S11.E04: Seattle/Tacoma City Qualifiers

[Lantern7]

Anybody speculating that a mother would clear the Warped Wall, and that it could be Rose Weitzel? I have bad news for you . . .

Tonight: Meagan Martin, Lance Pekus, Sean Bryan, Jessie Graff . . . and the return of Geoff Britten.

[ams1001]

lol...Rose Wetzel's daughter looks unimpressed.

"Is she doin' the floss? She's got the whole crowd doing it now." [Shows one kid flossing.]

[Lantern7]

. . . . and our Landmark Momma is Sandy Zimmerman. Made it up the Wall on her second try, and posed with one arm before hitting the buzzer. If Matt and Akbar didn't have at least one pair of ruined pants between them, I will be shocked AF.

ETA: I don't remember her if she popped up in the past. I was thinking Zhanique would've been the first mother up the Wall, with her kid slowly killing himself dancing and willing her all the way through.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

. . . aaaaaaaaaand the Geoff Britten comeback is kaput. Tripped up on the balance obstacle. I'm guessing they had to stop taping due to all the crying. Not from Geoff or his family . . . . no, from Akbar, because now he can't yell "BRITTEN'S GOT TALENT!!!!!!"

ETA:  Leif the Swedish Ninja just became the first person to finish a qualifying course in under a minute.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Lantern7

[mtlchick]

I missed Geoff's run but I guess it's just as well.  

I love Jessie (and SAMMO!!) but they were acting she shattered half the bones in her body and was making a "triumphant comeback for the ages!" instead of missing Vegas last year due to a pretty sweet job opportunity. 

Glad to see Lance's wife is doing ok enough to travel a bit.  

[Chaos Theory]

This was a good course for the women.  And everyone who hated the whole first mother thing....there now ANW will find another thing to annoy you with.

Personally I would love to see the women try the power tower.  Maybe at the end have the fastest two women try it. Probably not though.  A girl can dream.   Honestly I care less about the men as I do about the women.   The only guy I was interested in was Geoff Britton and he fell pretty early.  

[enoughcats]

32 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

And everyone who hated the whole first mother thing....there now ANW will find another thing to annoy you with.

Sing it, sisters and brothers.  

And they kept overlooking the big thing about her: her age.  She is....maybe...38.  Her upper arms have muscles that mine may never have had (and if they did, they never got the TLC to develop that impressively.) 

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

Geoff Britten comeback is kaput. Tripped up on the balance obstacle.

The same sort of obstacle that took him out two or three years ago in the first obstacle, back when they'd jump from one side to the other, and Geoff slid off the second on the left.  How do I know this?  Easy. It's easy to remember some of these people because we care about them.  As opposed to being the cupcake ninja or the cockroach ninja, etc.

And in my more perfect world, the woman who went the farthest in the ?fifth obstacle would get a pass, and Megan Martin wouldn't.  She got there slightly faster, but didn't get as far.  

And this time there was no accounting whoall qualified for the next step, just a story about somebody I don't think I've ever heard of. 

[Lantern7]

Sean Bryan is "the Pope's favorite ninja." Uh huh. Now I got this image of Francis writing to NBC, saying that his "ride or die" is Jake Murray. "I know, his stunts are so cornball . . . and if I am a cornball for liking him, so be it." Jake's Hannibal Lechter bit was inspired, BTW.

Jessie's back! And she cleared the course! And Sammo watched the whole time! Yeah, I don't think Sammo was paying much attention. Occasionally, I visit her Instagram. She's gotten bigger. And here's hoping Jessie isn't called back for last-minute stuntwork. I'm still interested in whether she can rebound from her fall in 2017.

[mlp]

I was really looking forward to seeing Geoff Britten again so I was sooooo disappointed when he fell.  I was hoping he'd excel again.  

Jake Murray is such a goofball but he backs up his antics with real skill so I get a kick out of him.  

It always seems to me that the ninjas who do the best are focused when they get on the course, even the ones who are into antics otherwise.  The ones who dance around after every obstacle and wave at their families and so on don't do so well.  

I hated seeing Nick Hansen on WWWA and not succeeding.  I forgot to watch and see if his time was good enough to get to the city finals.

Love Jessie Graff.

