The Most Awesome Competition EVER!

About twice a month, I go down to Dustin and Jessika's house on Saturday to spend the day hanging out with them watching movies, television, and play Xbox 360 games. They have three things I do not: a high-definition television, cable, and a DVR. So they save the coolest in movies and tv shows for me to watch. In return, I provide my own soda, and tickle their baby with my beard. Yesterday, Dustin introduced me to their latest addiction: Ninja Warrior. As a freak coincidence, Jess posted about the show herself sometime yesterday as well. So what is Ninja Warrior, you ask. It is, hands down, the greatest athletic competition I have ever seen! I'm not a sports guy by any stretch, and most televised competitions bore me to tears. But Ninja Warrior had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Known as Sasuke in Japan, each seasonal Ninja Warrior competition pits 100 contestants against four levels of physical challenges, each more demanding than the previous one. Whoever manages to get all the way through (and in 18 seasons, only two have ever done so) wins all the honor that comes with the title of Ninja Warrior. And, apparently, a small amount of cash, but hardly enough for that to be the real goal for the competitors. No, in the best traditions of the original Olympic games, these men and women are putting themselves through these punishing obstical courses primarily for the honor of winning. The competition is fierce, and the competitors vary widely. There have been Olympic medalists who have washed out in the first or second round, and professional atheletes of all stripes and nationalities have given it a try. But the two champions, the only two men to ever complete the final stage, aren't professional athletes at all. One was a professional fisherman, the other a crab diver. Ordinary working-class Japanese men. Another favorite is the gas station manager (who competes in his uniform) who made it to the final stage, but dislocated his shoulder and had to drop out. On the episode I saw yesterday, he washed out in the first round, as did the world's toughest transsexual and a guy in a Spiderman suit. It's an incredibly diverse group of competitors. I seriously think the Japanese must be the toughest people on the planet, if their fishermen and gas station managers compete in a competition like this. It was a truly awesomne spectacle to behold, and Dustin has promised to save me some more episodes for my next trip down. I, for one, can't wait.