With The Amazing Race season 30 currently showcasing their most competitive teams, let’s cast a season with ten teams of competitive Survivor players.
Even though the Survivor offseason is alive and well, it doesn’t mean that CBS isn’t airing a reality competition series. The Amazing Race is airing its 30th season on Wednesday nights, keeping the 8 o’clock spot warm until Survivor Ghost Island makes its debut on February 28. This season is marketed as their most competitive yet, with former and current athletes squaring off against Goat Yoga enthusiasts and a reality TV couple that have known each other more on television than not.
Survivor has done duos before with Blood vs. Water seasons, the Anderson Twins came over from The Amazing Race to Survivor, Boston Rob and Amber Mariano come close to victory, Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca competed plus Whitney Duncan from South Pacific and her fiancé played on season 25. Since the two shows are so intertwined, we thought it would be fun to honor the finale of The Amazing Race’s 30th season of “competitors” with ten Survivor duos that can hold their own in competition. Of course, all previous Survivor duos are disqualified from our list.
Mike Zahalsky + Joe Mena
We’re starting out with the most recent season because the freshness of The Coco-Nuts and their wonderfully at-odds banter would make for an excellent team.
While neither of these players had an exceptionally strong game as individuals, they were best playing off each other. Joe certainly threw Mike under the bus early on, but even after the first few days, Joe came around on his fellow Healer, both providing strength and strategy in tribal challenges.
The Amazing Race is all about personability and cunning strategy, allowing Dr. Mike to be the nice guy while Joe to dictate which others should take U-Turns or prioritize Road Blocks. The Coco-Nuts International Tour would be the exact kind of thing I’d love to see.