[enoughcats]

OT: a story about a pet pig and the dog she lusted after.

A potbellied pig was dumped in our neighborhood.  We're out in the country and back then we didn't have an animal shelter.  Just proximity to a large-ish city, which is where we figure the pig outgrew its cuteness. 

The pig started wandering around an area maybe two square miles in area.  And in her wanderings, she happened to meet Jojo the dog who lived next door. Jojo was a male dog who had also been dumped here.  Try as she could, the pig could not attract Jojo's ador.  She had no interest in any other neighborhood dogs, just Jojo.  And the pig started being rather forward in putting the porcine moves on Jojo, the kind of moves that might cause a litter, were Jojo a boarhog.  But he wasn't. 

Jojo's owner and his wife transitioned from amused to grossed out over a two week period.  Jojo started outrunning the pig. 

I'm not sure what happened to the pig, but I'd expect a tasty ending.  

Everytime I see a pet pig so ugly only another pig or a befuddled owner could love, I wonder how many other pot bellied pigs will be dumped so that they can run free and eventually join the feral hog population (or get eaten by same.)

[Richness]

Go Sandy Zimmerman! You're an amazing mom woman person. Now show, STFU with the first Mom BS. Thanks! 

Seriously though, glad to see another impressive woman complete the course. Also glad to see the time off didn't shake the always amazing Jessie Graff. However, she gave me a few scares with her catches. And what's with women named Megan doing so swell?

Actually watched Sean Bryan's backstory once I saw his leg in that crutch-cast. Glad he was able to come back and complete the course. Can't believe he went on (and won)  the Power Tower on a wrapped ankle. Also sad that Geoff Britten wiped out so early.

OK, I can accept that goofy costumes/clothes/brand/nickname is a given and may even be encouraged. But if you want to actually complete the course, you might want to ditch the capes and tails at the starting line. Looking at you "Thor", fire breathing/smoking ninja, and dragon lady ninja. Gonna cast some shade to Lance Pekus as well. You might have made it up the Mega Wall on the first try if you weren't wearing those heavy, constrictive jeans. Amazed he made it at all. At least he's smart enough to set his cowboy hat aside early.

[Fukui San]

9 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Sean Bryan is "the Pope's favorite ninja." Uh huh. Now I got this image of Francis writing to NBC, saying that his "ride or die" is Jake Murray. "I know, his stunts are so cornball . . . and if I am a cornball for liking him, so be it." Jake's Hannibal Lechter bit was inspired, BTW.

Jessie's back! And she cleared the course! And Sammo watched the whole time! Yeah, I don't think Sammo was paying much attention. Occasionally, I visit her Instagram. She's gotten bigger. And here's hoping Jessie isn't called back for last-minute stuntwork. I'm still interested in whether she can rebound from her fall in 2017.

I believe that after that fall Jessie made it to Stage 3 in the Japanese version of the show in the fall of 2017. You can find it on YouTube, it’s pretty amazing. 

[LizBug]

Ok ... I know my  memory isn't the greatest but ... didn't Meagan Martin compete last week in the Oklahoma City edition?

Are competitors allowed to compete in several different cities ... or is it one city/one chance?

[ClareWalks]

1 minute ago, DallasGypsy said:

Ok ... I know my  memory isn't the greatest but ... didn't Meagan Martin compete last week in the Oklahoma City edition?

Nope, don't know who you're thinking of.

[Chaos Theory]

I don’t mind the goofy ones who can back it up.   Plus it looks like Jake Murray is fun guy to hang around with if you don’t mind jumping off high things and going fast in fast things.  

I was actually having fun watching Megan Martin’s face as the other Megan ran the course.   It’s actually kinda sad that she got so excited and took her time at the wrong moments otherwise she would have beat out MM.   thisclose.  

I really like that all the women who made it to the next round got so far.   It’s going to be a great finals round for the women this year.   

On all the courses.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[Rosenrot]

Geoff! Jessie! Meagan! ❤️

I was watching Geoff's run through my fingers because I was so afraid he would fall… and he fell exactly where I was most afraid he would. OH GEOFF! 😭

Other bummers of the night: Sean Bryan winning Power Tower and Lance Pekus finishing Mega Wall. (Once again I'm a bad person, I know.)

