I'm not sure if this is the right place to post, so feel free to lock if I'm out of bounds.

Every season it seems that there are some contestants who know the game, have seen previous survivors and/or realize taht they are there to play the game. Others are there for the experience.

Examples of the later include Gabe from S4, Lillian, Michelle, and many others.

But in the players category you have:
Alex from S6. When he was voted out he said. Hey, you got me. Well done. Now that's the right attitude.
Rob from S6 was probably the first Survivor junky to play. He was so into the game that he made the rest of the tribes value gamesmanship far more than work and other qualities. Had it been Matt vs. Jenna on S4, Matt would have won in a landslide because work and work ethic was highly valued among the jurors. Everyone respected Rob for his playing abilities, though.

Which brings us to this season.

Burton by his initial closing comments said that he could understand the vote because he would have done the same thing in their place. He recognized himself as a physical threat.

Trish clearly had studied the game and came with a plan. Fly UTR, make careful alliances and try to influence events without necessarily saying "we need to do this and you must agree with me". Likewise, when she voted for Rupert, she said, this is not personal, this is a game-strategic decision. When she was ousted, she said: Hey hats off to the drake tribe. Good for you guys. You kept a secret and that's the beauty of this game. You just never know what's going to happen. I knew this going into the game. I think you guys are all great and I hope one of the Drakes end up winning the million dollars. I still consider you guys friends and I think you guys are going into the merge and just kick the Morgans' butt. Thanks for playing with me and I had a great time.
She's not bitter, she kept the game in perspective and I respect that in a player. Did she connive too much? Possibly. Did she need to say the bald-faced lie in TC? Absolutely. What else was she going to say? "Well, Rupert, I did try to orchestrate your removal and I see that you are on to me so no hard feelings?"

So, all in all, I think that Trish was a very good Survivor player and good person.

Rupert: He also knows the game and he spoke the truth when he said that no-one wants to go against him in F2 because he's so well liked and that he is a huge II threat. However, it seems to me that he has equated his tribe (or at least his alliance) with his family and has got his emotions too involved.

Jon: well, I can't say anything here because it should all go in the bashers forum.

Are there others who are playing the game well and are keeping it perspective? Sure. Andrew is doing that and I think that's why he was so pissed off at Jon's 'stunning confession'. To him, that was a below-the-belt comment and it turned the game a little more personal for him. Now he has a grudge against Jon.

So what do y'all think?

-aethelstan

• RE: Keeping the game in perspective,coolflowerpowerman, 11:02 AM, 10-24-03
  • RE: Keeping the game in perspective,Nash, 11:07 AM, 10-24-03
    • RE: Keeping the game in perspective,aethelstan, 11:16 AM, 10-24-03
• Keeping the game in perspective or just diplomacy?,Chrissy gal, 11:22 AM, 10-24-03
• RE: Keeping the game in perspective,Fast Eddie, 02:00 PM, 10-25-03

I basically agree with you on everything you've said.

In addition to the players you named, I think Ryan O. and Tijuana are also keeping the game in perspective and won't be too bitter if they are voted out.

Speaking of which ... I like Tijuana. She's refreshing. She smiles all the time. She's upbeat.

I agree with both of you on that. Ryan and Tijuana both have a very positive attitude to the game and I appreciate that too. I just was worried that my post was getting overly long.

I think that what you are referring to is a combination of perspective and diplomacy. I just watched the Early Show interview with Trish and she showed a lot of diplomacy.

There are people who might understand that they will be voted out someday, but wear their emotions on their sleeves and can't hide it. And there are others who might wonder how anyone could possibly vote them out, but they are diplomatic enough to make the end look good. In so many cases we don't get enough information about the players to know whether they really have perspective or just a boat load of diplomacy.

In Trish's interview you could tell she is still very unhappy with Rupert for getting cozy with the other tribe, and in a chat with Burton he expressed that Rupert is the one person he is still upset with because he "thought he could trust him."

Chrissy gal

"Never underestimate the potential psychosis of a reality show contestant." managerr

These people seem among the best so far at keeping the game in perspective and not taking their ouster personally. Interestingly, Rupert seems to be the poorest in this regard. Based on the preview, it looks like he's taking the attempted coup against him very personally indeed.

However, this attitude has little to do with good game play. We've seen very little of that so far. We keep hearing about loyalty to the tribe. Anyone who remembers why they signed up should recall that tribes don't win the big prizes, individuals do. And getting rid of people who will be a threat down the road is something that shouldn't be done prematurely. It's pretty unlikely that anyone can win immunity 8 times in a row, and everyone will be gunning for the big threats after the merge anyway.