S10.E09: Miami City Finals

[enoughcats]

Jessi answered questions today on Twitter.

[mtlchick]

Drew...didn't finish?  You mean he's human?! GASP!  I like that his response was "Meh, I'm going to Vegas, right? I'm good." 

I had a feeling when there was 8 minutes left to the show that Jessie wasn't going to make it to the end.  Ah well.  

[Lantern7]

Jessie puts on one helluva performance, and she would have hit the buzzer if she passed the penultimate obstacle. Had she completed the course, Matt and/or Akbar would have experienced the "Trifecta" in their pants: defecation, ejaculation, and urination. You know it's gonna happen sooner or later with those two.

Looks like the Travis/Brent Beard Battle will spill into Vegas . . .at least for those still interested. Also funny that we had two full-on backstories in a row, and both ninjas fell on the second obstacle.

Edited July 31, 2018 by Lantern7

[Taeolas]

Very impressive that both women legit made it into the final. 

I have the feeling that that course was a lot wetter than it might look. The way every slipped on the mats after the razors edge, and the few that made it to the stairs slipped a lot more than expected. That may have been a factor in how many lost it on Cannon ball drop too. Jessie gave everyone a heart attack with the save she made there. 

 

The clock was a good challenge; I look forward to seeing it again in the future with some more refinements. 

 

I get the feeling they moved the landing pads inward for slippery summit; the landings seemed easier for those who made it. 

[mlp]

I was sort of hoping that Brett Sims would lose the bet and have to shave.  I've always thought that he's a cute little guy and I hate that beard.  I don't like Ryan's either but I guess I'm used to it.  Seriously, I like them both so I'm glad they made it all the way.

I thought the course looked a little wet too - people slipping on mats and the way the bar slid off the rails on that last obstacle.

I was delighted that Bootie made it to Vegas.  He's impressive for someone so small and light.  Does anyone recall where he's from?  I know it's Possum something and it's bugging me that I can't remember the rest.

I was so hoping Jessie would make it to the buzzer.  

[enoughcats]

11 hours ago, Taeolas said:

I have the feeling that that course was a lot wetter than it might look.

I would have guessed that the two obstacles that were really obstacles had very smooth surfaces, to that add heavy humidity and slip sliding away happens more easily.

About Jessie: she's been working a real job out of this country and I haven't felt in the Qualifiers or this round that she had done much, if any, prep.  Qualifiers had her making it through, but there were at least two awkward moves.  Last night's broadcast, when she was figuring out how to take on the three rings, it was as if she hadn't watched any other competitors go through them.  And her face muscles looked tired, when she wasn't smiling for the crowd and cameras.  If she was underprepared, hadn't been on her home climbing wall in a month or two, then her making it as far and doing as well as she did is even more impressive. 

At least with the WWWAs, we got to see what took them down.

[Deianeira]

11 hours ago, Taeolas said:

Very impressive that both women legit made it into the final.

I'm so happy about this!  I was really hoping that Jessie would hit the buzzer, not just because she can, but also because I'd love to never again have to hear about Kacy Catanzaro being the only woman to finish a city finals course.

I'm delighted that Ryan Stratis and Brett Sims are doing so well.  But poor Brett -- he was one of only three finishers, but he still got WWWAed.

11 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Also funny that we had two full-on backstories in a row, and both ninjas fell on the second obstacle.

It's maddening.  These are exactly the people who should be WWWAed.

I think I've figured out the runs they show in the little window on the commercial break:  a veteran who falls.  It's just one more way for NBC to disrespect the veterans who made the show what it is.

[Good Queen Jane]

1 hour ago, Deianeira said:

I think I've figured out the runs they show in the little window on the commercial break:  a veteran who falls.  It's just one more way for NBC to disrespect the veterans who made the show what it is.

I think it is someone who goes on long enough to cover the time of at least four commercials but falls before the end.

[enoughcats]

Here's an up to date story about Bootie (Scott) Cothran  .

His page from April 26, 2018 has a lot of stories. The one from April 28 gives a good feel of what the competition is like, when things happen, how they find out when they are competing, etc.  Lots of pictures (and he knows their real names, not their ninja names.

Still trying to find the name of his Possum town

[Lunula]

13 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

13 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Still trying to find the name of his Possum town

 

15 hours ago, mlp said:

I was delighted that Bootie made it to Vegas.  He's impressive for someone so small and light.  Does anyone recall where he's from?  I know it's Possum something and it's bugging me that I can't remember the rest.

 

Possum Kingdom, SC, y'all! :)

[mlp]

Quote

Possum Kingdom, SC, y'all! :)

Thank you, thank you.  I can sleep tonight.  :)  Now I'm off to look at those links from enoughcats.

[mlp]

After reading all the stuff on the above links, I'm now on the Bootie Bandwagon.  From the way ANW presented him the first time I saw him, I thought that he was a quirky little hick living alone in the woods.  In reality, he's a college-educated guy named Scott who works in IT and both speaks and writes very well (and happens to live alone in the woods).  I really enjoyed his submission video.  I hope he does well in Vegas.

[Destiny74]

I think it's a shame that only, what, four people completed the course and we didn't see all of Stratus or Sims.  Although we heard about the battle of the beards.  It like a few weeks ago when they showed a vet (I commented on it then, can't remember now who or what city) all through the teasers, then just WWWA'd the poor guy.  If ANW is going to use these guys to bring in whatever viewership they think they'll get, they should show the whole run.  It's trashy tv not to.

That being said, did Stratus have a beard the first seasons?  I feel I've seen him without one.  Maybe not?

