‘Amazing Race’ casting call draws thousands to Saugus

More than 3,000 New Englanders shivering in this morning’s chill were surprisingly upbeat as they waited for their 15 minutes of fame.The would-be actors snaked a line that wrapped several times around Bernie and Phyl’s on Route 1 in Saugus, the site for this morning’s casting call to search for the perfect duo to fill a coveted spot on a popular reality TV show.For the past decade, “The Amazing Race” on CBS has been shipping off 11 pairs of travelers across the world for a shot to race through checkpoints, clues and cultures and win $1 million dollars.Local CBS affiliate WBZ-TV held a casting call for the show from 9 a.m. to noon today to see if New England could produce next season’s contestants. Apparently the area is fertile ground: “The Amazing Race” held a casting call last year in Tewksbury and sister reality-show ‘Survivor’ held one in August at Six Flags in Agawam.Past casting calls in the area drew hundreds of potential contestants, but CBS officials said today’s numbers – which they are still tallying – blew that out of the water.Lynn residents Jessica and Jenna Barbuzzi weren’t intimidated by some of their more outlandish competition, such as people dressed like chickens, teams wearing handmade T-shirts proclaiming “Lesbian,” or even a guy on roller skates.They arrived at Bernie and Phyl’s at 7:50 a.m. this morning simply to check “trying out for a reality show” off their bucket list, Jessica said.For more on the Amazing Race casting call in Saugus, including a video the Lynn sisters’ try out and more stories from area residents at the casting call, read Monday’s Daily Item and tune into itemlive.com.