S11.E06: Cincinnati City Qualifiers

[Hellga]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

(I was amused a while ago when I caught Jessie's run on an episode from an earlier season and the boyfriend on the sidelines was a different guy. I wonder if that guy still watches the show.)

Probably depends on whether he had developed any genuine interest in the show or just did it for her...  

[Ilovepie]

7 hours ago, ams1001 said:

They made such a big deal of Kacy Catanzaro and Brent Steffenson

Totally, and it was kind of awkward when they broke up. I never could like him after he tried to insert himself in her victory by climbing the tower when she got up the wall. 

I wonder if James McGrath and Alyssa Beird are still dating? If so, I think they should be called a “ninja power couple” too......

[AZChristian]

14 hours ago, ams1001 said:

...Kacy Catanzaro and Brent Steffenson...

How strange.  Neither showed up in Cincinnati (or anywhere else that I can remember in any of the cities) - and I didn't miss them.  May this continue!!!!

[Lantern7]

5 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

How strange.  Neither showed up in Cincinnati (or anywhere else that I can remember in any of the cities) - and I didn't miss them.  May this continue!!!!

Given that it's been five five years since Kacy's runs, I am a little surprised she hasn't been mentioned yet this season. I honestly think she was the one to push ANW into the spotlight. I know the series existed before 2014, but a woman scaling the Warped Wall and completing a Regional Finals course was a huge attention-getter.

[Fukui San]

Sure Kacy was a major breakthrough, but she's not competing anymore so why would they continue to spotlight her? If she was still running, even if unsuccessful, she'd be given some remembrance.

I think Drew Lachey's run illustrates the difference between a regular fit person and the maniacs who train for this all year round. Like, that wasn't the part that's supposed to be hard, dude! No shame in failing, just goes to show how hard these actually are.

[enoughcats]

On 7/9/2019 at 12:53 AM, heckkitty said:

On 7/8/2019 at 9:57 PM, Aliconehead said:

Best part of the episode: Grant McCartney’s shaking his head in disgust and walking away during the post run interview

I wonder if they edited something. I’m on the west coast & they just showed it. He was pleasant, & then danced like an idiot for a few minutes. No head shake or walk away. 

The Father walked away in disgust when GMC was chatting with the inane questions from the female talking head.

18 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

am bummed so many veterans are getting the WWWA treatment!

In total agreement. 

And then there was the coverage of the people getting their ticket selected from the bowl of wannabe walkons.  And the disaster runs of (IIRC) two of them, including one who didn't make it through obstacle one. 

[DEL901]

10 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

The Father walked away in disgust when GMC was chatting with the inane questions from the female talking head.

In total agreement. 

And then there was the coverage of the people getting their ticket selected from the bowl of wannabe walkons.  And the disaster runs of (IIRC) two of them, including one who didn't make it through obstacle one. 

Yeah, that was even worse than those people who get the whole back ground story and then don't get past the 2nd or 3rd obstacle.

[ams1001]

10 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

I wonder if James McGrath and Alyssa Beird are still dating? If so, I think they should be called a “ninja power couple” too......

I have wondered that a couple times but then he was on the sidelines during her run and they did refer to him as her boyfriend. He seems like a shy type; maybe he just doesn't want the relationship spotlight...I know I wouldn't. (And not that she should have to, but as a teacher I can see why she'd want to keep her private life a bit more private.)

[ClareWalks]

Something tells me Chris Digangi is well aware that Jesse is a more successful ninja than him and he doesn't care one bit. Not gonna lie, I'm surprised by the contempt for him that I'm reading. He seems inoffensive enough.

[healthnut]

On 7/9/2019 at 6:19 PM, eel21788 said:

On 7/9/2019 at 12:10 AM, SophiaD said:

   I also don't remember how Tianna Webberley did this time.  

She ran in LA and flamed out early.

She went on second obstacle but she still made the women’s top five so she’ll be in the finals. 

[enoughcats]

1 hour ago, healthnut said:

She went on second obstacle

and that made it in the top five.

Shudder.

