Linda and Steve were the self-proclaimed “hicks” on The Amazing Race 14, but in actuality they were much more than that. Though the long-term couple didn’t perform all that well over their two legs on The Amazing Race, they were one of the most easily likable couples. Most of all, they were real. Steve, especially in the first leg, had a difficult time masking some of his disappointment with Linda. However, the strength of their relationship shined through, with Steve openly ashamed of his behavior and the couple remaining positive and loving, even while clearly disappointed and emotional after their elimination from the race. This morning, we had the pleasure of speaking with Linda and Steve about their time on the race.
Below you will find the full written transcript as well as the mp3 audio of the interview.
Hey, this is Oscar Dahl from BuddyTV and I’m here with Steve and Linda from The Amazing Race. Steve, Linda, how are you two doing this morning?
Steve: Fine, how are you doing?
Oh, pretty good. Have you guys always been big fans of the show and what made you really want to try out and get on the race?
S: We’ve been fans from day one. Since the very first race, wanting to be on it, you sat at home and you watched this thing and you thought, “Well I can do that.” And that’s the way we were, and so we tried it and we did it. We did what we could do.
Was the race at all different from what you expected it to be?
Linda: It was a lot harder. It was a whole lot harder. You see on TV that it’s hard, but emotionally and physically – you go without sleep and you go without eating and you’re under pressure because you’re racing for a million dollars and all these emotions are going through your head all at one time. It’s very, very fun, but it’s very, very stressful.
S: You have situations like you saw last night with Jodi and Christie and they had the stick and they were carrying it from Point A and Point B and it was funny and I admit that, but that’s hard. You have to remember that it’s a clue and they ran into the clue, it’s what they saw. You make mistakes like that and it’s not like they’re stupid or that they’re ditzy blondes or anything like that. They are common mistakes that you make in the race because sometimes you read into things and you’re in a special situation and you start over-reading into it and you start thinking things are something that they’re not. It’s very strenuous. I think that when we started the race we were like “This is going to be hard, a lot harder than it looks like from home.”
Was it difficult for you two watching the episode last night, especially you, Linda, watching yourself come down that hill? Can you get any enjoyment from watching that, or is it like living it all over again?
S: Well, you know, it was hard watching it and, of course, I had an idea of what was going to happen, the things we did wrong, and we did some good stuff in there too. It was very hard but it was also very good. Once the show was over, I was overwhelmed with people calling us, the emails we received, it was all good support. It wasn’t like all of these people were saying “Ah, you’re losers, you were kicked off.” You all did a great job – it was very supportive. It was emotional to say the least.
L: Watching myself come down the hill was a little hard because it doesn’t show…CBS only has an hour, but I was on that mountain for four hours and I climbed back, went through fire trails, trying to find my way back, and then I had to come back down, but by that time I was just so frustrated. I wanted to do well for Steve because I just love him to death. I was like, “Oh my god, he’s going to hate me for this.” I know he wanted to stay in the race. He is such a strong, powerful man. You can’t tell it from just looking at him, but he can do a lot of things and I just didn’t want to let him down, you know?
What’s the biggest thing you two are going to take away from the whole experience of being on The Amazing Race?
L: The friends and the beauty of the countryside and the people that we met along the way. Everybody was so wonderful as far as when we stopped to get directions or anything like that, all the people in these countries were just so nice. It was beautiful.
S: I think one of the things with me is that I just wanted to be a part of it so bad and I was given that opportunity, whether we failed or succeeded, we were given the opportunity. It felt like maybe I let somebody down because we could have done more than what we did and that was one of the biggest things that was so hard for me to deal with was I had all these people that got us where we were.
L: We are so extremely grateful to CBS for giving us this opportunity.
Do you two have any big plans for the future? Anything you’d like to let us know about?
L: Our anniversary’s Thursday, so we’re looking forward to that. And we’re planning on going to Peru.
All right, Steve and Linda, we appreciate you guys taking the time to speak with us today.
L: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.
All right, you two have a happy anniversary.
-Interview Conducted by Oscar Dahl
(Image Courtesy of CBS)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
