I'm not athletic, and never have been. Supposedly somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% of autistics/Aspies have a condition that's best defined as "sucking at sports", but is otherwise called something like "gross motor clumsiness", "dysphoria" or the like. Not only have I sucked at sports or anything athletic, I've never liked them.
But this show just fascinates me. People from all walks of life try to make their way through a very challenging obstacle course. Each obstacle challenges in a totally different way, whether it's an upside-down staircase that must be climbed by hand, or a trampoline that needs to be used to bounce up to reach a bar, or a series of poles that need to be either reached by hand or jumped from.
What I really like, possibly more than the show itself, is the culture surrounding it. Rather than "dudebros" of a certain type, the dudes on the show are actual bros, who support each other. It's a competition, with winners and losers (mostly losers), but there's no nastiness, no meanspiritedness surrounding it. There is said to be a "ninja camaraderie" on the set.
This is a show where it seems like anyone has a chance to win. You never know who will complete the obstacle course, or fail, or where they'll fail. Men, women, large, small, young, even old people have all competed. A 52-year-old father of five. A man suffering from a medical condition that affects his spine (I forget what it was). An 18-year-old. A schoolteacher.
One man tore through the qualifiers and posted the fastest time ever. On the main course, he posted the fastest time ever... for losing, within the first 3 seconds. Anything could make the people fail, such as when a very fast competitor slipped on a pole while trying to reach for another, and fell. Yet, people compensate in unexpected ways. One woman was too short to grab from one particular pole to another, so she jumped. One man climbed up, rather than down, a net, so he could roll down it on the other side.
With its sheer variety of competitors, its supportive atmosphere, and its unpredictability, American Ninja Warrior sends a great message to viewers: Anyone can compete, anyone could potentially win or lose, and even if you fail, you still tried, and people will support you for having made an effort.
The only thing better than this show itself, is the messages it sends
I'm not athletic, and never have been. Supposedly somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% of autistics/Aspies have a condition that's best defined as "sucking at sports", but is otherwise called something like "gross motor clumsiness", "dysphoria" or the like. Not only have I sucked at sports or anything athletic, I've never liked them.
But this show just fascinates me. People from all walks of life try to make their way through a very challenging obstacle course. Each obstacle challenges in a totally different way, whether it's an upside-down staircase that must be climbed by hand, or a trampoline that needs to be used to bounce up to reach a bar, or a series of poles that need to be either reached by hand or jumped from.
What I really like, possibly more than the show itself, is the culture surrounding it. Rather than "dudebros" of a certain type, the dudes on the show are actual bros, who support each other. It's a competition, with winners and losers (mostly losers), but there's no nastiness, no meanspiritedness surrounding it. There is said to be a "ninja camaraderie" on the set.
This is a show where it seems like anyone has a chance to win. You never know who will complete the obstacle course, or fail, or where they'll fail. Men, women, large, small, young, even old people have all competed. A 52-year-old father of five. A man suffering from a medical condition that affects his spine (I forget what it was). An 18-year-old. A schoolteacher.
One man tore through the qualifiers and posted the fastest time ever. On the main course, he posted the fastest time ever... for losing, within the first 3 seconds. Anything could make the people fail, such as when a very fast competitor slipped on a pole while trying to reach for another, and fell. Yet, people compensate in unexpected ways. One woman was too short to grab from one particular pole to another, so she jumped. One man climbed up, rather than down, a net, so he could roll down it on the other side.
With its sheer variety of competitors, its supportive atmosphere, and its unpredictability, American Ninja Warrior sends a great message to viewers: Anyone can compete, anyone could potentially win or lose, and even if you fail, you still tried, and people will support you for having made an effort.