Survivor 11 - Episode 1

Over the weekend, in my pretty routine vasectomy recovery, I got caught up on Lost (now prepared for the season premier on Wednesday), watched Ocean’s 12 (which might have been decent had anyone bothered to write a script), and also viewed the first episode of Survivor: Guatemala.

First, some background. I have never missed a second of the show Survivor. I know, it sounds really gay, but it is true. I have seen every second of every minute of every episode. So, although I don’t claim I retain any of the knowledge (very similar to high school and college science classes), I do claim to be something of an aficionado on the topic.

Now, on to the 11th season of Survivor, Episode 1. The new twist this year is that two old contestants get to play again this year. So, Stephenie and Bobby Jon are back from Survivor 10, and have each been given to one of the tribe’s to offer some guidance and competition. Wow. What a wild twist. By the way, is Bobby Jon a sufficient red-neck name?

This Week’s Survivor Game

Whose name makes them sound like the biggest red neck?


A) Bobby Jon Drinkard – From Troy, Alabama

Or



B) Jim Bob Cooter – From Lynchburg, Tennessee

That’s Right; the 3rd string QB for Tennessee is named Jim Bob Cooter , and he has the bigger red-neck name…Although we cannot confirm if he is kin to this man:



Now, back to Survivor. So, they introduce the new cast of characters, and again, No Fat Chicks! What a coincidence that despite the fact that we are led to believe that it is a jury of our peers in cast selection, the girls all appear to be at least borderline models. I’ll be darned. But, the real upset this season appears to be that there is no minority representation (well, Lydia is from Japan, but you know what I mean). It generally didn’t take long for whitey to gang up on the random minority and vote them right off in previous seasons, but through one episode, I am pretty certain that Bobby Jon and Jim Bob will feel right at home.

But, there is the random old person, or, there was, until 58 minutes into the new season, Fire Captain Jim was sent packing.

Former Cowboys great Gary Hogeboom is the “celebrity” in Survivor 11, and is using a fake name so that no one recognizes him. I read somewhere that someone does recognize him in a future episode, but c’mon! Who are we kidding? If this was Roger Staubach or Joe Montana, I could see fear of being recognized, but Gary Hogeboom? Are we serious? I don’t believe for a second that a single member of that cast has ever heard of him, let alone would know what he looks like so that they could “blow his cover”. Put it this way, I love sports and live sports more than anyone I know, and I couldn’t recognize him before Thursday night.

The other cast member that is interesting is a supposed Girl Sports Talk Show Host, named Danni Boatwright . Since my money says she will be the one to “out” Hogeboom, I am already questioning her sports credentials. Partly because this seems all too convenient (the first time an ex-athlete is on the show, so is a sports media member) and partly because I don’t believe that dudes can listen to girls talk about sports on a regular basis in a talk show format. I realize that is incredibly sexist, but sue me, or prove me wrong.



So, I did a little research (above), and found This:

610 Sports Rap
Sunday: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

To put an punctuation mark on the week and to help get the next one started 610 Sports has put together a Sunday morning show to give you an off-beat, informed, and maybe even a little contentious show: 610 Sports Rap. Every Sunday morning you can check out MetroSports reporter Chris Gough and former Miss Kansas Danni Boatwright. Chris is an MU alum while Danni went to college at KU, so you'll get the male-female disagreements and the Jayhawk-Tiger differences. With that kind of conflict, you know you'll get a unique view on everything happening in the world of sports.

Ok. So, she co-hosts for 2 hours on Sunday Morning in Kansas City. That doesn’t count. At Bill Maas’ station. Double doesn’t count.

And, to pound home the fact that she really likes sports, she insists on wearing a Kansas City Chiefs Cowboys hat and some stupid “I am a football chic” t-shirt. She will be voted off soon enough.

Anyway, another season is underway. Good times.