That's so wrong. (IMO)

[Hellga]

4 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Something tells me Chris Digangi is well aware that Jesse is a more successful ninja than him and he doesn't care one bit. Not gonna lie, I'm surprised by the contempt for him that I'm reading. He seems inoffensive enough.

I like him, but it won't stop me from poking fun at him.  

There are very few regulars who irritate me, actually.  I tend to root for just about everyone to do well.  Besides, the better everyone does, it raises the whole level of competition.  

45 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

and that made it in the top five.

Shudder.

That's so wrong. (IMO)

Yes, while in Cincinnati we have four women in top 30.  Very uneven... 

[Destiny74]

Personally, I think the reason Chris and Flex work well as a couple is BECAUSE he knows she's better than he is.  They compete but he knows she'll beat him in the long run.

She's working as a gym manager now but I think he still has a nine to five "normal" job.  Meaning, she gets more practice time than he does, for sure.

Then again, some people are just naturally gifted in this arena and she's one of them.  She shined her first year and she was a caregiver.  

Either way, he knows she's better than he is and seems ok with that. They're cute and I'm glad they're moving forward in their realtionship.

[Hellga]

2 hours ago, Destiny74 said:

Personally, I think the reason Chris and Flex work well as a couple is BECAUSE he knows she's better than he is.  They compete but he knows she'll beat him in the long run.

They went through a period where both of them would fail on the exact same obstacle... I always hoped that the second one to run would do better.  Glad Jesse broke that unhappy trend.

[SophiaD]

Jesse LaBreck is a beast.  She was on Team Ninja Warrior a few years ago with Chris (and someone else - maybe Jon Alexis, Jr?) and she totally put her whole team on her back and they won.  I love watching all of the women ninjas, but she and Jessie Graf seems to have taken it to another level.

I LOVE that Chris knows that she is better than he is and obviously adores her.  We see plenty of men with adoring spouses on the sidelines.  It's lovely for young girls to know that they can be high-achieving (and be even better than their love interests!) and still be in a successful relationship.  

I hope they make amends for all of the successful ninjas we missed in the City Finals.  Abel Gonzalez and Tremayne Dortsch are huge fan favorites.  Jonathan Horton is one of America's most successful male gymnasts ever.  We should get to see their routines instead of endless montages about huge families, or sob stories.

[saber5055]

I caught the end of this episode on the rerun last night. I didn't hurry to see the beginning since I know all of them fail early after getting long backstories that I don't need to be invested in. I liked the Iowa college fellow Twait, although I agree with another poster about the unfortunate name. His cat was awesome, and it's funny he named it Hades. He also made the course look like a child's playground, making it more shocking so many tanked out on it.

Island Ninja Grant obviously got his hair styled by Daniel Gill this week, and I liked the look. Because I read here before watching, I was ready to see his dad walk away when his son and the woman interviewer started dancing together. Yeah, I'd do the same so you are good with me, Dad.

It was interesting to see Drew Lachey run. I'm guessing he did not have to stand in line for days to get on the course. It's curious he did not ninja train since he knew he was going to be on the show, and his "It's harder than it looks" comment got a "Yeah, DUH!" from me. Still, it's fun to see "famous" people try it. Ryan Sutter did one season, and I was impressed with Derek Hough and Steven Amell on the Famous People Ninja Special. Meanwhile, I'm content watching famous ninjas that I know from seasons past.

Speaking of, I think Brent S. ran last year, no? And it's hilarious Kacy hasn't been mentioned this year. Yet. If she got a residual every time she was mentioned on the show since she "retired," she is living high right now.

The people drawing tickets from a bowl to get a run ... lightning will strike me, but when that first woman got a ticket I was all WTH, no way. And of course she failed on the first obstacle. I guess it was her 15 seconds of fame.

Every once in a while a man comes a long who isn't threatened by a woman and is happy for what she can achieve. Long may Chris and Flex reign.

[DEL901]

17 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Still, it's fun to see "famous" people try it. Ryan Sutter did one season, and I was impressed with Derek Hough and Steven Amell on the Famous People Ninja Special. Meanwhile, I'm content watching famous ninjas that I know from seasons past.

