‘The Amazing Race 24’ team spotlight: Will Jet & Cord finally lasso a victory?

There are popular teams over the course of “The Amazing Race,” and then there are Jet & Cord. They are probably one of the most-cheered-for teams among many casual fans of the show, even if diehard viewers have a little more of a mixed opinion of them. They don’t seem to get along well with everyone, but they are pretty strong ratings if they can get a head of steam behind them and avoid mistakes. That’s why they are at least going to be a team to watch moving forward.

Before we get into the spotlight, we do again have to ask: Why are we seeing these guys a third time? Why not give us a repeat of Andy & Tommy, or one of the teams from earlier seasons (Jon & Al) who we haven’t seen? There’s nothing to bring to the narrative anymore for these two save for them being memorable.

Names – Jet & Cord McCoy

“Amazing Race” history – Finished second in season 16, and then sixth place in the “Unfinished Business” season. Next to Flight Time & Big Easy, they have more experience than anyone else this season.

Claim to fame – Being pretty strong racers who have a ton of energy, and tend to draw attention. However, we also remember there being a strange tension between them and other teams on “Unfinished Business” that was never fully explained. Just in terms of their look, they are one of the most visually memorable teams out there.

Strengths – They are supremely athletic, are fast runners, and are pretty competitive racers. When it comes to their demeanor, they also have this “aw, shucks” sort of mentality they project onto locals they run into. Why does this matter? It really just comes down to the fact that they are going to be able to endear people to them. You need to be able to get help from people around the world, and they are experienced enough to know how to really do that.

Weaknesses – In addition to not necessarily being the most-liked team among fellow racers, they are also adopters of this sort of lone wolf racing philosophy. They don’t really work with other people, and while that is a blessing sometimes, it can also doom you if you make the wrong turn. If we were as strong as they are physically, we’d stick with other teams and then just beat them in a footrace. They also have a history of being somewhat mistake-prone, which hopefully they will be able to correct thanks to them being older and more experience.

Prediction – On paper, these two guys should be winners almost every season now that they have a ton of international travel experience. However, we just don’t have that much faith in their ability to run a mistake-free race. They’re going to be a target for U-Turns, and they’ll probably mess up at least a couple of times on their own. They’re mot likely a middle-of-the-pack team this time.

What do you think about Jet & Cord’s return to the race, and how well do you think they are going to do? Share some of your thoughts below, and hit up the link here to see some of our other “Amazing Race” spotlights. You can also click here to get some more updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: CBS