Saw this spoiler posted by MightyMom2 at survivorsucks. Thought it might be interesting. Note that my thoughts on this thing was that Penny's order was unchanged.
First-time poster, long-time lurker. Never registered or posted before because: 1. Never had anything spoiler-worthy to say, 2. Couldn't come up with a clever name (my boys came up with this one), and 3. Frankly, some of you scare me. So, agree or disagree. The following may be just a coincidence, or may not. I have read two of Mark Burnett's books, and I know that he does put subtle hints in the episodes and opening credits. I also know he is very egotistical, so this may just pan out.
Imagine the telephone keypad and the letters assigned to the numbers. Now shift the letters up so that you use the numbers 1 through 8 (eight members on each tribe). Assign letters to those numbers as follows:
Tribes shown 2nd in opening credits (Tagi, Kucha, Boran, Maraamu)
1 = A, B, C
2 = D, E, F
3 = G, H, I
4 = J, K, L
5 = M, N, O
6 = P, R, S
7 = T, U, V
8 = W, X, Y
Tribes shown 1st in opening credits (Pagong, Ogakor, Samburu, Rotu)
1 = W, X, Y
2 = T, U, V
3 = P, R, S
4 = M, N, O
5 = J, K, L
6 = G, H, I
7 = D, E, F
8 = A, B, C
Winners:
Richard = 5th person shown on 2nd tribe shown = M, N, or O "M"
Tina = 8th person shown on 1st tribe shown = A, B, or C "A"
Ethan = 6th person shown on 2nd tribe shown = P, R, or S "R"
Vecepia = 4th person shown on 2nd tribe shown = J, K, or L "K"
If this same pattern follows, and MB is spelling out his name, the next letter would be "B", which would be either Penny (8th person shown on 1st tribe shown) or Clay (1st person shown on 2nd tribe shown).
Here is the exact order in the opening credits for each Survivor season:
S1
Pagong: BB, Colleen, Gervase, Gretchen, Jenna, Joel, Ramona, Greg
Tagi: Dirk, Stacey, Rudy, Sonja, Richard, Kelly, Sean, Susan
S2
Ogakor: Colby, Maralyn, Keith, Mitchell, Jerri, Kel, Amber, Tina
Kucha: Michael, Alicia, Rodger, Elisabeth, Kimmi, Nick, Debb, Jeff
S3
Samburu: Frank, Linda, Silas, Kim, Lindsey, Brandon, Carl, Teresa
Boran: Kelly, Diane, Tom, Clarence, Kim, Ethan, Lex, Jessie
S4
Rotu: Neleh, Robert, Kathy, Tammy, Gabriel, Zoe, Paschal, John
Maraamu: Hunter, Sarah, Peter, Vecepia, Gina, Sean, Patricia, Rob
S5
Sook Jai: Jed, Shii Ann, Jake, Erin, Robb, Stephanie, Ken, Penny
Chuay Gahn: Clay, Helen, Brian, Ghandia, John, Jan, Ted, Tanya
I haven't been able to figure out a pattern that would determine which of the 2 tribes to pick from, but at least I can narrow it down to two people this way.