Don’t Forget the Editing: An Interview with Amanda & Chris from The Amazing Race 4

RNO: Only because it looked like so much fun, how exciting was it to raft down that mountain in Italy?

Amanda: It was so exciting and amazing. I would have loved to have just done it over and over and over again, but we were racing. How'd ya like seeing Jon and Kelly go down without a raft? Now that was golden.

Chris: The crazy part of that whole snow raft deal was that there were two slapjacks who sit straight up on the back lip of the raft with oars trying to steer that thing. I'm pretty much laying down and I thought that I was going to fall outta that damn rubber boat. The angle on that hill is ridiculous and it looks like you’re going to fall out of the raft and fall on your face at the bottom of the hill. I can’t imagine what it’s like to sit up on the back of it. Just nuts.

RNO: After you were eliminated, Amanda stated that she still loved Chris. Are the two of you still dating? If so, where do you see your relationship headed?

Amanda: We are still dating. Marriage is not in our near future but who really knows for the distant future?

Chris: It's funny that you would be surprised or intrigued that she would still say that afterwards. As if all of the things on the race were so horrible that we couldn't continue dating. It's hilarious actually. Like I said before, you got the dramatic, edited, and so one-sided version of our relationship. You all have heard Amanda's mouth, you don't think she could get down in an argument? There is so much more that you cats never get to see. And that's fine. I'm not really worried if anyone else understands our relationship. We're having a good time and that's all that matters. We will most likely be together for a very long time, but right now the timing isn't right to go forth with getting married.

RNO: In watching the show before you applied, which teams did you root for, and were there any tips that you may have learned from previous racers that may have helped you?

Amanda: I started watching it during season two, at which point I wanted Tara and Wil to win (those two are sassy). Then in season three I like Tramel and Talicia who were eliminated, as fate would have it, during the second leg (those two were dy-no-mite). I thought the whole twin hunt was stupid so I rooted the twins on in spite of all the dumb asses who were on a witch hunt to get them eliminated. I loved Jill and John Vito and it SUCKED when they were eliminated. Oh Brother rocked the house and Ken rocks in person. Michael and Kathy were awesome and they pissed me off so much when they decided to stay in the four star hotel instead of keeping on trucking. Where were his "cat like reflexes" then? I do not know if we learned good tips, but we saw what the show is all about and what we would endure if we were ever cast. We did watch season three over and over and over again to check out their back pack sizes and I charted out all the outfit changes to get an idea of what and how much clothing they brought. I got very methodical about that stuff, but I still packed way too much. They told us to pack for very extreme cold and very extreme hot and there is a lot in between.

Chris: Yeah Michael, where WERE your cat like reflexes? I know Tara and Wil aren't exactly the most popular racers in TAR history. But they ROCKED, man. They hardly ever finished out of the top three the entire race. That is something to be damn proud of. And hell, I could see a little bit of them in Amanda and I, so it was easy to sympathize with them. And I loved Tramel and Talicia, and I hate that the both of us went out like suckers in leg 2. We learned a little bit from watching the shows, but it's hard to predict what things will be repeated on the race and how you can use the stuff you picked up. And it's near impossible to replicate the extreme conditions that you experience while on the race. So preparing yourself fully is quite hard. I learned 'walk' means walk or run, diesel is not suitable for unleaded vehicles, never say that you've been somewhere because then you look like a jackass when you can't make your way around that place, bring multiple alarm clocks in case some dick decides to shut one off while you're sleeping, and always take a taxi instead of a train/bus when you can and when it's within your budget. Ham WAY up.

RNO: If you could each only use one word to describe your experience on The Amazing Race, what would it be and why?

Amanda: Irreplaceable! I will never be racing around again with my best friend trying to compete for one million dollars, unless the show wants us to redeem ourselves in an All Stars Amazing Race or something (CBS, are you reading this?). I am so glad that we participated in this journey, I just wish our stay would have been longer. If anybody loves the show as much as we do and if there is an Amazing Race 5, send in some applications and a video damn it, what is it going to hurt? Just do it!

Chris: Unfulfilled! It sucks when you put forth goals for yourself that you know you can accomplish, start to live and accomplish them, and then have the chair kicked out from under you. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that has come and gone and I feel that there was so much more there for us. We were a better team than how we finished but we are so thankful just for the opportunity.

RNO: Thank you both and good luck with everything in the future!

Phil Kural is a senior at Temple University, and can be reached at pkural@temple.edu.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find all of our recent Amazing Race articles at the Amazing Race 4 page and take a look at our sections on Fame and The Osbournes. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about The Amazing Race, be sure to check out SirLinksALot!