S09.E02: San Antonio Qualifiers

[Lantern7]

Really hoping Kacy can at least make it to the Warped Wall, if only to shake the bad luck monkey off her back. The guy from the clip is gymnast Jonathan Horton. Also running: Brent Steffensen and that Kenny G-looking wunderkind, Daniel Gil.

[riverheightsnancy]

What the hell, they always stiff Nicholas Cooleridge (sp?), and we never get to see his runs. I like him. Daniel was great. A lot of the new women are really upping the ante for the women. Still a Jessie Graf fan though. 

[Chaos Theory]

Not as good as last week but I am glad Brent and Kacy did well.   Even thought Kacy didn't hit a buzzer I think now that all the stress is off of her she is doing better.   

Edited June 20, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[Lantern7]

A lot of veterans get the WWWA treatment, including captains from Team Ninja Warrior such as Karsten Williams.

Good news: I think Kacy had her best performance since her breakout three years ago. Bad news: She might smack you if you tell her she was "off the hook." She spent too much time on Sky Hooks, and she splashed down. Sadly, she needed the new rule to advance.

And we have a potential breakout in Jody Avila, aka "Big Dog Ninja." Or is it "Big Dawg Ninja"? And Barclay Stockett made the top 30 on her own. Cut to Kacy fuming, because she's no longer the only five-foot-nothin' lady in the game. Okay, probably not.

Next week: Call the dry cleaner, cuz Jessie Graf makes her run! How will Matt and Akbar soil themselves this year?

[slf]

Aw, the Sky Hooks were designed by a seven year old kid. Good for him!

Did the first guy actually need glasses or were those just fake glasses some people wear for the #aesthetic? If it's the former I feel for him. I'm a four eyes and running the course with glasses is the exact sort of thing I'd probably do. A bad idea tho.

I was rooting for Tremayne. He seems like a really good guy, he's talented, and I want to see more black ninjas succeed on this show. I get why he wanted to compete this year but with his injuries maybe he should've waited until next season.

Jody Avila was fantastic. Super tall guys usually have a hard time on the course but he didn't really struggle with anything. Dude is such a giant I laughed when he stepped up to run the warped wall, like, no way he's gonna miss this.

Nico was impressive. I skipped part of his lead-in because of that obnoxious yell at the start so I was a little confused when Matt was talking about his eyes.

Brent Steffenson does nothing for me. I don't find him charismatic, interesting, or attractive. (Sometimes his features remind me of the Penguin, tbh.) 

Dang Barclay- she nearly jumped over the tick tock. I thought she was going to go out on the sky hooks, tbh, so I'm surprised she made it to the end of the pipe fitter. I hope she competes again next year.

Didn't show Stillings' run? ...Oh, okay. Or Nicholas Coolridge's? I really don't like that. Didn't Coolridge get shortchanged last season, too?

Daniel Gil seems very well adjusted for a 23 year old. I'm a little surprised he tied the know but he and his wife seem cute and happy so good for them. 

Damn, Kacy went down on the sky hooks. She needs to get stronger. She has good grip strenth and agility but she needs to be stronger.

LOL, Karsten's mom. Does anyone have a more enthusiastic cheerleader? I'm glad he made it through.

Edited June 20, 2017 by slf

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, slf said:

Aw, the Sky Hooks were designed by a seven year old kid. Good for him!

Does he get paid for every ninja that biffed it? Basic, yet innovative.

[SophiaD]

Jonathan Horton made it!!!  He was one of my favorite gymnasts back in the day.  I'm really happy for him.

Really glad to see Kacy doing well this year, too.  

I'm annoyed that Nicholas Coolridge and Abel Gonzalez got shafted.  They're both great athletes, we should get to see their whole runs.

Daniel Gill and his new wife are just too adorable.  I love their matching hair.

[sweetandsour]

Okay, I think we officially have evidence that the top five women rule can end up in some real tomfoolery.  The fifth woman who qualified tonight failed on the second obstacle (tic toc), but made it there / through the steps obstacle in 16 seconds.  I don't doubt that she did do better than most of the women (that's inherent in the rankings), but to allow her to advance to the city finals vs. many of the men who made it farther is pretty dumb.  To qualify to top 30 as a man, you had to make it to past the fourth obstacle of the rings and to the pipe fitter in less than 3:29.  Vs. making it to the second obstacle, exerting energy for only a quarter of a minute!

