Final Tribal Council

[Ian]

Well, this game is coming to an end and it's time to wrap things up. After two and and a half grueling months, we have our final two:

Rob and Rudy are about to face the jury as they enter the scene. Take a seat guys, get yourselves comfortable.

And now they jury of nine walk into our final meeting (some of them waiting for a long time btw): Amber, Matty, Eliza, Dan, Tina, Keith, Kathy, Gary and Robb, our final jury member voted out last night. Let's get right to it.

This is how this is going to work. Everything will take place in this thread. Rob and Rudy, you are first to post your opening statements. Jurors, you are to wait until the final two have done so. Once the final two have posted their opening statements (and not earlier), jurors, you may then address the final two.

You only have one shot at them. So think carefully about all what you want to say. You can make a speech and/or ask question(s). But the important thing to remember is that you are only allowed one post to do all of that.

Once the final two have answered the questions for ALL jurors, jurors only then can you post your final vote for someone to win the game in your confessional.

Jurors, at this time I also want you to be sort of secretive about your vote so don't be posting in the jury forum who you are voting for. This is to add suspense to when the votes are revealed.

Final two, you may also post your closing statements once the both of you have answered all jury questions.

Thanks all in advance for being part of this game.

Rob and Rudy, good luck both, best of wishes and you are up now......

[Rudy Boesch]

Wow, here we are. To be honest, I never thought that I would be in this position. When I saw who was on that first tribe with me, I was a bit intimidated. Who wouldn't be? I was on a tribe with Keith, Amber, Tina, and Elisabeth...all ORG veterans. It did help that I knew every one of them, but I was certain that if we lost that first challenge, I would be the one going home, since my schedule at that moment prevented me from participating as much as I would like to. Which of course, brings me to my supposed inactivity.

I am sure that most of the jury thinks that I do not belong here because I was not as active. Perhaps that is true, but I have already explained why I did not do those challenges and missed that one vote. Maybe I could have talked more on IM or posted a little more in my journal, but I did not, so there is no point in beating that into the ground. It could be said that Rob played a more social game than me, and again, that may be true, but I played the game the way I felt was right, and that is just the way it is.

Do I have regrets? Yes, I have more than a few that I will more than likely address in your questions. I am not going to sit here and tell you that I played a perfect game of that I did not lie or stab any backs, because I did all of that. Just look at my -3 karma for proof. Hell, I voted out one of my best friends because it would get me further in the game. and I have perhaps lost her for good, and I will regret that for a long, long time, but yes, I did lie, and I was a bit manipulative. I hate doing both, but it got me to where I am now, so something must have worked.

I will address anything else you want me to in your questions, but I will say this...I did have a blast playing this game, and I made some great new friends...Dan B and Robb, and reconnected with some old ones...Rob, Kathy, Keith, and Tina, though I fear I may have lost that last one, to my regret. Thank you everyone, and I look forward to answering your questions.

[Rob Mariano]

I'd like to start off by thanking Dennis and Ray for hosting such a kickass game! I really had alot of fun and I think this was by far the best game in the entire series. Dennis, you better have an all star game and you better invite everyone of these jurors because they are what made this game so much more challenging than the other games in your series. I know that I am not the only one who is amazed that I got to the end this time around so I figured I'd spend the rest of my opening statement explaining to everyone just how I got here.

I have to say that I really faced alot of adversity this game, seeing my closest allies in the game get picked off one by one until I was the last one remaining. Shortly before Keith, my last original ally, left the game he was kind enough to send me a whole bunch of convos and PMs that he had with Rudy and Kathy. Rudy and Kathy had been leading my boy Keith to believe that they were willing to vote out Gary but they really voted Keith instead in the final 6. Once he was gone, he made it clear that I could not trust Rudy or Kathy so I knew my best move was to approach Robb and Gary.

First, I approached Robb, who told me that was thinking of IMing me himself because him and Gary were getting concerned that Kathy and Rudy would approach me to vote them out. He told me if I told Gary that I was willing to vote for Kathy that Gary would go along with it so I did tell Gary. Gary's response however wasnt exactly what I had expected. He told me to be honest I've made a final 4 with Robb Rudy and Kathy and I plan to stick with it sorry. Instead of giving up, I managed to pull off the impossible and convince Gary to vote for Rudy based on the convos that I showed him between Rudy and Keith.

I then tried approaching Kathy and I told her I had heard there was supposed to be a tie in the final 4 and I could help her out by voting with her if she would vote with me this round. She led me to believe that she would look out for me but Robb and Rudy told me the next day that Kathy had already voted for me at TC and I knew that Gary had already voted for Rudy.

