The one mitigating factor I can think of is that there's a fair chance their team would never get a chance to use a Fast Forward again.
In other news, "Mirna and Schmirna" is one of the best mocking nicknames yet. I loved their pluck this time out, though.
I'm not sure about the new non-elimination-round twist. I like the no-money feature of "Beg, Borrow and Deal" on ESPN, but that's in the contestants' native country! To force contestants who are already behind to panhandle in another language and get money from people who are probably much poorer than they are seems cruel all around.
Oooh, I disagree on the use of the FF. As I told Rob last night, here's why:
1) There are only two FF this time around.
The chances of the other FF being available at the precise moment when they might actually need it are slim. Perhaps the biggest advantage of using it now is that it makes it unavailable to the other teams and it could have really screwed one of the other teams if they had gone for it and it was gone. Furthermore, I'm assuming that whoever is in first on the leg with the 2nd FF will (and should) take it because there won't be any more to take so it's not like they're wasting their turn. So if C&C aren't in first when they come upon the 2nd FF, they won't really have a chance at the 2nd one anyway. (Of course, this assumes the other teams are smart enought to figure that out, but from what I've seen, they're not.)
2) They are just coming off a leg where they lost substantial time because of problems at the roadblock.
They know they are in first, so they know the FF is still available. Why not take it, skip the hassle, wear and tear of the Roadblock and Detour, prevent losing time to a team like last week, and relax and plan at the Pit Stop without the annoyance of the other teams?
Also, I know bunching is inevitable, but even if they get to an airport, bus, whatever with enough time for the other teams to catch up, at least they have time to plan, visit a travel agent, etc. to help them stay in front.
Of course, if this had been like the other races with a FF every leg, it absolutely would have been the dumbest idea ever. But since there's only 2, I think it's a good use of it.
And yes, I realize I spend entirely too much time thinking about stuff like this. 
And that's only the Cliffs Notes version of Chrissy's justifications for using the FF!
Yeah, I would've used the FF because of the whole "there's only two in the whole race" stupidity that no one on the production staff should've ever thought was a good idea. So I'm with the Chrissy logic here.
Chrissy: Wow. That was like a thesis on Fast Forward usage! And yeah, I see your point. It's a good one, in fact. I just wonder if Collin had time to reason all that out in the two seconds it took him to decide to do the Fast Forward. And I wonder if he's going to be pissed off when all the other teams catch up to him next week.
Bill: I'm all for the rhyming nicknames, but I think last year's Weezer and Geezer was the best so far.
Commenting by HaloScan