[Chaos Theory]

5 hours ago, sweetandsour said:

Okay, I think we officially have evidence that the top five women rule can end up in some real tomfoolery.  The fifth woman who qualified tonight failed on the second obstacle (tic toc), but made it there / through the steps obstacle in 16 seconds.  I don't doubt that she did do better than most of the women (that's inherent in the rankings), but to allow her to advance to the city finals vs. many of the men who made it farther is pretty dumb.  To qualify to top 30 as a man, you had to make it to past the fourth obstacle of the rings and to the pipe fitter in less than 3:29.  Vs. making it to the second obstacle, exerting energy for only a quarter of a minute!

Well that kind of goes without saying.  Without the rule I think the only woman who would make it to the San Antiono finals would be Kacy.  The show doesn't  want that.  Even in LA there would be only two women in the finals.  The rule is set up to make sure there are at least five in every final event.   I am not sure how I feel about the rule but because next to no women made San Antonio finals without the rule it would be outright boring for me.  I might have skipped it all together.  

Edited June 20, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[Aliconehead]

20 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

Well that kind of goes without saying.  Without the rule I think the only woman who would make it to the San Antiono finals would be Kacy.  The show doesn't  want that.  Even in LA there would be only two women in the finals.  The rule is set up to make sure there are at least five in every final event.   I am not sure how I feel about the rule but because next to no women made San Antonio finals without the rule it would be outright boring for me.  I might have skipped it all together.  

Barclay, the gymnastic coach, made it without the rule. She went further than Kacy. She was the 30th qualifier. 

[Chaos Theory]

I forgot about Barclay.  She was awesome,  

[Hanahope]

10 hours ago, slf said:

Jody Avila was fantastic. Super tall guys usually have a hard time on the course but he didn't really struggle with anything. Dude is such a giant I laughed when he stepped up to run the warped wall, like, no way he's gonna miss this.

His legs are so long, he practically walked through the floating steps.  

That pipe fitter obtacle looked very tough, though apparently a version has been done before, since in some of the pre-run montages, they showed some of the contestants with gym courses that included a very similar obtacle.  I also saw versions of tick tock.  I could definitely see a diffrence of those runners who had practiced on obtacles similar to those used on this course.

This did answer my question (as a newbie) that each city has their own different course (though the steps were the same).  I thought this course a bit tougher than LA's, which I think contributed significantly to fewer women going as far (and many men too).  I have to agree that I didn't think it quite fair that the fifth woman didn't even make it past the second obtacle, but gets advanced to the city final.

Can't wait to see Jesse next week!

[mtlchick]

Quote

Aw, the Sky Hooks were designed by a seven year old kid. Good for him!

Seriously.  I was like "7 year old and came up with something that is evil genius level for this show."  Simple to set up, extremely hard to execute.

 

Quote

Okay, I think we officially have evidence that the top five women rule can end up in some real tomfoolery.

I wouldn't mind seeing it pared down to 3.  I mean, not all the women will have the Jessie Graff height, but I think 5 women go through based on "well you made it past the second point so yay!" is a bit excessive.  At least Kacy improved somewhat, but so long the spider wall exists and they won't adjust obstacles due to size, she won't make it to Vegas.

[ClareWalks]

My opinion may be unpopular but I'll say it: I am so bloody sick and tired of hearing about Kacy Catanzaro. The show has pushed her onto America to the point where I am just beyond over it. I FF through her interview segments. 

[Aliconehead]

1 hour ago, mtlchick said:

Seriously.  I was like "7 year old and came up with something that is evil genius level for this show."  Simple to set up, extremely hard to execute.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing it pared down to 3.  I mean, not all the women will have the Jessie Graff height, but I think 5 women go through based on "well you made it past the second point so yay!" is a bit excessive.  At least Kacy improved somewhat, but so long the spider wall exists and they won't adjust obstacles due to size, she won't make it to Vegas.