Seeing that I couldn't get anywhere with Kathy, I focused my efforts on Robb and Rudy for the rest of the day. Rudy wanted Gary out very badly and thought he was coming up with a brilliant idea to vote Gary out with Robb and myself. However, Robb and I had our own plans

Robb and I decided to take advatange of the opportunity because we knew Kathy had voted for me and that Gary and Rudy were voting for eachother. So Robb and I decided to use that opportunity to vote out Kathy while we still could. It ended up being a 2-1-1-1 vote so Robb and I managed to remove the biggest threat in the game without even having the majority on our side.

Then in the final 4 Gary IMed me and told me that he had decided I was his biggest personal threat so he was voting me out. I figured I had nothing to lose so I immediately approached Robb who agreed to vote for Gary with me. Then I approached Rudy who was a bit hesitant at first but eventually told me he didnt know how he could possibly win this game. I told him well we could take eachother to the finals. He asked me is that an offer so I said sure and he said we had a deal. Once that deal was in place, I told Robb about it just so he didnt think I was trying to backstab him or anything like that and the 3 of us voted Gary out.

In the final 3 I had final 2 deals with each of the remaining contestants but I did put effort into winning the final immunity challenge. Unfortunately, I had to write a 60 page motion this week in order to try to save my friend's house so Dennis posted this challenge at the worst possible time for me. I did still manage to convince 5 people to sign up for my game during the last day of the final immunity challenge and I think Rudy said he got 9 people so he beat me and decided to keep his word and bring me to the final 2 with him. I have a feeling he probably kept his word to me because he thought I'd be easier to beat in the end than Robb would be but I am thrilled to be here nevertheless.

Hopefully this opening statement gives you a good idea of what I went through to get to this point. I can't wait to see all your questions and comments and answer them as truthfully and thoroughly as possible. Good luck Rudy this is gonna be one hell of a battle!

[Keith Famie]

Sup guys and congrats on the final 2! Its been quite a game with quite a few tools along the road. I am going to start off with who I thought was quite the biggest tool of the game which would be Rudy. Just to let you know I dont think differently of you after this game cause it is a game after all so anything I say is only comparable to this game and not a shot at you on a personal level.
When we were at 9 people left, we had made an agreement to be me, you, kathy rob and tina to be a final 5. Which was solid untill about oh Tina was voted off. According to you that was all Kathy's doing but I let that one slide. It was down to 6 peeps being me, you, rob, robb, kathy and gary. Supposedly it should have been a for sure final 4 had we stuck with our plan and if Kathy did switch over which is what we were thinking, it would have been a 3-3 tie. Here is an exact quote from a convo we had right before I was voting out. In reference to everyone else, it is about voting off gary.
"Grkrapper2 (6:17:10 PM): which is why we need to get rid of him (gary) this round before he goes on an immunity run
"Rudy" (6:17:21 PM): this is true
"Rudy" (6:17:30 PM): and Kathy soon after, at final four I would say
"Rudy" (6:17:39 PM): if we can get you, me and Rob to the final three...
Grkrapper2 (6:17:46 PM): then we are solid"
I was dead set on that plan and ready to rock it. Then I got this message when I was voted off. This is taken directly out of my PM box
"I really wish I did not have to, but the way that the wind is heading I feel as thought I would place fourth at best if I did not do this. I may be wrong, but that is the vibe I am getting now."
Obviously you still got to the final 2 by voting me off but what I want to know is what the hell dude?!?! What ever made you think that u were going to get 4th place if you didnt vote me off. What I think is that you played me the whole time even though you "swore" to me that you were not planning on voting me off the whole time. Here is proof again taken from a PM from you
"Honestly, I thought about this decision over and over. I was not planning on voting you the whole time. That I swear to you."
I never thought about voting you off and was dead set about making the final with with you me and rob. So here are my questions: What ever made you think you were going to be 4th place?? What vibe is this that you think you got cause I was a solid final 3 with you and rob so please do tell me. Or was it cause u were always planning on taking me out and lied about saying that you werent planning on voting me out the whole time. I just want the truth man. The damage has been done but you at least owe me the truth on this matter cause I am still baffled.
Rob you were definetly the underdog in my eyes after I got voted off and really didnt think you were going to make the final 2. Something does still bug me a little though. I would like to know if you actually knew about rudy voting me off before the TC. Cause it seemed that you were a little too tight with him after I got voted off so I was thinking maybe rudy did tell you that he was planning on getting me out. So my questions are to you are: Did you know at all that I was going be voted off before the votes were read? Also a general question, who would pick from the jury to replace you and rudy in the final 2 and why.

Overall im looking for honesty on this guys cause obviously there has been alot lying in this game. So in the end honesty may be a deciding factor on who gets my vote. Good luck guys!

[Rudy Boesch]

Hey Keith, and thanks for the question.

