguez, and Joe Moravsky, but a lot of my favorites didn't make it to Stage 2.  Other than Jessie Graff, of course.  Go, Jessie!

I can't believe we only have one more week to go, and that's it for another year.  What will I do for my crazy TV fix?  

[SophiaPehawkins]

Just saw on Geoff Britten's Instagram that he won't be back next year and is pretty much done with being on ANW (being on camera). That's even more of a bummer, but seems to fit who he is. ANW is/was one part of his life. He has his job, wife, and kids. Some of the competitors are all about competing and making this a priority. I don't see that with Geoff and it'll be sad to see him no longer competing.

[Chaos Theory]

If Britton is done I will be sad to see him go but it is understandable.  Last year he was seconds away from winning the $$$$ so I can see him going one more year but then having NBC making the course exponentially harder.  Wasn't his the course that no one finished?  

My guess is that to continue to complete at the level he would need to he would need to train longer hours.  Something always has to give and he just chose his family.

Good for him.

Edited September 7, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[riverheightsnancy]

14 hours ago, fivestone said:

I like Meagan Martin, she seems sweet and is a great competitor and I know she's landed the spider jump, but it seems like her nerves get the best of her. It's like Jessie respects the course and all, but at the end of the day, she has a certain confidence and knows that she kicks butt. I don't get that sense with Meagan. Maybe she is just a really humble person, but I don't see that same strong confidence within her.

Yeah, I was gonna say that too. Some people just have that inner-drive to compete and win. Not saying that Meagan doesn't want to win, but she has made note of the psychological and how that impacts her. She is still one of the top ladies and that is nothing to sneeze at. I think Jessie and Jesse (are they spelled different) are the wave of the future. I really think being shorter is a disadvantage for most of the women. It is not surprising that J & J are both a little taller. I am so looking forward to Jessie and the next episode which is also the finale! What? Really hope that she does great. Is it too much to dream that she could go all the way?

9 hours ago, SophiaPehawkins said:

Just saw on Geoff Britten's Instagram that he won't be back next year and is pretty much done with being on ANW (being on camera). That's even more of a bummer, but seems to fit who he is. ANW is/was one part of his life. He has his job, wife, and kids. Some of the competitors are all about competing and making this a priority. I don't see that with Geoff and it'll be sad to see him no longer competing.

Not surprised about Geoff. He seemed like he was over it. Hey, he technically "did it" and won last year. He really has nothing more to prove. Maybe Joe or one of the other comers will win. It is nice when it isn't always dominated by one person year after year. I have my eye on Joe, Jessie, Nicholas and Jake Murray (I think that is his name).

[slf]

Britten will be on the second season of Team Ninja Warrior, though I have no idea when it airs, so we'll get to see him compete on that. He and his wife and kids seem like such a great family (I saw his twitter page and he's really sweet to his wife).