Or make it a challenge base the top five women that complete at least 3 obstacles.  At least they aren't taking the 5 women slots out of the overall 30 fastest furthest.  But now we will have a lot more WWWA 

[Lantern7]

2 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

My opinion may be unpopular but I'll say it: I am so bloody sick and tired of hearing about Kacy Catanzaro. The show has pushed her onto America to the point where I am just beyond over it. I FF through her interview segments. 

I don't hate her. She set the bar so damn high, and she hasn't cleared it. And ANW hitched their wagon on her because she was The First [And Only] Woman To Complete A Finals Course. But she's cool by me, in the sense that she could kick my ass in most anything. Also, if I'm gonna hate something about her, it would be her relationship with Brent. She completed the course, and he risked life and limb climbing the structure to congratulate her, which came out as a "LOOKITME, DAMMIT!!!" gesture.

ETA for @Hanahope . . . I might be wrong, but I think Jessie did not complete either course last year before clearing Stage One in Vegas.

[Hanahope]

19 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

And ANW hitched their wagon on her because she was The First [And Only] Woman To Complete A Finals Course.

Didn't Jessie Graff complete the LA finals course last year?  I saw it on youtube.  So Kacy isn't the "only woman" to complete a finals course anymore.

Jessie Graff at LA Finals

Edited June 20, 2017 by Hanahope
found youtube video

[ClareWalks]

8 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Also, if I'm gonna hate something about her, it would be her relationship with Brent. She completed the course, and he risked life and limb climbing the structure to congratulate her, which came out as a "LOOKITME, DAMMIT!!!" gesture.

That was awful! And then he didn't even propose! I thought he'd at least be climbing up there with a ring box or something. It was way over the top for just a hug. Hopefully Daniel Gil and his hot wife will be the new power couple.

[JenMD]

6 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

Didn't Jessie Graff complete the LA finals course last year?  I saw it on youtube.  So Kacy isn't the "only woman" to complete a finals course anymore.

Josh Levin was the only competitor to finish the LA finals course last year.  Jessie went out on the 9th obstacle, to come in 2nd; she was the only other person to finish the Wedge.

San Antonio was fun.  I think, despite it seeming like everyone was going out on the Tick Tock, that we ended up with around the same amount of finishers as LA last week.  I remain bummed they keep relegating some of the finishers, and familiar ninjas, to "while we were away".

[saber5055]

If this show would quit calling Kacy "The Mighty Kacy," maybe she wouldn't be feeling so much pressure. It was nice Brent made it through this year, but I'd MUCH rather see Nick Cooleridge. I could live with an entire hour of Nick. So, WTH, show, why do you ignore him every year after featuring him back when? Does he refuse to play the promo game or what? There has to be some reason he gets put in the commercial-break-finishers group. Meanwhile, Barclay is a new favorite, and I love Daniel Gil and his hair. His then-girlfriend-now-wife competed in the past. I was waiting for her to run this year but I guess not. Anyway, pretty good show, although I could do with less Mighty Kacy and Brent, and more Nick Cooleridge.

[Hanahope]

Oh, never mind, I did finally see the whole thing.  I had originally only seen up to the warped wall.

[Chaos Theory]

I think I understand what the show is going with the 5 rule now.  If they drop the wild cards all together I don't actually mind.  The best Five women compete in each of the finals where (at least) the top two move on to Vegas.  That would mean we would in theory get the top two women from each of the city finals.  Which again if they drop the wild card completely I think might be a better idea.   

Just me theorizing about what will happen in the finals.

Edited June 20, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[SophiaD]

I like Kacy.  I recently re-watched her finals run, and it is still amazing.  I'm super-meh on Brent, because of his attention hogging, but I'm glad for his sake that he made it through.

If they are getting rid of wild cards, I'm all for it.  It will be good to see more women in the City Finals, and will help them build their skills.  I imagine that Jessie Graff is going to be even more amazing when (or if) she makes it to Las Vegas this year, because she's had the experience of running Stage 2.  

Bummed for Trayvon Martin.  I hope he heals quickly.  :(

ETA:  I mean TREMAYNE DORSTCH!  What a horrible name mix-up!  I am so sorry!

