“What do you need for an official betting show? Excavator, yes of course! glasses, sure. Check. Blonde moderator? check.”
This is how moderator Guido Cantz (50) presented himself at the beginning of the new betting show “I bet on you”.
An obvious allusion to the mother of all Saturday night shows, “Wetten, dass ..?”, and Thomas Gottschalk (72). The broadcaster RTL explained in the announcement text for the show: “7 spectacular bets, 3 prominent guests who gamble for money and a moderator who leads through the show in the best campfire manner.” But instead of campfire style, this show ran on “bets, that..?”-low flame.
It wasn’t because of the bets though!
Presenter Guido Cantz hosted the show
They had probably been stolen from the ZDF “Wetten, dass..?” mailbox.
The seven bets: the owner of a bedding shop only recognized mattresses when he was blindfolded and lying on them for a short while, a wheelchair user pulled a truck, a married couple could only recognize small plastic figures by feeling them with their feet, a young gymnast did somersaults and threw in darts Stuntman drove a two-wheeled car around a fire while frying a fried egg, two bridal shop owners recognized songs only by the snippet “Love”. And, of course, a bagger bet!
Giovanni Giacalone from Buxtehude bet that he could set a table with his excavator and had exactly six minutes to do it. Spectacular. But removing four tablecloths with the excavator in five minutes – that was the case with “Wetten, dass..?” in 2014.
Presenter Guido Cantz (left) and candidate Giovanni during the excavator, sorry, table-deck-you bet
The bets were all entertaining, impressive and the highlight of the show. The performance of wheelchair user Tobias Anthöfer from the district of Unna was particularly strong. He bet he could tow a party truck with 50 people ten meters away. Weight of the truck: 22 tons!
Anthöfer is a real world record holder and is considered the strongest wheelchair user in the world! He had gained a few pounds since the world record. Anthöfer: “I’ve gained a little weight.” Celebrity guest Mario Barth (49) chuckled: “You need a little counterweight.”
Anthöfer also advertised his “Strongman-Athletik-Rollstuhl-Kraftsportverein” – which he founded to give more people in wheelchairs the opportunity to do weight training. The fact that there were 50 people on the party truck celebrating diversity also suited his commitment. Anthöfer: “In my small world we are all in the same boat. Whether you have a disability, whether you’re trans, it doesn’t give a damn!”
With a pinched face and cheered on by screams, the strongman pumped and pulled the truck the ten meters across the finish line at breakneck speed – bet won! No wonder that the viewers in the studio also voted Tobias Anthöfer “Betting King” at the end of the show, which of course wasn’t called that. The world record holder shed a few small tears and was happy about 15,000 euros.
Diversity was celebrated on the party truck
The show conclusion?
And yet the evening lacked the necessary fuel to really bring the whole family in front of the emotional campfire. Instead of changing betting godparents, there was a fixed guest panel with Sonja Zietlow (54), Motsi Mabuse (41) and Mario Barth. For each bet, the three had to bet between one and 5,000 euros on the success of the bet. Betting against the bet? Only symbolically possible with one euro. An embarrassing bet for the celebrities? none. Did someone have to hurry to the plane? No, not even to the bus. The positive thing was that no one was forced to present a new film or a new song.
And then there was Guido Cantz. The presenter already had some problems with the moderation of the second major TV battleship “Understand you fun”. With “I Bet On You,” Cantz also bet that he could crack as many mostly flat jokes as possible in the shortest possible time while appearing as relaxed as possible.
Sonja Zietlow, Motsi Mabuse and Mario Barth (from left) supported the candidates
It was far removed from the warmth and improvisation of a Thomas Gottschalk. taste? The moderator of the somersault darts bet: “Three things at once – only my Thermomix at home can do that.”
“I’m counting on you” – and RTL relied on the principle: “It’s better to steal something good than to do it yourself badly.”
Oh, and at the end of the show, of course, there were bouquets of flowers for all the women on stage – just like… you know!