2. Boomie & Whatevia / Cousins (Will)
Season 2
Winners
Yes, you read that number right. Boomie & Whatevia were the team I was rooting for from the start. And while Will needed to atone for his complete lack of luck during Leg 7-8 in ATTAR1, he didn't get off to his best start here. In fact, I was wondering what was going on with his team as they scored double digit placings in the first few legs. And then all of a sudden PNG hit, and Boomie & Whatevia, would never leave the top 2 placings again. Maybe it took a while for them to hit their stride, but it was a crazy surprise as they stormed to the top of the leaderboard leg after leg. It was almost like Venus and Serena Williams smashing the competition tournament after tournament to get their favored wins. In fact, Boomie & Whatevia faced some decent competition and still managed to do so well. At the same time, they whipped out some of the funniest and most outrageous skits ever seen in ATTAR. Whatevia used her random fame and godlike abilities to make other teams and people fear and love her within a heartbeat. Boomie was this random fat girl who just won an Oscar and was largely neglected throughout the season (with the exception of one poor Bolivian vendor). On top of that, Boomie & Whatevia introduced the "third racer" later seen in Stan & Xophie's team 3 seasons later. Oscar was even featured in the team avatar (look at the hands) and had some notable roles in saying nothing and driving Boomie crazy. If you needed a team who could race with style and humor, a person could always emulate Boomie & Whatevia. It's a formula for success.
In a surprising turn, the most vulnerable leg for Boomie & Whatevia was on the penultimate leg. Of course, everyone assumed the pair would reach the final and bottomfeeders Lydia & Tallulah and Raymond & Betty would be fighting for the last slot. However, in a crazy turn at the Grenada roadblock, Boomie & Whatevia found the other teams' items in the diving for past items roadblock. Their skill quickly soured as they shockingly checked in last and set up a potentially unpredictable Final 3. However, Shay & Alice quit the season to bring the cousins back into the finals and all was right in the world. For being a team so early in the ATTAR series, the cousins brought depth and humor that wasn't really found in a lot of the other cast. And I always admired that Boomie & Whatevia chose not to yield or U-Turn anyone and played the game on their own accord. Of course, they managed to avoid most of the drama involving Nessa and Kitty and were always grateful and a respectful team. A self-contained team like this would not have ranked this highly in later seasons, but with what Will had to work with (like the alliteration?) in the second iteration of my season and the addition of money, this team was groundbreaking and one of my favorites of all-time.
1. Lisa & Tybias / Mother/Son (Dan Down Under)
Season 2
5th Place
The top 2 could have gone either way really with Boomie & Whatevia taking the top position again. However, Lisa & Tybias are currently my favorite team of all-time. Why? The team scored a perfect combination of love, sentimentality, humor, and outward drama with other teams. Well-rounded teams usually go far in my book and while Lisa & Tybias may not necessarily stand out in a season with a lot of characters, they do to me. The mother and son are by far the most realistic team to ever grace an ATTAR. Lisa & Tybias were one of two mother/son teams in their season and unlike the OTT cloud that seemed to follow Tracey & Nick, Lisa & Tybias never really resorted to that type of crazy behavior. Instead, they were chill and relaxed except when Tybias wanted to swear and act more like an adult but his authoritarian mother would keep him grounded to Earth. An example was when they scored a 1st in the Korea split legs, and Tybias took off his shirt and began gyrating and Lisa said "Tybias, get down from there." And Tybias obliged like the good son he was. It may seem insignificant to some, but their ability to stay interesting while never going OTT has never been matched since. In fact, I would also argue that they were never an UTR team either. In the early half of the season, Lisa & Tybias had gotten into an argument with Julie & Adleiade over the fairness of the Japan sushi detour. The first of many afterleg arguments, this one turned to a be a little uneventful as Kat accused DDU and other of cheating somehow and DDU defended himself saying it was the rules as I laid it out.
As the season progressed, a relationship bloomed between Tybias and Tallulah (later ruined by Gabriel). They seemed to grow close in Djibouti and Iran, but afterwards, their storyline was dropped as the pair were never grouped together again. And also the failure of Lydia & Tallulah to yield Boomie & Whatevia in Bolivia practically doomed the mother and son team. If only the pair had not handed money out prior to the Sao Tome & Principe leg, they would have made it much further and potentially pulled out a surprise win ala Lachlan & Gabriel. And this is why I was upset at the team greatly as they finally pulled up to the pit stop. There was no way Lisa & Tybias could overcome money problems and the speed bump. I even broke down Shay & Alice's llama to manufacture suspense and drama but the result was predictable, Lisa & Tybias's elimination ;-;. I can appreciate each individual character for truly brining something unique. Lisa raised Tybias largely on her own and her strength and willpower was shown tremendously throughout the various skits they performed. Tybias was the musclehead and loveable loser who was always mindful of his mother but with a little mischief. Basing the characters on DDU and his own mother was actually a good idea because it just added more realism and cuteness to the team, which I regarded highly. Overall, there are not enough words for how I really do love the joys and drama Lisa & Tybias brought to the season. And for that, they rank in as #1.
Little by little, I find Boomie and Whatevia slowly inching their way away from number 1 on rankings.