Edited June 20, 2017 by SophiaD

[ClareWalks]

45 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

I think I understand what the show is going with the 5 rule now.  If they drops wild cards all together I don't actually mind.  The best Five women compete in each of the finals where (at least) the top two move on to Vegas.  That would mean we would in theory get the top two women from each of the city finals.  Which again if they drop the wild card completely I think might be a better idea.   

Just me theorizing about what will happen in the finals.

That is exactly what I was thinking, about having the top two women move on to Nationals and eliminating Wildcards altogether. Giving so many women Wildcards was annoying as hell, since they'd always fail on the 1st or 2nd obstacle in Stage 1. At least this way we'd get 12 deserving women in Vegas.

4 minutes ago, SophiaD said:

Bummed for Trayvon Martin.  I hope he heals quickly.  :(

Trayvon Martin?

[SophiaD]

OMG, I am so sorry!  Tremayne Dortsch!  How could I mix up the names like that?

[Chaos Theory]

I know a lot of people are tired of Kacy but I always want her to do well and am disappointed when she doesn't.    I think it was Akbar who mentioned she is like 95 lbs and the tik tok ways 100 lbs.    I wanted to see how she would do on the pipe obstical.  I think of the qualifiers that was the one she would have had issues with that went beyond a slip and fall.  Falling off the rings was a miscalculation on her part.  I am glad she made it into the finals.  I want to see her do well.   Honestly getting up the wall would do wonders for her self esteem.

Edited June 20, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[ClareWalks]

13 minutes ago, SophiaD said:

OMG, I am so sorry!  Tremayne Dortsch!  How could I mix up the names like that?

I think someone did the same thing last season! I could swear I've seen the Trayvon Martin/Tremayne Dortch confusion before. You aren't the first, don't worry :)

[ClareWalks]

Oh, and I didn't like the KTF woman with her family who regularly write messages to Dead Grandma on helium balloons and release them into the sky. Didn't this idiot ever hear how bad that is for animals? Plus it's littering? Plus it's tremendously cliche? I just get all crotchety when I see people do that.

[mlp]

Did something happen to Tremayne?  I always pull for him, partly because he seems like a really nice guy and partly because he takes it so hard when he doesn't succeed.  I saw him fall and stand with his head in his hands on the side of the "pool" but, if he was hurt, I didn't catch that.   I hope he's OK.

Daniel Gil is one of my favorites so I was very happy for him and his bride.  She and her matching hair have been on the sidelines every season so they've been together quite awhile.  I enjoyed seeing some pictures of his wedding.

I am sick to death of all the adulation of Kacy.  And Brent.  They were both doing terrific things three years ago and haven't done anything impressive since.  At this point, in my mind, they're has-beens.  At least Brent completed the qualifier but so did a bunch of others so.....................

[butterbean1]

Does anyone know the name of the song they played in the beginning of the show?

[LadyNebula]

16 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

That was awful! And then he didn't even propose! I thought he'd at least be climbing up there with a ring box or something. It was way over the top for just a hug. Hopefully Daniel Gil and his hot wife will be the new power couple.

Kacy and Brent broke up last year, but they're still business partners, so we still get them shoehorned together (and Brent's attention whore ways).  Oops, did I say that out loud?  Sorry. I'm sick of both of them. 

[MelinaBallerina]

10 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Oh, and I didn't like the KTF woman with her family who regularly write messages to Dead Grandma on helium balloons and release them into the sky. Didn't this idiot ever hear how bad that is for animals? Plus it's littering? Plus it's tremendously cliche? I just get all crotchety when I see people do that.

I saw red when they released the balloons (twice!) too.   Balloon releasing needs to become illegal for both of those reasons - littering and animal cruelty.

 

Item in the news on my FB feed this morning was that Horton has officially retired from the US gymnastics team.  I was thinking, really?  Wasn't that already announced on the show?  Or was he waiting for the episode to air before he made an official statement?