Speaking of, I think Brent S. ran last year, no? And it's hilarious Kacy hasn't been mentioned this year. Yet. If she got a residual every time she was mentioned on the show since she "retired," she is living high right now.

Ryan ran this year too...3 rd time I believe.   And Derek’s Dance costar Neo did even better than him.    And Stephen Amell was darned impressive. 

As for Kacey, maybe they can’t mention her now that she’s with the WWE.  

As for Grant...he has really started bugging me the last couple of years where he was more comedy relief than serious competitor     Nice to see him take it more seriously and do well  

[saber5055]

5 hours ago, DEL901 said:

As for Grant...he has really started bugging me the last couple of years where he was more comedy relief than serious competitor     Nice to see him take it more seriously and do well  

Grant bugged me too until his friendship with Eskimo Ninja. Plus I liked him running in cutoffs this time, like a normal dude who still can do well. Plus the Daniel Gill hair. I guess he's growing on me.

I liked Speedo Ninja too since I have a huge problem with how women are suppose to dress in sports as opposed to men in the same sport. Reference: Beach volleyball and gymnastics. So I'm all for men wearing Speedos for all sports. It's an equality thing. Either that, or let women volleyball players wear shorts that come down to their knees and women gymnasts wear full-length stretch pants.

[Nonja]

On 7/10/2019 at 8:30 AM, Necromancer said:

Ian Dory's run wasn't shown at all.  According to the American Ninja Warrior site, Ian fell during Spinning Balls.  American  Ninja Warriors veterans Abel Gonzalez, Brett Sims, and Ian Dory didn't get any airtime.  But unqualified, untrained, and out of shape contestants were shown failing miserably.

Seriously.

As for time-wasting runs, its these B and C list celebrities that bug me most. They get the hype and the airtime over the veterans and never get far. If you've spent your life being a race car driver or a singer from the late 90's, its unlikely you will have the training/technique to do well in this. At least the walk on's are more likely to have put in the time and dedication, and weren't chosen to run based solely on their quasi-fame.  

I would have been upset to see Ian Dory go down so early, but he deserved to at least be shown competing! Same for several others. 

[Richness]

12 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I liked Speedo Ninja too since I have a huge problem with how women are suppose to dress in sports as opposed to men in the same sport. Reference: Beach volleyball and gymnastics. So I'm all for men wearing Speedos for all sports. It's an equality thing. Either that, or let women volleyball players wear shorts that come down to their knees and women gymnasts wear full-length stretch pants.

I'm so glad to hear someone else voice this opinion, both about the Speedo Ninja and the men's vs. women volleyball attire. I agree completely.

But on the other hand, everytime the Speedo Ninja ran in the past, there's been numerous comments on here about how he should cover up more. I think the only reason it didn't happen this time is because he was seen briefly (pardon the pun) in a WWWA segment. After all, wearing a speedo is part of his profession as a diving instructor. Of course, some prudish people probably think men should wear board shorts and t-shirts when swimming/diving.

[Ilovepie]

On 7/12/2019 at 11:24 AM, ClareWalks said:

Something tells me Chris Digangi is well aware that Jesse is a more successful ninja than him and he doesn't care one bit. Not gonna lie, I'm surprised by the contempt for him that I'm reading. He seems inoffensive enough.

I have zero contempt for Chris - he seems nice enough, but I do take issue with the show calling them a “power couple”. Much like Kacy getting flamed because the show mentioned her 10,000 times even when she was not doing well. It’s the show’s fault. Chris got zero screen time until he hooked up with Jessie, and now the show is calling him 50% of a Ninja power couple? Nope.

[realdancemom]

12 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

I have zero contempt for Chris - he seems nice enough, but I do take issue with the show calling them a “power couple”. Much like Kacy getting flamed because the show mentioned her 10,000 times even when she was not doing well. It’s the show’s fault. Chris got zero screen time until he hooked up with Jessie, and now the show is calling him 50% of a Ninja power couple? Nope.

Chris does seem nice and it is the show's fault.  Chris isn't one of the top guys while Jesse is definitely second best female behind Jessie.  OTOH, he's not terrible either.  He has been making it to Vegas each year.  I suspect the reason why he previously never got coverage is because he didn't have a sob story or anything else unusual about him.