Drew seems more chill this season.  I felt bad for him last year because he was driving so hard to win and didn't.  He was so focused last year, totally different than years before.  He seems to have backed off a bit in the intensity department this year.

I was glad to see Kevin Carbone go down early.  If I never have to hear that he designed the (sideways swinging nut things that killed so many ninjas on stage two last year) again, it'll be too soon.

Glad to see two legit lady finalists.  

I teared up at the kidney donor Ninja.  I remember his package from last year.  Glad to see his daughter so healthy.  Hope those other two kids get as lucky.

The cannonball obstacle really killed ninjas this episode.  So many just missed their landings.  Surprising for an "older" obstacle.

[Taeolas]

Hmm, according to Wiki, Miami was filmed on April 29-30 of this year. Looking at the weather reports for the time, it didn't seem that wet. Clear skies, no precipitation, and humidity was around 50%-60% in the evening. It was filmed on the coast so the ocean may have made the course damper than expected. 

 

7 hours ago, Destiny74 said:

The cannonball obstacle really killed ninjas this episode.  So many just missed their landings.  Surprising for an "older" obstacle.

 

It seemed many people slipped off the landing, which could be explained by a damp/slippery course as well. They just couldn't get any purchase on the padding to save themselves, or their feet literally slipped out from under them sending them back into the water. 

[Me from ME]

I think Booty is from Possum Hollow, KY. I haven't read his back story but I guessed that he might have been very successful when younger, earned a lot of money and bought a lot of land in Kentucky to get away from the rat race to live his dream life.

 

OTOH it might be Possum Kingdom since there is one of them too.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Me from ME
Correct possible misinformation

[enoughcats]

Without reading about  Bootie, I would never have known about the New Year's Possum Drop.  Nor would I have found out there's one in North Carolina and another one in Georgia. 

Now somebody really needs to design an ANW obstacle called the possum drop : maybe that second obstacle but the ball coated with slicked up fur.  (Bet you thought I'd suggest Possum Fat, but that would be too easy.)

[eel2178]

1 hour ago, enoughcats said:

Now somebody really needs to design an ANW obstacle called the possum drop : maybe that second obstacle but the ball coated with slicked up fur. 

How about an actual possum drop: While they're trying to scale the 35 foot wall at the end of the city finals, possums are being dropped down the chute, so they have to navigate their way around them without getting bitten or scratched?

[Quilt Fairy]

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 11:00 PM, Destiny74 said:

The cannonball obstacle really killed ninjas this episode.  So many just missed their landings.  Surprising for an "older" obstacle.

I think part of the problem was they totally replaced the 2nd obstacle between the preliminary and final rounds, so there was little to no experience on it.  I know they frequently make one or two of the front course obstacles harder for the finals, but I've never known them to completely replace one.  And most of these obstacles are so quirky and might show up once a year in one city course out of 6 so the chances that any of the finalists would have dealt with it before are slim.  

[Taeolas]

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I think part of the problem was they totally replaced the 2nd obstacle between the preliminary and final rounds, so there was little to no experience on it.  I know they frequently make one or two of the front course obstacles harder for the finals, but I've never known them to completely replace one.  And most of these obstacles are so quirky and might show up once a year in one city course out of 6 so the chances that any of the finalists would have dealt with it before are slim.  

 

That is a "theme" this year, to replace 2 obstacles from the first run with new ones. Miami was the first time the 2nd obstacle was replaced; LA and Dallas replaced the 4th obstacle. So I'm not sure if that was a factor as much as the actual state of the course itself.

 

Generally speaking, they have always tweaked the first half of the course after the qualifiers depending on how the Ninjas perform. Usually the tweaks aren't too noticeable; moving the landing pads, or making the obstacle stiffer. Sometimes the changes are very noticeable, like how they slowed the doorknob drop in LA. Most of the time they actually make the obstacles a bit easier (like the doorknob drop), especially if a lot of ninjas wipe out on it. Occasionally they make it harder, especially if the course was obviously undertuned and they got a lot of Ninjas finishing it or doing well on it. (A couple of years ago that happened)

[Destiny74]

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I think part of the problem was they totally replaced the 2nd obstacle between the preliminary and final rounds, so there was little to no experience on it.  I know they frequently make one or two of the front course obstacles harder for the finals, but I've never known them to completely replace one.  And most of these obstacles are so quirky and might show up once a year in one city course out of 6 so the chances that any of the finalists would have dealt with it before are slim.  

I was thinking more about the fact that all of the ninja gyms we see in the packages have ball obstacles.  They may not be moving in the same way, but any ninja who trains at one of those gyms has opportunity to work with hanging balls.  Also, I imagine most ninjas have watched previous seasons so they have studied the various obstacles.  Like the Wing Nuts (THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE CALLED!!!!?).  They totally messed up ninjas last year but I doubt they'd have quite the same effect this year because ninjas have studied them and created them in gyms now.  

Now, that doesn't take into account the ninjas who don't train in gyms, but it seems like most of them do.

[enoughcats]

What @Taeolas and @Destiny74  said.  I've wondered if Daniel Gill is so comfortable with the obstacles because they are just like his home gym.  Also Drew Dreschel.

Now that there is an American Ninja Warriors book, all of the obstacles are listed, where they were used (which city and which qualifying or finals)  maybe that will level the playing field....except that's a lousy phrase because their playing field is never level.  But there might be enough data there, that substitutions between qualifying and finales could be predicted based on the established superstructure that probably isn't changed during the short real world competition.