84 replies to this topic

[Paron Xanthis]

Hi. We're best friends and the first white/black men's team, but the second white/black team overall after TAR15's Brian & Ericka.

Edited by Paron Xanthis, Jan 25, 2012 @ 10:47 AM.

[possibilities]

I don't know why, but their bios made me like these guys. We'll see how that turns out once they start racing....

[jessied112]

Their bios are kinda adorable. I like them so far.

[keram]

"Bopper"?

Really?

[BDArizona]

Mark has to be the guy people were mistaking for Karl Malone. From the tiny profile picture, I can see why some might make that mistake from blurry spoiler photos.

[danheaton]

I also kind of liked these guys after watching their videos. It's hard to say how well they'll do, but they seem a lot different from the casting trends over the recent seasons.

[graytex]

Mark is the oldest racer at 45? Wow. The only other time we had a race without someone over 50 was TAR4, and that race is not known for having a beloved cast, by any stretch. Hope this isn't a sign.

[Chyna]

I wanted to like them, but they lost me when they started talking about Kerri's and Stacy's asses.

[OldHeaveHo]

I'm slightly endeared by their country bumpkin vibe, but I really hope it doesn't become a shtick they try to press on us for the rest of the season.

Did Mark really puke twice before they even made it to the airport. Erm...

[TDI Ashley]

He did. Makes me wonder if they have what it takes to stay in this for long.

[Chyna]

According to this interview with Phil, Mark and Bopper kept racing ahead on the bikes on the ride to the Starting Line. So maybe they wore themselves out screwing around? Still doesn't bode well if that's a pattern with them.

[How56]

I'm really glad I watch TV w/closed captioning, because I had no idea what these guys were saying.

[ribboninthesky1]

Ha!

I predict they might go out in the middle of the pack. They're not the weakest team (there are at least three I can think of who are more shaky), but by no means the strongest, either. Poor Mark seems to struggle. But I giggled at his chiding Bopper's pronunciation of empanada, but then changing his tune once he realized he couldn't pronounce it himself.

[BrookeM]

I like them so far, and I hope they stay in for a while. But Bopper, he's got to calm down. Maybe he's just really excited right now to be on the race. I think I heard Mark tell him to settle down at some point (I think maybe walking out to the plane, but I can't recall for sure), so it seemed to me that maybe he's not always like this. I can only hope.

Edited by BrookeM, Feb 20, 2012 @ 9:10 PM.

[CassandraRedux]

Some folk'll never run the Race, but then again some folk'll...

[ribboninthesky1]

You know, this team appears to be the male Country Bumpkin version of Brook and Claire from TAR17 (I think?). Bopper = overly excitable, camera-mugging, Chatty Kathy Energizer Bunny character. Mark = quietly competent, presumably lower fitness level than his partner, might be undercover awesome, and probably the patience of a saint. Brook annoyed me immensely for most of their season, and Bopper is on the way there.

Still, they rebounded nicely from the previous leg. Still not sure if I like this team, but Mark will probably be the reason once I figure out how I feel.

[TDI Ashley]

I liked seeing them blow through the Boil My Water Detour and actually finish it first! I felt bad for Mark when he realized how he'd cost them first at the Roadblock, though.

[possibilities]

It would be the best thing ever if this team wins. They ran a great leg without showboating, and that kind of stealth formidableness gives me the biggest smile. They had a tough first leg, but this one was great. I hope this second one is more typical of how they'll do. I find them genuinely likable.

[Pooki]

In the past a lot of teams have said that they're sure the other teams will underestimate them (and it usually isn't even true), but I think this is one of the teams where that is actually true. They kicked ass putting together the solar panel heater, and Mark seemed to know what he was doing with the cattle (besides his mistake with rounding up the decimal point or whatever). Even though Bopper's loudness is kind of annoying, I like that they're surprisingly competent.

With Mark revealing he used to work in a cattle market, I was getting flashbacks to Donald a little, who seemed to have done every job under the sun in his day.

[soapygirl]

Yeah or Gary & Matt from season 15 (aka Pinky and the Brain) who prepared for every challenge by being from Montana.

[BettyPoz]

In the past a lot of teams have said that they're sure the other teams will underestimate them (and it usually isn't even true), but I think this is one of the teams where that is actually true. They kicked ass putting together the solar panel heater, and Mark seemed to know what he was doing with the cattle (besides his mistake with rounding up the decimal point or whatever). Even though Bopper's loudness is kind of annoying, I like that they're surprisingly competent.

They really annoyed me the first leg (Did you know they were from Kentucky?!) but they really proved themselves this episode. I can't remember what place they started out at (first bus through right?) and to come out of the roadblock first and do so well with the chaos of the cattle detour, I was really impressed. Yes, hopefully Bopper will tone it down for the rest of the race!

[Chyna]

Mark strikes me as one of those guys (like the grandfather from a few seasons ago) who may not have a lot of formal education but does have a lot of valuable life experience and knows how to use it. He just motors through the tasks calmly and logically and gets 'em done. He's a pretty good spaz-wrangler too, from what we've been of his relationship with Bopper. I'm wondering if these guys could end up being one of those stealth teams who surprise everyone by ending up in the final three with a minimum amount of drama.

[NotPatrick]

I really like this team, which is odd given that the pre-designated camera-hog "fan favourite" Male-Male teams of the last few series haven't really been my bag generally. I just love their obnoxiously over-the-top personalities (it's something when "the quiet one" of the team is the one who spent much of the first leg projective-vomiting out of a car window), combined with the sense that there's a really steely determination to win underneath it all, combined with a degree of competence, that could also desert them at any moment.

[Fukui San]

I like them, but one wonders if it slows them down having to wait for the Coen brothers to write all of their dialogue.

[Yyy]

Nice guys, but those accents are grating.

[TDI Ashley]

This team's been surprisingly strong. Detour switch aside, they rocked out this leg very well. I think they're lasting a long while.

Don't think it was very smart to tick off Kerri & Stacy, though.

[Pooki]

These two continue to impress me. They seem pretty competent even at tasks you wouldn't think they'd be any good at (Mark did surprisingly well with the bottle dance for instance). I hope they go far.

But yeah, pissing off Kerri & Stacy wasn't the smartest move.

[momlyd]

Yee HAW!!

Watch your backs, guys. Mississippi has Kentucky in their sights.

[crickety]

Bopper: annoying guy with an annoying name. It is a name that says "look at me!".

[ItsJessMe]

Here's a nice interview with him: Interview with Bopper. And there's a great insider video where he tears up on the mat in Argentina talking about his daughter. First time on an airplane was when they flew to L.A. for the auditions. I like this team so much.