[Ilovepie]

2 hours ago, realdancemom said:

Chris does seem nice and it is the show's fault.  Chris isn't one of the top guys while Jesse is definitely second best female behind Jessie.  OTOH, he's not terrible either.  He has been making it to Vegas each year.  I suspect the reason why he previously never got coverage is because he didn't have a sob story or anything else unusual about him.

I totally agree, and you probably just hit on the reason we didn't see Abel Gonzalez, Brett Sims or Ian Dory this year. Good but not great (or maybe a early exit we haven't seen yet), no sob story or tragic illness, no crazy outfit or Ninja name, no schtick - just good to great Ninja competitors that the producers think viewers would find boring........

[Rum Punch]

On 7/14/2019 at 10:21 AM, saber5055 said:

I liked Speedo Ninja too since I have a huge problem with how women are suppose to dress in sports as opposed to men in the same sport. Reference: Beach volleyball and gymnastics. So I'm all for men wearing Speedos for all sports. It's an equality thing.

Since we are all into equality, might I point out that Speedo Ninja, and indeed, many of the men, run the course completely topless.  Shall we have Flex, and Jessie, and Barclay do that? Fair is fair.

[saber5055]

10 minutes ago, Rum Punch said:

Since we are all into equality, might I point out that Speedo Ninja, and indeed, many of the men, run the course completely topless.  Shall we have Flex, and Jessie, and Barclay do that? Fair is fair. 

Fair will be fair when men beach volleyball players wear little teeny bikini undies that disappear into the crack of their butts (don't forget to shave, fellas), and men gymnasts wear French-cut leotards that also migrate into the crack of their asses. Meanwhile, I'm good with Ninja men putting on stretch tank halter tops to wear with their Speedos. Because, as you say, equality.

[Destiny74]

2 hours ago, Rum Punch said:

Since we are all into equality, might I point out that Speedo Ninja, and indeed, many of the men, run the course completely topless.  Shall we have Flex, and Jessie, and Barclay do that? Fair is fair.

All I can say is OUCH!  There is a reason they wear sports bras.  😆

[eel21788]

On ‎7‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 2:12 PM, healthnut said:

She went on second obstacle but she still made the women’s top five so she’ll be in the finals. 

The made sure she was going to go to the Nationals. They didn't schedule any of the strong women such as Jessie Graffe or Alyssa Beird to run against her.

[healthnut]

1 hour ago, eel21788 said:

The made sure she was going to go to the Nationals. They didn't schedule any of the strong women such as Jessie Graffe or Alyssa Beird to run against her.

I prefer they spread the women out, it made me so mad the first year they had the top 2 women rule and Michelle, Flex, and Alyssa were all in the city. 

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, healthnut said:

I prefer they spread the women out, it made me so mad the first year they had the top 2 women rule and Michelle, Flex, and Alyssa were all in the city. 

If they're going to schedule all the women so that there are only two strong competitors in each city, then they might as well just go back to giving them wild cards and not base going to the Nationals on their actual performances.

[Nonja]

On 7/15/2019 at 1:26 PM, Ilovepie said:

I totally agree, and you probably just hit on the reason we didn't see Abel Gonzalez, Brett Sims or Ian Dory this year. Good but not great (or maybe a early exit we haven't seen yet), no sob story or tragic illness, no crazy outfit or Ninja name, no schtick - just good to great Ninja competitors that the producers think viewers would find boring........

Very likely the case. But as for me, I tune in mainly to follow the veterans Ive been watching for years and am invested in- they dont need additional back stories at this point. I wish the producers would account for that more because surely its not just me.  

[Ilovepie]

4 minutes ago, Nonja said:

Very likely the case. But as for me, I tune in mainly to follow the veterans Ive been watching for years and am invested in- they dont need additional back stories at this point. I wish the producers would account for that more because surely its not just me.  

It's not just you. I think the majority of people who watch regularly would rather see more veterans run than watch another 10 sob stories for people who will flame out on the first, second or third obstacles.