Here is the text of the chat.Rob and Brennan's CBS Chat Transcript (12/17/01)
Amazing_Race_Host: Hi Guys! Welcome and thanks for being here to chat with us today.
AR_Rob: Hi and thanks for being fans and I'm looking forward to the chat.
AR_Brennan: It's great to be here after a whirlwind of a weekend it's nice to sit and chat here with everybody.
stantheman: in all honesty, did you ever really think you could lose? 2 young bodybuilders with law degrees against a bunch of mostly old, fat people?
AR_Rob: Honestly, it really was anybody's game. We had the advantage of being young and some physical talents but we hadn't traveled as much as some of the other teams and that counted just as much in the race. We had a lot of luck come our way and all the teams were very strong.
AR_Brennan: Plus there weren't any weighlifting competitions.
CaliGirl: Brennan, was it okay with you that Rob did most of the talking? Was he speaking for both of you by mutual agreement?
AR_Brennan: I would say Rob did the most of the talking after the editing. I did just as much talking as Rob. Unfortunately, Rob's a lot smarter… just kidding. Rob tends to talk in sound bytes and that worked better for the editors.
edensCrush: More than once Frank has charged you with piggybacking on him in a deadlock. But he hasn't exactly been a model of chivalry himself. What's the best example you can give of his behavior?
AR_Rob: Let me start by saying that Frank's a great competitor and sometimes the adrenaline gets the better of him. I think a good example was in the final show where Frank kept thinking we were following him and trying to do underhanded things when in fact we made all our flight reservations before them and chose not to sabotage them.
quebec_01: Could you explain the gap between you two and Frank & Margarita in NYC final stretch?
AR_Brennan: Once we reached Vincent Daniel Square we immediately ran up to the elevated train and the train came within thirty seconds. Frank and Marguerita were very close behind us but missed the train by about thirty seconds. Therefore they had to wait about fifteen mins. for the next train to come. So it really was as close as it looked in the editing for not making the train.
solareclipse: What did you usually do during the mandatory 12 hour waiting periods?
AR_Rob: We would try to get some rest if possible but a lot of the time was devoted to doing interviews discussing the prior leg and we also tried to do some preparation and strategy for what we thought might come next. Honestly though the best part about the pit stops was when there was a time to hang out and have fun with the other teams.
AR_Brennan: Speaking of the other teams, a lot of people have asked how we became so close because they didn't show us together a lot on the show but as Rob said we did spend a lot of time with the other teams at the pit stops. We spent a lot of time drinking Chardoney with Team Guido.
AR_Rob: And shaving Kevin and Drew's heads…
patriot: You ran an awesome race! Besides winning, what was the most memorable moment of the race for you?
AR_Brennan: I guess spending time with the final five teams at the second pit stop in India at the Laxmi Niwas Palace. We had a production delay and were there an extra two days and got to spend a lot of quality time with the other four teams and the crew.
AR_Rob: I absolutely agree with Brennan. Those two days at the palace hanging out, eating and drinking together and just getting to know one another was the best time during the race.
hashpipe: Which pit stop greeter did you like the most? How bout the least?
AR_Brennan: That's pretty easy - it was definitely Sarah in Italy.
AR_Rob: Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!
AR_Brennan: My least favorite was the Buddhist monk in the episode where Nacy and Emily were eliminated because we couldn't understand a thing he said. He didn't even tell us we're in first place in English.
hooters: I'm a huge fan from Singapore! Do you guys think that couples tend to bicker more than friends in the game? What's the best advice for someone choosing a partner for the race?
AR_Rob: I definitely think there's more potential for bickering when it's a romantic relationship in the race. Brennan and I have always been good friends and we know how each other thinks and there wasn't the drama of a relationship investment between us. My advice for picking a partner for the race is just to pick someone you know well and can have fun with and when problems come up save them for later and don't let them affect how you run the race.
Moondancer03: Did you guys EVER fight with each other during the race?