Very happy for Zimmerman, but god, they're milking the "mom" thing for everything they've got. Ugh.

SWEDISH NINJA! Go neighbour! 

Israel Del Rio must be the coolest name ever.

LOL @ Jake Murray & Grant McCartney… even though I'm not the biggest fan of Jake's antics. But he's got dem skillz, so I can forgive him. 

So many interesting-looking runs I would've liked to see that got the WWWA treatment. 😞 

Is Isaac Caldiero competing this year, does anybody know? 

Edited June 25, 2019 by Rosenrot

[VartanFan]

15 hours ago, mlp said:

I hated seeing Nick Hansen on WWWA and not succeeding.  I forgot to watch and see if his time was good enough to get to the city finals.

He did get to finals - looks like 20th place. 

I was sad about Geoff Britten and the kidney guy.  They both seem down to earth (see: Rosen, Travis).

[AZChristian]

16 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Sing it, sisters and brothers.  

And they kept overlooking the big thing about her: her age.  She is....maybe...38.  Her upper arms have muscles that mine may never have had (and if they did, they never got the TLC to develop that impressively.) 

She's 42!!!!

[eel21788]

16 hours ago, mlp said:

It always seems to me that the ninjas who do the best are focused when they get on the course, even the ones who are into antics otherwise.  The ones who dance around after every obstacle and wave at their families and so on don't do so well.  

A lot of them seem to forget that it is a timed race and sometimes screwing around between obstacles is the difference between moving on or going home. I'm glad they made a point of it when Megan Martin almost got knocked out.

[enoughcats]

7 hours ago, DallasGypsy said:

Ok ... I know my  memory isn't the greatest but ... didn't Meagan Martin compete last week in the Oklahoma City edition?

Are competitors allowed to compete in several different cities ... or is it one city/one chance?

Early on this season I thought the kid had already competed, but it was another kid.  To us old folks, they may all look alike.  Maybe they should use different announcers for their back stories.

4 hours ago, Rosenrot said:

Lance Pekus finishing Mega Wall.

And he only got $2,500.  I must have missed the small print that said 10K only went for success on the first run

[Aliconehead]

2 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

And he only got $2,500.  I must have missed the small print that said 10K only went for success on the first run

Yes they explained earlier that once you commit to the megawall, you have to stay and that each attempt lowers the prize money. 1 attempt $10,000, 2 attempt $5000 and 3 is $2500

[ams1001]

9 hours ago, DallasGypsy said:

Ok ... I know my  memory isn't the greatest but ... didn't Meagan Martin compete last week in the Oklahoma City edition?

Are competitors allowed to compete in several different cities ... or is it one city/one chance?

No, but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw her on the sidelines for someone else's run.

[Chaos Theory]

Alot of the first timers are so exited to be there they forget it is a timed race.   Its fun to watch someone who has never run the course do so well and be exited at each obstacle they pass.  Many of them won't be back no matter how well they do so I say let them enjoy themselves.  

Edited June 25, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[srpturtle80]

No, Geoff, noooooooooooo 😭😭 I had been looking forward to his return so, so much. 

Really bummed that Nick Hansen got the WWWA treatment. Especially since he was shown a few times at the beginning catching the fish. I love him. Thankfully he still made it through. 

I felt bad for the kidney guy (Austin?). 

Jessie killed it but I was crazy impressed by Sandy Zimmerman. Hey everyone, did you know she’s a MOM? Lol. 

I’ve never minded Lance but I am starting to get tired of watching him run in those big old heavy jeans. And why does he always feel the need to strip his shirt off? Ugh. 

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, srpturtle80 said:

And why does he always feel the need to strip his shirt off? Ugh. 

I hate it when they take their shirts off in the middle of the course. It just seems so show-offy.

[Vermicious Knid]

Matt and Akbar didn't comment on the really amazing part of a mom finishing the course - having that six pack after her stomach got blown out like a balloon.

[TimothyQ]

Ninjas having a gimmick go back to the original Sasuke (remember the octopus guy?) so as much as I eyeroll each time someone comes up with a new one, it’s kinda tradition and part of the spectacle. 

So so excited for Jessie being back. She rocked the course. But man, seeing Geoff go out on the balance obstacle was a killer. I had pegged him for going all the way again. 

