CBSIn last night's disappointing episode of The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business, we said goodbye—again—to a pair of fan favorites.
And in a déjà vu of their last season, fans are crying foul about the way the beloved duo were sent home.
How do the eliminees themselves feel about being ganged up on by the other teams? Here's what they told us today:
Reminiscent of last year's "cheating" scandal, Cowboys Jet and Cord McCoy's loss was less fair and square than many viewers would have liked—two other teams leaped ahead of them because their comrades gave them the answers to the challenge.
But unlike some outraged (and bored) viewers, the Cowboys don't really have a problem with the allied teams' cheating sharing the challenge answers with one another. "That's a tough question," Jet said when we asked whether the practice should be allowed, "because if I was the one benefiting, I would say absolutely yes. But on the flip side of it, seeing how it happened twice [beginning with the first Australian leg] and I was the one who didn't get the shared information, from that standpoint I would say no."
The gracious bullriders say the buck stops with them. "Jet and I went into the race knowing that no matter what all the U-turns there were, how many people teamed up or whatever else happened, we always knew that if we were in lead it made no difference," Cord told us. "And got ourselves on the back end of it on the wrong day."
And then the Globetrotters Flight Time and Big Easy sealed the Cowboys fate by choosing to U-turn them. "We knew we were last," Cord told us, "but what was surprising was when we showed up to the Double U-turn [which allowed competitors to designate two teams behind them to compete in an extra challenge], we were the only team that got U-turned. That was the biggest surprise. That's when it really set in that, hey, this was it."
And although all signs pointed to the Cowboys' exit, they insist, "We didn't consider skipping the task," which required them to eat a giant pot of cheese fondue. "We weren't going to bail out on anything." Still they admit that last challenge was "excruciating," and added, "We were there for a long time."
But they don't harbor any grudges against the Globetrotters—or any other teams for excluding them from their alliances.
"The Globetrotters said it best," Jet tells us: "Nobody wants to go head to head with us. That's what put us on the outside. Also me and Cord weren't looking for any alliances...We really didn't feel like we had to depend on anybody else."
"I had my alliance when I took off," summarized Cord: "me and Jet."
Aw.
Are you going to miss the Cowboys? Do you think The Amazing Race needs to revamp its rules and even the playing field? Giddy up down to the comments and say your piece.