Posted on 05/12/2005 9:54:01 AM PDT by Diddle E. Squat
For Houston's newest millionaires, Wednesday was a day of television appearances and newspaper interviews, back slaps and congratulations. Joyce and Uchenna Agu — a married couple racked by layoffs, unable to get pregnant, immersed in debt and on the verge of breakup — basked in the glow of their Amazing Race win.
Many of us have suspected what it might be like to win $1 million, and Joyce confirmed our suspicions.
"It felt good," she told the Chronicle.
Good enough to quit your jobs?
"Whoa, whoa," said Uchenna with a laugh. "It's only a million bucks, buddy."
"Only" a million, but a million well-earned. Not only did Uchenna, 40, and Joyce, 44, finish first in their round-the-world race, they did so impressively, outlasting two couples with better name recognition and charming a nationwide audience of 16 million Tuesday night with a classy exhibition of faith, patience and honesty.
Stripped of their money and belongings for having finished last in the nonelimination leg of the race, the Agus were forced to beg for money to keep going — up to the last minute. Steps away from the finish line, the couple chose to beg for $50 they owed their waiting cab driver rather than not paying him and winning the race dishonorably.
"We thought, 'Man, we can't end it on a bad note. That will make the karma come back 'round,' " Joyce said.
"We played the race to win, but we wanted to run the race clean," added Uchenna. "Stiffing the guy for 50 bucks wasn't part of our strategy."
Instead, the Agus sought money from motorists and passers-by, collecting $10 here, $5 there. They finally came up with $50, then raced to their Miami finish line. They edged out former Survivor winner Amber Brkich and her fiance (and fellow Survivor contestant), Rob Mariano. Former Iraq prisoner of war Ron Young and girlfriend Kelly McCorkle finished third.
Their handling of the cab was indicative of how the Agus ran their entire race, which began in Long Beach, Calif., then ventured to South America, Africa, India, Europe and the Caribbean. They respected each other, were friendly to their competitors, played by the rules and hoped for good karma to come their way.
"We realized we were out for the same thing, so we decided to work together," said Joyce, a sales manager who lost her job when WorldCom collapsed. "We tried not to make each other the enemy because that's a whole other race."
"We were like any other couple, bickering, before the race," said Uchenna, an energy broker who lost his job when Enron fell. "The race galvanized us to go forward. The fighting seemed to be lifted away once we got that common goal."
Their karma kicked into high gear for Tuesday's finale. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rob and Amber had boarded a Miami-bound plane that would give them a crushing 90-minute lead over the others. The plane closed its doors and taxied out, but it came back to allow Uchenna and Joyce to board.
"I never experienced a miracle before, but when that plane came back to the airport and they let us on, I swear to you I felt like that was a miracle," said Joyce.
The couple experienced one adventure after another during their race, carrying baskets on their heads in Peru, milking goats in South Africa and stacking boats in London. In Jodhpur, India, Joyce cried as she allowed her head to be shaved so she and Uchenna could take advantage of a "fast forward" in the race.
In the end, they defeated 10 other couples to win the cash prize. All gathered in New York Tuesday night to watch the finale.
The Agus said it was tough to keep their win a secret from family and fellow employees.
"We were airtight the entire time," said Uchenna.
And when the win was finally revealed, "We thought they (the family) were going to pass out," said Joyce.
In the end, of course, everything was worth it — the long periods without food or water, the lack of sleep, even the haircut.
"Are you kidding me? It was worth every penny," said Joyce. "I'm glad I did it. I felt it was kind of a rebirth in me."
"There is residual benefit, being able to relate to women who lose their hair or have to cut their hair off for chemotherapy or in support of some great or noble cause," said Uchenna. "In the course of a game, you don't normally have a woman willing to do that. Joyce is a soldier. We wouldn't have been in the race if she hadn't made such a crucial decision."
And what will they do with their million? They'll use it to pay bills, including those for previous in vitro procedures.
"My doctors offered us a free round of in vitro (fertilization)," said Joyce. "So after all this is over, if it doesn't work out, we have the money. We can adopt."
Some tidbits:
They were not required by the rules to pay the taxi driver the full fare at the end, it was their choice to do so.
They plane had left the gate and started to taxi out, before the pilot chose to return to the gate.
I missed the final episode, I'm very happy to hear it was them who won! They deserved it!
Thanks for posting this. I was really glad they were the ones to win because they were so nice. The last 3 teams were very competitive so it was a good race but out of the 3 they were the ones I wanted to win the most.
Thought you might like to read this.
Rob & Amber should have used their yield on these two the week before to keep the older couple in the finals.
Good for them. Thanks for the ping.
I was rooting for Rob and Amber with Uchenna and Joyce as a backup.
I still want to see a behind the scenes episode to clear up some questions and possible misconceptions...but that would be too much to ask from SeeBS.
On to season 8!
That's a good idea. Is there somewhere on the CBS website where that suggestion could be made?
Not sure if it would do any good, but never hurts to suggest it.
This is what I submitted to SeeBS:
When a season of TAR ends, how about a behind the scenes episode the following link to clear up how things happen to people. Contestant interviews, Phil's comments, crew comments, etc.
How did Uchenna get on that last flight and how could Rob see Uchenna begging for the final cab fare and then come in 5 minutes after Uchenna/Joyce?
I'm glad at the results but I sure would like to know how much help the contestants get to keep the teams close.
crap, I submitted "...the following link" instead of "...the following week"
Oh well, hope they can make the logic jump...LOL
I read somewhere that the producers had contestants who had lost enter the episodes as various people. Any truth to this?
That's what I would like to know. It felt like some manipulation was going on.
I'm sure there are manipulations to help keep the race exciting, but manipulation to change the results just makes the whole thing suspect.
"Good" manipulation to keep things close: send the teams to places you know will be closed or release them to airports/train stations that you know don't have earlier flights so the teams all bunch up again.
"Bad" manipulation: How the heck did Uchenna get on that last flight?
Good question and I imagine many others are wondering. They need to clarify this. Perhaps emails to CBS would be in order?
BTW, does anyone know if/when Big Brother will reappear?
Not that I'm aware of.
Ooh that was good! I hope they take it to heart. I've enjoyed your commentaries on the TAR thread by the way.
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