Love Jake Murray as always. 

[Ilovepie]

If loving Jake Murray is wrong, I don't want to be right. I've loved him since the corndog. Shoot, he is a corndog. On a shallow note, I'm glad he's grown his hair back out - where's the headband?!?

It's kind of evil, but I so wish someone had told that girl to get going - I would have loved seeing Megan Martin knocked out. One less Wolfpack member would be fine with me. It used to be she was one of the elites, but she is being surpassed by faster, stronger women left and right. She has always been slooooww - it's why I will never expect her to hit a buzzer on Stage One (should she get there).

I suspected producer shenanigans, but it seemed like this coarse wasn't as difficult, other than the fifth obstacle. I thought that was why there were so many of the Ninja superstars competing at this location. It really seemed easier for the women. I think they definitely wanted Jessie to complete the coarse. Do the competitors choose which location to compete at, or are they assigned, especially the big names that are automatic? Maybe I'm overthinking this......

What a bummer for Geoff Britton. He seems to take it all in stride though. He definitely needs to spend more time practicing balance obstacles - definitely his Achilles heal...

Papal Ninja is an absolutely stupid name, but darn if Sean Bryan didn't win me over on the All Star competition. I can't believe how good he was with his foot still taped up! Maybe it's just as well he can skip the next round to give his ankle a break......

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, Ilovepie said:

Do the competitors choose which location to compete at, or are they assigned, especially the big names that are automatic? Maybe I'm overthinking this...…

I think they are allowed to give some input as to where they want to run, but eventually they are assigned to a certain city, usually the one closest to their hometowns.

[enoughcats]

3 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

I suspected producer shenanigans, but it seemed like this coarse wasn't as difficult, other than the fifth obstacle. I thought that was why there were so many of the Ninja superstars competing at this location. It really seemed easier for the women

Early in the show, they announced the top five women would advance (future tense).  WTF?  Only the top two from one of the earlier eps advanced. It couldn't be that they had found that MM was coming in fifth?  Naw.  

Should we care, or are we just thankful that any methods that work to increase their viewers greatly increase the odds of this doesn't fit in any common niches show will continue.

[ClareWalks]

7 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Early in the show, they announced the top five women would advance (future tense).  WTF?  Only the top two from one of the earlier eps advanced. It couldn't be that they had found that MM was coming in fifth?  Naw.  

It's always been the top 5 women for city qualifiers (top 2 to Vegas for city finals). I think in an earlier city they might have said "and 2 women made the top 30," but then three more women who were slower still advanced.

[mertensia]

They needed to state which University of Wisconsin the twins went to. While Madison is the flagship, there are still 12 other 4 year campuses and 13 two year campuses.  So, Madison? Milwaukee? Stout? You got me.

[Nonja]

With Nick Hanson and Geoff Britten being faves, this was a bummer night.

I did enjoy the brothers running in memory of their mom.

The ninjas that do the balance obstacles properly make it look so easy...

[Rosenrot]

11 hours ago, Nonja said:

The ninjas that do the balance obstacles properly make it look so easy...

I'll finish the sentence for you: ... and the ones doing it improperly make it look fucking impossible. :D

[eel21788]

18 hours ago, Nonja said:

I did enjoy the brothers running in memory of their mom..

You must be a whole lot more tolerant of the sob stories than I am.

[Chaos Theory]

On 6/26/2019 at 8:34 PM, enoughcats said:

Early in the show, they announced the top five women would advance (future tense).  WTF?  Only the top two from one of the earlier eps advanced. It couldn't be that they had found that MM was coming in fifth?  Naw.  

It’s been the top five since they switched to this format.  They do however mention when any of the women make it into the top 30 ranking which would send them to the next round regardless.

On 6/26/2019 at 6:25 PM, eel21788 said:

I think they are allowed to give some input as to where they want to run, but eventually they are assigned to a certain city, usually the one closest to their hometowns.

The “professionals” do have some leeway.   Jessie Graff has run the LA course for most of the time but she has be hella busy and so ANW fit her in where she was available.   

Edited July 2, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[Nonja]

On 6/28/2019 at 5:00 PM, eel21788 said:

You must be a whole lot more tolerant of the sob stories than I am.

Not usually, but once in awhile one will hit me.