Post by Matty Whitmore on Sept 7, 2011 17:51:58 GMT -5
Hey Everyone!
First, I want to say thank you to everyone for making CbSurvivor 4: Outcast Island so entertaining. This has been a crazy game from start to finish, but I enjoyed every minute. Coming into the game, I didn't know a single person, but I leave the game with a few new friendships and a new-found respect for how different people play the game.
If there is one thing I can say about this game, it's that there was never a shortage of drama. Whether it was Sarah calling out Joel, or Phillip putting the spotlight on the Jimmy/Julie/Jenna Alliance, or Na Onka going ape shit on Jimmy for lying, this game definitely had its share of ups and downs... and a lot of dramatic threads locked by the host. But that shows how much passion and intensity everyone brought to this game, and that's why I feel it's so important to give this game a deserving winner.
So why do I deserve to win?
The motto of Survivor is Outwit, Outplay, Outlast, and I believe I did each of these better than Jimmy and Julie.
Outwit
Let me share part of my very first confessional with you:
Coming into this game, my strategy is to be the dark horse. I want to be the one that everyone dismisses right from the beginning. At the halfway point, I might still be at the back of the pack, but by the end, I will be a contender to win the whole thing. To do that, I need to keep myself under the radar and let other people put targets on their own backs... I’ll be a force to be reckoned with, but no one will realize it until it’s too late.
I had a strategy from the beginning, and I stuck to it. First impressions in this game are everything. I wanted people to overlook me as any type of competitor, so I held back in the first few challenges, didn't talk to people except to find out who they were voting for, and didn't ask anyone for any sort of alliances. As the game went on, I gradually stepped up my game in each of those areas just enough so that people would keep me around, but not enough to make myself a target.
This strategy worked perfectly. In the Majority Rules Challenge, not a single person said I was the strongest in challenges -- but I went on to win 4 of the last 5 competitions. And, not a single person said I would win the game -- but I was the first person to guarantee myself a spot in the Final 3. I made strategic decisions in this game that made people underestimate me, and that’s why I’m sitting here in the Final 3 in the best position I could possibly be in.
In comparison, Jimmy and Julie never really “outwitted” people. Their alliance was outed as soon as the tribes merged, and aside from backstabbing Phillip and sort of blindsiding Jenna at the very end, everything they did was very transparent. I was never part of an alliance with them, but I still knew who they were voting for every round -- and I am sure members of the jury did too. In the Majority Rules Challenge, everyone agreed Julie was a strong competitor with the best chance of winning the game. And most people agreed that Jimmy was the biggest liar who thought he was controlling the game. So did they really outwit anyone? No. Everyone knew they were in the core alliance that was running the show… It wasn’t a case of being outwitted, just outnumbered.
Outplay
In terms of challenges, I definitely outplayed Jimmy and Julie. I won 4 individual Immunity Challenges, which is double what both Jimmy and Julie won combined. And based on the links at the bottom of this forum, it looks like I won more individual Immunity Challenges than anyone in the history of CbSurvivor. I think that says a lot about my dedication and perseverance.
In terms of my social/strategic game, I played very differently than Jimmy and Julie. I think I played this game with a lot more honesty and integrity than either of them. For the most part, I was honest and upfront about who I was voting for. Even if I knew I was voting in the minority, or voting for the person that was asking me how I was voting, I told people the truth. Secondly, I always voted the way I wanted to vote. I never took the safe route, or rode coattails, or went along with the majority because it was the popular thing to do… I did what would put me in the best position to make the Final 3, and ultimately to win the game. And that’s why I only voted in the majority twice since the merge -- when Phillip was voted out, and when Na Onka was voted out. The rest of you (Misty, Lex, Anthony, Sarah, Gillian, Joel and Jenna), I never had a hand in any of your eliminations… In fact, most of the time I voted for Jimmy and Julie, which makes it all the more awkward sitting beside them in the Final 3.
On the other hand, Jimmy admitted that he lied, deceived and backstabbed people out of boredom. He wanted to make things interesting, but he deliberately betrayed people when he didn’t need to. This is Survivor, and sure there are moments where lying is forgivable… but betraying people for entertainment is pretty low. Julie lied a few times too (but she was more discrete about it than Jimmy), and ultimately she just made promises with people that she couldn’t keep. The ironic part is that both of them were “in control” the entire game, yet had to rely on lies and deception. Meanwhile I was never in control of anything, but still played a more honest game than both of them.
Outlast
Overall, I believe I played the game with a more original strategy than Jimmy and Julie. It’s easy to make a core alliance with 2 or 3 people, then extend it to a few more people, and vote off anyone who isn’t serving your interest. If you look around at pretty much any online reality game, 95% of the time that’s how people get to the Finals. Does it work? Sure. But it’s been done. In fact, it’s probably already been done in the CbSurvivor series.
