Immediately following the obstacle course is the balloon toss. Every caught balloon would shave precious seconds off of your obstacle course time, so it was vital to catch as many as possible. Stacy employs the shirt-cradle method, which rarely works. Stacy should have known that the hands are mightier than the shirt.

Afterglow 2006 - Day 4

Everyone on the team, be it big or small, has to take part in the balloon toss. In a competition where the winner is decided by mere seconds, every person has the opportunity to be the bright shining hero and save the day. I don't believe that Faith caught a balloon, but everyone in the audience gave her a grand round of applause for her effort and participation. Plus she looked so darn cute it really didn't matter.

Home

James got roped into participating because they needed an older person with good organizational skills to lead the team. He really didn't have a choice because Janelle and Faith automatically had to participate because it was their 1st year at Afterglow and everyone figured that if they were doing it then he should too. He did have a good time, and I think he rediscovered why he used to look forward to Day 4 many years ago.

Even though it had been three years, getting back on this thing was just like riding a bike; you never really forget how to do it. It's surprising that Tim didn't break it, seeing as how he was 3 years older and had incurred 3 years of good eatin'. That kind of thing will happen to you when you're surrounded by the Kurutz/Reck clan.

My memory fails me now (just one of the downsides to writing this nearly 5 months after it happened) but I don't think that there were too many balloons that ended up being caught. In all of the years that I remember either doing or witnessing the balloon toss, it seems like more get broken or dropped than end up in one piece safely cradled in someone's hands. I guess it does make for a better show for the audience and on video night if more balloons explode in people's faces and they walk away soaking wet. People do like to be entertained.