[Aliconehead]

On 6/20/2017 at 4:31 AM, Chaos Theory said:

I forgot about Barclay.  She was awesome,  

Don't forget her, after watching Team Ninja warrior, i feel she is the next one to watch.  She was some serious strength and absolutely no fear.  She is young and hopefully will be great going forward.  She has Kacy's height but Jessie's strength (nearly)

[Guest]

On 6/20/2017 at 5:35 PM, ClareWalks said:

Oh, and I didn't like the KTF woman with her family who regularly write messages to Dead Grandma on helium balloons and release them into the sky. Didn't this idiot ever hear how bad that is for animals? Plus it's littering? Plus it's tremendously cliche? I just get all crotchety when I see people do that.

I'm so tired of the dead parent stories.  Honestly, about all of us have dead parents at some point in our lives.  It's just not that TV worthy.  I'd much rather see Coolridge and Stillings and all the others who ran the entire course.  

Anymore I cringe when I hear the piano music start up.  I think if a comedy needs a laugh track to alert viewers to the funny parts and a reality or drama show needs sad piano tracks to alert us to the sad parts, the shit just isn't funny or poignant.  

[ClareWalks]

5 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I'm so tired of the dead parent stories.  Honestly, about all of us have dead parents at some point in our lives.  It's just not that TV worthy.

Totally agree. At my current age (mid-30s) I have a few friends who will say to me something like "my grandpa is not doing very well," and while I say "oh, I'm sorry to hear that," I always think "YOU STILL HAVE GRANDPARENTS?! I haven't had a grandparent in damn near 15 years!" A woman like KTF, in her 30s, losing her mother is sad for her family, but not unusual in any respect.

[Guest]

I really rolled my eyes at the 59-year-old and the sad piano montage for his dead father.  He's 59!  He looked about 39 in the photos.  They had to dig deep to find a sob story for him, I guess.  I think it's 'human interest' enough just that he's running the course at 59. 

I think the Olympic gymnast with the shoulder injury had a sad enough story, too, without the line about how he had a little girl he had to support.  Since when does training for the Olympics pay, anyway?  Or do they all earn plenty from endorsement deals?  

[Ciarrai]

On 6/20/2017 at 0:27 PM, ClareWalks said:

I think someone did the same thing last season! I could swear I've seen the Trayvon Martin/Tremayne Dortch confusion before. You aren't the first, don't worry :)

Someone did! I remember correcting them last year.

[derriere]

If ANW isn't going to do a women's spin-off like "Kunoichi" I don't mind them creating a mechism that gives women more opportunities to attempt the course. The variety they provide is essential to my enjoyment of the show.

[Destiny74]

Really glad Tremaine Dortch made it through.  I would've been ticked if he didn't make it but some chick who failed on obstacle 2 did, simply to let more women make it to city finals.  I like him.  I want him to do well.  I hope he can shake this off and press the buzzer in the City Finals.

Jodi Avila was awesome.  I just loved seeing such a giant run the course.  I was a little scared that his feet may touch water simply because his legs were so long.  But good on him...go Big Dog.

Barclay was awesome.  Enough said.

I have come to hate hearing about Kacy.  Really, too much.  But I was starting to feel bad for her.  I think she did something amazing a few years ago, NBC swept her up and signed her and she couldn't deal with the pressure.  That was until she started "reving up the audience" throughout her run tonight.  That bugs me.  You should be in the zone, not worrying about what the audience is or is not doing.  I did think her fall could've happened to anyone, her ring got caught, that is understandable.  It's not like last year when she couldn't hit the trampoline.  Anyway, her grandstanding turned me off.

I would've loved to see Coolridge, or Karsten, or Genie Ninja run all the way through but I got shafted.  I know they are trying to introduce the New Wave of ANW but I like to see the oldie but awsomies.  

Daniel Gil remains one of my favorite ninjas.  He had such a pleasant disposition.  Always with that great smile.  Always upbeat.  Congrats on his wedding, She is a lucky gal.

If I ever ran an ANW course I would request Akbar not say anything about me going further.  I have noticed when he comments about a ninja doing well and is previewing the next obstacle, that ninja slips and falls or wipes out.  Akbar, please, it seems to be the kiss if death.  He's a fine commentator, but I would want him to just focus on what I am doing, not how well he thinks I will do.  ?