It’s more uncommon to find someone who truly played the majority of this game independently and still made it to the Final 3. and I hope that you will vote for me to win because I took the path less travelled.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- "The Road Not Taken"
by Robert Frost
Anyway, thanks for reading this (sorry, I know it's long!). I look forward to answering your questions, and I will try to keep my answers short and sweet in the future!
First, I want to say thank you to everyone for making CbSurvivor 4: Outcast Island so entertaining. This has been a crazy game from start to finish, but I enjoyed every minute. Coming into the game, I didn't know a single person, but I leave the game with a few new friendships and a new-found respect for how different people play the game.
If there is one thing I can say about this game, it's that there was never a shortage of drama. Whether it was Sarah calling out Joel, or Phillip putting the spotlight on the Jimmy/Julie/Jenna Alliance, or Na Onka going ape shit on Jimmy for lying, this game definitely had its share of ups and downs... and a lot of dramatic threads locked by the host. But that shows how much passion and intensity everyone brought to this game, and that's why I feel it's so important to give this game a deserving winner.
So why do I deserve to win?
The motto of Survivor is Outwit, Outplay, Outlast, and I believe I did each of these better than Jimmy and Julie.
Outwit
Let me share part of my very first confessional with you:
I had a strategy from the beginning, and I stuck to it. First impressions in this game are everything. I wanted people to overlook me as any type of competitor, so I held back in the first few challenges, didn't talk to people except to find out who they were voting for, and didn't ask anyone for any sort of alliances. As the game went on, I gradually stepped up my game in each of those areas just enough so that people would keep me around, but not enough to make myself a target.
This strategy worked perfectly. In the Majority Rules Challenge, not a single person said I was the strongest in challenges -- but I went on to win 4 of the last 5 competitions. And, not a single person said I would win the game -- but I was the first person to guarantee myself a spot in the Final 3. I made strategic decisions in this game that made people underestimate me, and that’s why I’m sitting here in the Final 3 in the best position I could possibly be in.
In comparison, Jimmy and Julie never really “outwitted” people. Their alliance was outed as soon as the tribes merged, and aside from backstabbing Phillip and sort of blindsiding Jenna at the very end, everything they did was very transparent. I was never part of an alliance with them, but I still knew who they were voting for every round -- and I am sure members of the jury did too. In the Majority Rules Challenge, everyone agreed Julie was a strong competitor with the best chance of winning the game. And most people agreed that Jimmy was the biggest liar who thought he was controlling the game. So did they really outwit anyone? No. Everyone knew they were in the core alliance that was running the show… It wasn’t a case of being outwitted, just outnumbered.
Outplay
In terms of challenges, I definitely outplayed Jimmy and Julie. I won 4 individual Immunity Challenges, which is double what both Jimmy and Julie won combined. And based on the links at the bottom of this forum, it looks like I won more individual Immunity Challenges than anyone in the history of CbSurvivor. I think that says a lot about my dedication and perseverance.
In terms of my social/strategic game, I played very differently than Jimmy and Julie. I think I played this game with a lot more honesty and integrity than either of them. For the most part, I was honest and upfront about who I was voting for. Even if I knew I was voting in the minority, or voting for the person that was asking me how I was voting, I told people the truth. Secondly, I always voted the way I wanted to vote. I never took the safe route, or rode coattails, or went along with the majority because it was the popular thing to do… I did what would put me in the best position to make the Final 3, and ultimately to win the game. And that’s why I only voted in the majority twice since the merge -- when Phillip was voted out, and when Na Onka was voted out. The rest of you (Misty, Lex, Anthony, Sarah, Gillian, Joel and Jenna), I never had a hand in any of your eliminations… In fact, most of the time I voted for Jimmy and Julie, which makes it all the more awkward sitting beside them in the Final 3.
On the other hand, Jimmy admitted that he lied, deceived and backstabbed people out of boredom. He wanted to make things interesting, but he deliberately betrayed people when he didn’t need to. This is Survivor, and sure there are moments where lying is forgivable… but betraying people for entertainment is pretty low. Julie lied a few times too (but she was more discrete about it than Jimmy), and ultimately she just made promises with people that she couldn’t keep. The ironic part is that both of them were “in control” the entire game, yet had to rely on lies and deception. Meanwhile I was never in control of anything, but still played a more honest game than both of them.
Outlast
Overall, I believe I played the game with a more original strategy than Jimmy and Julie. It’s easy to make a core alliance with 2 or 3 people, then extend it to a few more people, and vote off anyone who isn’t serving your interest. If you look around at pretty much any online reality game, 95% of the time that’s how people get to the Finals. Does it work? Sure. But it’s been done. In fact, it’s probably already been done in the CbSurvivor series.
It’s more uncommon to find someone who truly played the majority of this game independently and still made it to the Final 3. and I hope that you will vote for me to win because I took the path less travelled.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- "The Road Not Taken"
by Robert Frost
Anyway, thanks for reading this (sorry, I know it's long!). I look forward to answering your questions, and I will try to keep my answers short and sweet in the future!