AR_Brennan: Yes, but very rarely. Most of the time when we fought it was due to a stressful situation where we used words that made each other angry. However, there weren't any times that we had any big fights that affected our standing in the race. Usually when we did have a disagreement we would talk it out during a pit stop.
joecleo: were there any teams you were really sad to see eliminated?
AR_Rob: We were sad when all the teams were eliminated because they all played their hearts out. Of course we were especially sad to see Nancy and Emily and Kevin and Drew have to leave because we'd become very close with them by the time they were eliminated.
AR_Brennan: I agree. Those were the two teams that enjoyed spending time with and was sad to see them go.
MikeBoston: What have you guys been doing since the show ended?
AR_Brennan: Assuming you mean since we were done taping the show - we went back to our jobs until October. Now we are practicing law on our own and taking the time to see what other future opportunities in show business might come from being on The Amazing Race.
AR_Rob: We had such a blast doing the show that we can't help but want to continue to do things like it.
AR_Brennan: I'm also trying to work on my new Internet T-shirt business at swainbrain.com.
AR_Brennan: Check it out!
AR_Rob: We're also working on our own site: RobandBrennan.com
konkey: Congrats on your win. How much money did you receive on your final leg? You guys gave $300 for a cell phone.
AR_Rob: I don't recall exactly how much we received on the final leg but it wasn't more than $100 however we had been extremely good throughout the race at saving money from prior legs. We never slept in hotels, conserve food…all the time hoping that saving money might be an advantage later in the race. We had saved close to one thousand dollars by the final leg.
AR_Brennan: Plus we stole all of Team Guido's money - that's why they ran out in India! Just kidding…
Dewey: How are you guys spending the money?
AR_Brennan: As I sadi on the Early Show - I'll be taking Ping-Pong lessons. Seriously, we're going to live off it for the next few months while we try to see what new opportunities come from our victory.
AR_Rob: We're also going to try to buy KevinandDrew.com and close it down.
PrincessKelly: do you feel you were portrayed accurately on television?
AR_Brennan: Generally, yes. I think because we didn't fight, didn't have any relationship drama and weren't scared to perform a lot of the tasks we didn't get as much air time as some of the other teams so that made us look quiet and boring at times. However, we were easily the most exciting team on the race…at least we think so.
AR_Rob: Brennan's exciting but I AM really boring.
FrankieM: Frank said on the show that R&B were "already millionaires." Is that true?
AR_Rob: * laughs * We're certainly not millionaires. We do have good careers but we also have debt from law school and plenty of good uses for the money.
AR_Brennan: A lot of people thought that Frank and Marguerita deserved to win because they had a daughter but Rob and I certainly plan to have kids some day…
AR_Rob: But not together!
AR_Brennan: …certainly not together!
Dewey: Why did your early alliance with Frank and Margarita break up so soon?
AR_Rob: I think a couple of reasons - the first being that the alliance initially was only meant for safety driving around in the middle of the night in Africa. After that it was just too hard for teams to travel together internationally. We also felt that we shared everything with Frank and Marguerita and they sometimes didn't reciprocate.
AR_Brennan: Which means share things with us.
AR_Brennan: Frank was just paranoid.
RandBrule: Which leg do you feel was your worst performance?
AR_Brennan: Leg four when we took the train from Tunas to El Jem. We didn't research as much as we normally do. Some cute girls told us to take the train so we just took the train while the other teams took faster cabs. It was the first that we were towards the back of the pack.
AR_Rob: I think our worst performance was in Leg Six because neither of us got dates with Sarah!
hooters: Have you guys received any marriage proposals from crazy female fans? (I would send one myself actually! LOL)
AR_Rob: * laughs * We actually got them from Kevin and Drew when they saw our check on the Early Show!
AR_Brennan: The actual answer is yes…
tambec: Rob, what ever became of your broken finger? Did you really break it?
AR_Rob: * laughs * The finger is fine now. It was cut and dislocated at the same time but healed quickly. There were good medical staff along for the show when necessary.
