Superstars (U.S. TV program)

Obstacle course variations

The popular obstacle course was the final event of the original Superstars to determine the overall winner. The Superteams version featured the obstacle course as an earlier event. The original course had the contestants climb a 12' rope wall, run through a tubular tunnel, push a blocking sled (or traverse across monkey bars in the Women's and Superteams versions), cleanly step through a dozen tires (2 rows of 6), jump over a water hazard (rectangular pool of water), clear a 4'6" high bar, jump two sets of hurdles and cross the FINISH line. Penalty seconds were added for missing tires, stepping in the water hazard and knocking down the high bar. Some athletes have shown super skills on this course by climbing the wall without using the rope and clearing the high bar like a hurdle.

For the 2009 "elimination event" version, contestants have to climb a rope wall, duck under four rope hurdles (2 sets side-by-side) (this was changed mid-season to a balance beam just over 3-inches wide), cleanly step through a bungee grid, ascend and descend a large ramp, push through a large door-like block, jump two sets of hurdles, run through a cargo net and cross the FINISH line.

SuperTeams

A companion competition, this event would pit the two World Series teams and the two Super Bowl teams in a playoff-type match using all the Superstars events, with some team events added such as Hawaiian rowing and the Tug-of-War. The running, swimming, and cycling events were relays, with the cycling done on tandem bikes; the obstacle course (which had its blocking sleds replaced by monkey bars similar to those used in the women's competition, as it was felt that the football teams would have too much of an advantage over the baseball teams) was decided by best combined time. The team that won the most events in each semi-final advanced to the SuperTeams finals where an ultimate champions would be crowned.^[1] The New York Yankees advanced to the World Series in 1977, 1978, and 1981, and was eligible to participate in these events held the early in the following year, however Yankees owner George Steinbrenner refused to allow his players to compete, as he had several of his top players under lucrative long term guaranteed contracts that required players to get ownership permission to participate in outside athletic activities, which in this case Steinbrenner refused to grant. In those years, loser of the ALCS in those years took the Yankees place, and in all three years that team ultimately won the competition.

In the 1978 final, the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Royals split the first six events, so the tug-of-war would decide the winner. However, while there was a time limit in the preliminary rounds, there was none in the final, and after 75 minutes in which neither team came particularly close to winning, the organizers declared the event (and, as a result, the competition) a tie.

Filming

On January 6, 2009, Variety reported that Juma Entertainment and Blue Entertainment Sports TV would produce a six-week series on ABC starting on June 23, 2009 featuring pairing of celebrities and athletes with one pair being eliminated each week.^[2] Principal location filming took place in the Bahamas.

The participating stars are:^[3][4]

Judges' scoring summary

Superstars (2009 edition) July 2009

     indicates the team eliminated.

     indicates the teams that went to the Obstacle Course.

     indicates the team that won the rubber match.

     indicates the winning team.

     indicates the runner-up team.

     indicates the third place team.

An early leaked clip showed Supermodel Joanna Krupa displeased with the performance of her teammate, Terrell Owens. This occurs in the first episode, during an elimination competition involving the obstacle course in which Mr. Owens gets tangled in the cargo net obstacle and loses a race.^[5] Lisa Leslie also struggled with the cargo net obstacle to the point that she became disoriented and reversed her direction, exiting the obstacle in the wrong direction and almost racing towards an obstacle she had already completed. These two teams (Owens/Krupa v. Leslie/Cortese) then go into a final race to determine who goes home. Although Owens performed better this time, Cortese stayed close enough behind him that Krupa was unable to outrace Leslie and Owens/Krupa were the first team eliminated from the competition. Krupa continued to vent her frustration and disappointment in Owens's performance well after the race was over, stating that she expected better results from such a well-known athlete.^[6] They had lost a kayak race earlier. A better performance in any of the events (the duathlon, in which they finished middle-of-the-pack, two kayak races that they lost, and two obstacle course races that they lost) would have permitted them to stay in the competition. However, there was no explanation as to why Owens/Krupa with their fourth-place finish (20 points ahead of two teams that tied for fifth place) were even in a "tiebreak" situation to begin with, and the show was also silent on what tiebreaker separated the two fifth-place teams, sending one to the obstacle course automatically while putting the other in a "rubber match" kayak race against Owens/Krupa—who clearly finished 20 points ahead of the fifth-place teams in the standings.

Along with Leslie/Cortese, Capriati/Charvet also struggled during the first round of competitions; most significant was Capriati missing the exchange of the bike between the teammates in the first event (a 1.1 mile duathlon) when she failed to spot it propped against a barricade where her partner had left it for her, and had to run nearly the entire distance of the road course.

In the second episode, a team was disbanded due to injury, and Owens and Krupa were allowed back on the show to compete in their stead. Jennifer Capriati and Dan Cortese withdrew from the competition due to injuries they sustained during the show.

The hosting cast is ESPN's John Saunders, former NFL All-Pro defensive tackle Warren Sapp, and NFL sideline reporter, fitness model, and TV host Jenn Brown (an accomplished athlete in her own right, having captained the University of Florida softball team).^[7]