TAR 27 Recap Leg 0, 9-21-15

Welcome back to the Amazing Race! It’s season number twenty-seven, and it promises to be just as exciting as ever, complete with surprises, U-Turns, and hashtags (Toyouke: “I HATE that the twitter hashtags are basically the nicknames everyone wants us to use. HHAAAAAATTTTEEEE. You can't make up your own nickname!”) Don’t worry, I’ll still come up with my own, subject to change once we get started. The eleven teams for TAR27 are: (click for more)

Alex and Adam, Team Mighty Mouse, #TheCousins, are cousins from the Midwest. They are short. And as we know from previous seasons (The Clowns, Charla), short does not mean an early exit. (Toyouke: “Five feet tall isn't that short. I mean I'm 5'3" so they're like, McGee's height. They seem nice and pleasant so they'll probably go out early.“) It could go either way for them. I’m hoping for a long stay. Prediction: Third Place.

Cindy and Rick, Team Asian Doctor, #ChacAttack, are married doctors from San Diego California. And they came up with their own nickname. (Toyouke: “First of all, made up their own nickname, and you know how I feel about that. You know they did. Look at the other hashtags. There is no way CBS came up with that one and they liked it so much they made shirts. “) True that. Otherwise, meh. For some reason, I think they are going to melt down early. Prediction: Tenth Place.

Denise and James, Team Token MomGaySon, #TeamAlabama, are a mother-son team from Prattville Alabama. OK, TAR, this is season 27, and you have had now four mother-son teams, three of whom have been a gay son. I don’t think that is shocking anymore. (Toyouke: “I don't know, I feel that Denise means well and loves her son but at the same time is still not 100% OK with his sexual orientation. But she's trying which is why she's asking him for dating advice and men advice and whatever overenthusiastic things she is doing.”) I still think they should do well. Aside from Susan and Patrick, moms and sons seem to work well together. Prediction: Fifth Place.

Ernest and Jin, Team KPop Hip-Hop, #TheDancers, are brothers from Boston. And they dance. And one is black and Asian? I’m confused. (Toyouke: “I...do not understand Jin Lao, and if they're brothers then why one has a Caucasian name and one has a Chinese name, and the silk jacket. Why.“) Whatever the case, they have a lot to fight for, and I have a feeling they are going to be my Fan Favorite for Fourth. Prediction: Fourth Place.

Jazmine and Danielle, Team Running Buddies, #TheTrackStars, are best friends and runners from California. Aside from the annoying pink LOVE shirts, I think they could end up being decently strong. (Toyouke: “Track stars could do really well. And they seem well spoken. Like when they speak they sound smarter than, say, Kelly and Shevonne. And they're already scoping out hot boys. “) Yeah, I’ll like them. Prediction: Second Place.

Justin and Diana, Team Race Proposal, #TheGreenTeam, are an engaged couple from the East Coast. They are the superfans this season, as Justin proposed to Diana with an elaborate six state, two country mini-race to propose under the Northern Lights. Buzzfeed did an article. SEE? (Toyouke: “They also want everyone to underestimate them, but if I find out that you are such fans of the show you came up with an elaborate six-state fake Race complete with clue envelopes? At the very least I'm assuming you watch every season and know all the tricks.”) I think the tricks are going to bite them in the butt. Prediction: Eighth Place.

Kelly and Shevonne, Team Celebrity Dish, #TeamTMZ, are friends and co-workers from Los Angeles. And they work for TMZ. Not exactly sure how this works in their favor. (Toyouke: “They say "We throw shade for a livin'!" TMZ is not shade. TMZ is a read at best and poorly thought-out insults at worst. Phil says they will bring an "unfiltered" opinion of other teams, which means they're bitches. Annoying bitches because they aren't even funny.”) Yeah, they can go away. Prediction: Ninth Place.

Kelsey and Joey, Team Newscast, #TheReporters, are a TDC and co-workers in the Los Angeles area. They work for KEYT-TV in California. (Toyouke: “They're just like, blandly attractive and boring. That's all I got.”) Yeah. . .team who? Prediction: Seventh Place.

Logan and Chris, Team Photobomb, #ThePaparazzi, are dating co-workers from Miami, Florida. And by co-workers I mean paparazzi. I guess that helps them lay low among the other teams? (Toyouke: “I wonder if paparazzi will do well? I mean, you have to be ruthless and some of those guys are pretty creative. I kind of think they might do well. “) And I disagree. Prediction: Eleventh Place.

Tanner and Josh, Team Prerequisite Hot Boys, #TeamTexas, are hot. Oh, and best friends from Dallas Fort Worth. Let’s just ruminate on the hotness level for a moment. (Toyouke: “So at first they present as meathead dudebros, but then they're all "We're super Christian" so maybe not? But that does mean they'll probably be all "race with honor" about everything which is tiring to watch. One of them has a fear of flying and the other one is afraid of the language barrier. So what are you doing here? “) Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. Prediction: Winners, TAR27.

Tiffany and Krista, Team Jet Pack, #TheCheerleaders, are former cheerleaders and friends from the New York area. As usual, pretty cheerleaders are unpredictable, so they could be really strong or really ditzy. (Toyouke: “They harp a lot on the training involved in cheerleading. I won't argue that they probably have a good amount of stamina and are in decent physical shape. Mentally I'm not seeing that they're so much smarter than everyone. “) I’m thinking middle of the pack. Prediction: Sixth Place.

And there it is. Don’t forget to tune in on Friday, September 25 at 7:00 pm CDT for the hour premiere. See you with the first recap soon!