AR_Brennan: He actually just scraped it. He just wanted sympathy from me.
AR_Rob: But I didn't get sympathy - he called me a girl! * laughs *
AR_Brennan: * laughs *
charlotte: What were your impressions of Joe and Bill before and after the race?
AR_Brennan: Before the race they actually tried to sabotage us in the hotel before we even left New York by telling one of the production assistants that we had been using the phone when had not. Therefore, we started on a bad foot. Throughout the race there were time when we definitely did not like them however, by the end of the race we realized that that was just the way they decided to play the game and have since become very good friends with them.
AR_Brennan: Plus, they have a condo in Utah and we want them to invite us to go skiing so we have to be nice.
Monica: Would either of you guys pose for Playgirl?
AR_Rob: * laughs * Okay, Monica, every man has his price!
AR_Brennan: Except me…
(The following are RnB's answers to a question which was not posted by the CBS moderator accidentally)
AR_Brennan: The crews were not in a selected cab but were always running along with us. There were times when we would have to slow down for the cameramen because they had backpacks like ours along with their camera equipment. However, all the teams had to do this so it was fair for everybody.
AR_Rob: The camera teams were rotated among the different racing teams to keep things fair in case one camera crew was slower than another.
AR_Brennan: They rotated every two or three legs.
AR_Rob: By the way, getting to know the camera crews in the down times of the race was really cool. They've done some amazing things in their careers.
caterbone: Exactly how anxious did you feel when you found out the race ended in New York? Frank & Margerita were great competitors!
AR_Rob: We were definitely nervous because in any game homefield advantage is a huge thing. However, we didn't change our strategy and just knew that we had to do things as well and as quickly as we could.
AR_Brennan: Yes, Frank and Marguerita were great competitors however, I think their downfall was giving their cabby directions when we just told ours the address and go as fast as you can.
cjoy1127: What did you do to prepare for the race?
AR_Brennan: We couldn't do a whole lot to prepare but we did buy some maps, bought a French/English translation book and spent some extra time at the gym.
AR_Rob: It's difficult to prepare because the things we bought like the maps and translation books, we weren't allowed to take with us so it was just a matter of trying to get a feel for where we thought we might go.
AR_Rob: …and trying to learn a little bit about those places.
AR_Brennan: We've heard that each team will receive some money for their participation however we have no idea what it is. We hope that everyone gets a good chunk of change as everyone played a great game.
AR_Rob: Whether a team was eliminated first or stayed in the game a long time they still had to take two months out of their lives and deserve a reward for playing hard and making great television.
caterbone: If you were not the winner…what team would you have liked to see win? And why?
AR_Brennan: Nancy and Emily because I think that would have surprised everybody the most. Plus, I think Emily's kind of cool.
AR_Rob: Brennan is blinded by passion. Of course Nancy and Emily are sentimental favorites but had we not won it would have been nice to see Frank and Marguerita win because they were runners up and played a great game.
memi: Towards the end of the show, I saw most of the teams using guide books. Was this a change of tactics by the surviving teams or did you use them from the start?
AR_Brennan: The first time we used a guide book was I Tunisia. Although I said earlier our worst moment was on the train to El Jem an English couple we met on the train gave us a Tunisian guidebook. After it proved useful to us we began buying guidebooks for all the countries we went to.
AR_Brennan: I think later in the race other teams realized that this was a good strategy as well.
rlb29: I hear Brennan and Emily are dating - true?
AR_Brennan: Yes, it's true. It didn't start during the race. Actually Emily had a boyfriend and I had a girlfriend at the time. It really has started since the show has been on the air.
AR_Rob: They're great together.
stacies: was India as bad as it looked?
AR_Rob: Yes. It was heartwrenching to see the poverty that many of the Indian people live in and it was difficult to focus on playing a game when it really doesn't matter in the sense of seeing this culture and how heartwrenching it is to see the conditions in many of the places.
