|
| Ben, you were by far the person I've connected with the best in this game. I LOVED talking to you and thought you were so interesting! It surprised me too because I've played like one or two games with you in the past and I never really was able to socialize with you that well, so it was refreshing to see this side of you. |
I am so happy we were able to connect so well this game. I've always known that you're a fun guy but we never quite clicked like we did this game. I'm glad we got to parallel our experiences abroad. I learned a lot from you and I really appreciate it.
|
| 1. When you and Luke approached me for a final three (in like the final 9 I think) was there any validity in that at all? Or was it just something y'all said to get me on your side? |
At that time, it was genuine. Luke and I needed to have some security in jumping from the majority to your side that round and we both agreed that we connected best with you. I also knew that you're a loyal person and that only made me want to work with you more. We flipped knowing that it could be an uphill battle at the final five, since we thought at the time that you, Gabe, and Grant would stick together. Making that alliance with you was the only way we felt secure if we were to stick with you three until the final five. That obviously didn't happen because of what happened with Luke the following round.
|
| 2. Why does Stan not deserve to win this game? |
I think Stan doesn't deserve to win because he was reliant on other people playing the game for him. He admitted that part of his strategy was being in the back pocket of other players to get him ahead. Whereas he was reactive in his gameplay (not necessarily knowing what was going to happen, only that he was safe), I was proactive, constantly taking out the player that was the most threatening to my individual game. It's a good self-preservation strategy and it worked to get him to the end. However, he never really DID anything. He just went along for the ride. In my opinion, I don't think that strategy is a winning strategy.
I also think that he doesn't deserve to win because he wasn't a great social player. For someone who has played these games for 13 years, I would think he knows how important the social game to succeed in Survivor. While Stan was good at connecting with those he worked with, I believe that it's important to make connections with everyone in the game. I was able to look past my current loyalties and make connections with everyone in the game. They were genuine connections that made me enjoy playing this game, and also allowed me to have insight about what everyone was thinking in the game. Stan had to hear a lot of that information secondhand by those carrying him in his back pocket. I was twelve hours away and was able to maintain a strong social game in a small window of opportunity of people being online whereas Stan lacked when he had more time available to chat with everyone.
Lastly, I don't think he should win because he turned off at the final three. I have played this game since day one giving it all of my energy and effort. You can see that through my sociability and challenge wins. Even if it benefited me to take a backseat, stay offline for a day while things were crazy, throw a challenge because it would diminish the target on my back, I didn't. I gave everything I did in this game all of my effort. That's why it upset me when Stan told me he threw the final immunity challenge because he couldn't decide between his allies. He said, because Josh and I had saved him at different points in the game, "I'd almost want to finish in 3rd." Seeing I gave all my effort in this game, to have someone throw the most important challenge and then say they'd almost want to be 3rd place kind of disrespects the effort that I, and everyone else, put into this game. I don't think someone who is willing to take third should be the winner of this game.
| 