AR_Brennan: At the same time however, we did have to continue the race and it was difficult because the cab drivers didn't care that we were in a hurry, the roads were very crowded wit people, bikes, cows, camels, cars trucks and many other things.
AR_Rob: Including Amazing Racers…
AR_Brennan: It just made racing very, very stressful.
foxygirl: congratulations you guys…was the last episode taped before or after sept.11 -and did that affect you guys flying around the world?
AR_Rob: We finished the race in April so September 11th had no effect.
AR_Brennan: It only affected our ratings.
AR_Rob: It'll be interesting to see how and if Amazing Race 2 is effected or changed to cope with the things going on in the world.
smcbelle: What changes or improvements would you suggest to the producers of Amazing Race 2?
AR_Brennan: I did not like the tasks that were "first come, first serve" because there's no opportunity for teams to pass one another. For example, when Frank and Marguerita were doing the Alaskan blanket toss we had to just sit in the cabin and wait for tehm to finish. So one suggestion I would have is to not have "first come, first serve" tasks.
AR_Rob: I agree.
lilbit: did you send the phone back?……with a huge tip!!!
AR_Rob: * laughs * We did send the phone back, yes. However the funny thing is that the girl who lent it to us had enlisted in the military so by the time the phone got back to her it was passed on to her sister.
powder: Brennan was that water as cold as it looked, and how did it feel to have to jump back in the second time. lol
AR_Brennan: It was absolutely frigid! I was NOT happy that I had to jump in a second time. However, I knew we were close to the end of the race so my adrenaline was pumping which tended to make my body forget that I was in thirty-three degree water.
nygabster: Did you think it was a fair race? Considering that Nancy/Emily had a difficult time in India where they don't treat woman as equals.
AR_Rob: I think overall the race was very fair. Teams that might have a disadvantage in one country may have an advantage elsewhere for instance, Nancy and Emily had some difficulty in India but in other countries there were plenty of times when people would lend a helping hand to them.
AR_Brennan: For example, Emily was showered with coins at the Eiffel Tower when she needed ten francs to look through the viewfinder.
karp: Congrats on a great race! Were you surprised by anything you saw when the episodes aired? Particularly by anything the other teams said or did?
AR_Brennan: The most I was surprised was when Frank complained about us trying to backstab him during our alliance. It surprised me because we felt we had been completely honest with him and Marguerita.
AR_Rob: I definitely agree. I think the thing that surprised us most throughout the race was to hear how often Frank thought we were scheming.
AR_Brennan: We were also surprised that teams didn't have much bad to say about us. Before the race started we were afraid that being the young, athletic lawyers - that other teams wouldn't like us. However, this did not turn out to be the case.
RandBrule: Would you defend your title in AR 2 if CBS offered?
AR_Rob: * laughs * Without a doubt.
AR_Brennan: * laughs * Heck yeah, let us know where we need to be and we're ready to go!
AR_Brennan: If not Amazing Race 2 then maybe Amazing Race 3…or 4…blah, blah, blah…
Amazing_Race_Host: Unfortunately, we're all out of time with Rob and Brennan to day. Rob and Brennan, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today. Any final comments for the fans?
AR_Rob: I want to say thank you for so enjoying the show and for taking the time to join us today. It wouldn't have been half the experience without hearing so much from the fans.
AR_Brennan: The last few days have been a true joy for us after hearing all of the compliments and congratulations that we have gotten from all our friends and fans. We just want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support and we hope that you'll see more of us in the future.
AR_Brennan: Keep an eye out at RobandBrennan.com for any of our future appearances.
Race_Fan: You guys are great !!!!
R_n_B_Fan: You guys were great and played the game with class! You guys ROCK!
spink: All the best, guys!!!
LindaLuvsTAR: CONGRATS GUYS!! SENDING LOTS OF LOVE FROM SINGAPORE!!
hashpipe: Congrats RnB! You deserve it!
nick: Way to go Rob and Brennan!!!
JeanGrey: WE LOVE YOU! R_n_B_Fan: You guys were great!
Congratulations Rob and Brennan!
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