I knew this was coming and you are right, I do owe you a better explanation. I am going to be completely honest here because you do deserve it. When we made that deal for you, me and Rob to be in the final three, I was at the time, 100% on board with it, excited for it in fact. True, I was about to stab Gary in the back who had been a pretty good ally to me to that point, but at the time I was feeling strong with you and Kathy and Rob. Again, I will repeat what I told you in my PM to you, I did not have any intention at all to vote you until the last minute. Looking back, it was a pretty bad decision on my part as I now look like an ass in front of perhaps the entire jury, not to mention losing the respect of a few people, but I did it, and I can't take it back. In short, I was wrong, and I am really sorry for it. The vibe, there is no other way to explain it other than it was just a feeling that I got that I should go in a different direction than the one I was going in, and I made the choice. Looking back, it was the wrong one. I at least wanted you to know that I did vote for you, I did want to be a little honest with you. Would you and I have been the final two given our scenario? More than likely yes, that being said, I cost you a spot in the final two, and I am really sorry for that.

I hope that I have answered your question, and have gotten at least some of your respect back, if not your friendship and your vote.

Thanks again.

[Rob Mariano]

Jan 18, 2009 23:12:36 GMT -5 Keith Famie said:

Rob you were definetly the underdog in my eyes after I got voted off and really didnt think you were going to make the final 2. Something does still bug me a little though. I would like to know if you actually knew about rudy voting me off before the TC. Cause it seemed that you were a little too tight with him after I got voted off so I was thinking maybe rudy did tell you that he was planning on getting me out. So my questions are to you are: Did you know at all that I was going be voted off before the votes were read? Also a general question, who would pick from the jury to replace you and rudy in the final 2 and why.

Overall im looking for honesty on this guys cause obviously there has been alot lying in this game. So in the end honesty may be a deciding factor on who gets my vote. Good luck guys!

To be honest I had no clue what Rudy was going to do that round because anytime I would IM him I got his away message that said studying for finals. I was strictly voting based on the information you were giving me and that was that you me Rudy and Kathy were all supposed to be voting for Gary so I stayed loyal to you and voted Gary that round. I think that you were the one who told me right before the results that you knew Rudy and Kathy had gone back on their word so that was the only way I knew that our plan had failed was based on what you told me but I wanted to stay to true to you regardless of how everyone else would be voting.

If I had to choose 2 people to replace Rudy and myself with it would be Robb and Keith because you guys really helped me get where I am the most and you both played your asses off and were awesome strategists so I think that would be a very intereting finale to watch. Thanks for your questions and good luck with your decision bro!

[Gary Hogeboom]

Ugh, sorry I'm typing this at like 4 in the morning, but I feel like I write best when I'm suffering from insomnia, lmao.

Hola you two! I sincerely congratulate you guys on making the finals, and I’m really glad to see the two of you up there! You guys have played pretty good games in my book, and I think that, from my perspective anyway, you guys worked really hard to make it to the finals. I think that you both were underdogs in your own ways, and you both had to deal with a lot of obstacles the rest of us didn’t have to deal with during the course of the game, such as merging in the minority (for Rob M.) and not being able to be around for some of the challenges and social aspects of the game (for Rudy).

Anyway, I have a few questions for both of you, because I’m still not totally sure who I’m going to be voting for. Although to be honest I AM leaning heavily toward one of you at the moment. But of course I’m always open to changing my mind (duh, or else I wouldn’t take the time to ask y’all questions, LOL). I’m trying my best to look at the game from an open mind and vote for who I think most deserves to win, so please answer my questions to the best of your ability.

Mmmkay, first off ROB!

Rob, I loved meeting you and getting to know you throughout the game! At first I wasn’t sure if we would be able to click or form a friendship because we seemed to be on opposite sides alliance-wise, but I’m glad that for the most part we were able to look beyond that and form a friendship. You were always so interesting to talk to, and I enjoyed our late night chats. Anyway, I have three questions for ya:

1. I had a bunch of conversations with you during the latter half of the game about honesty and such. I had mentioned to you in some conversation that I hated blindsides. And you said you hated them as well. Sooo, what I want to know is, why did you decide to blindside me, especially in a unanimous vote where I really didn’t have a shot of saving myself? Why didn’t you let me know I was going like right before the vote? Also, when answering this question, lmao please don’t apologize to me. I hate jurors who are like “My question is I WANT AN APPOLOGY!” hee. This question isn’t that kind of question. I understand why I was voted out, I get that. I just want to know why you decided not to tell me, especially after knowing that I strongly dislike getting blindsided.

2. While I do feel you played the game socially better than Rudy, I feel that Rudy played the game much better than you strategically. Granted, you merging in the minority alliance and him merging in the majority alliance had a big part in it, but still, I ALWAYS saw Rudy playing the part of the power player or the swing vote in almost all of the merged tribal councils. I do understand that you made some good moves at the end of the game, but for the other two thirds of the game I felt that you played a very under the radar kind of game. Now, I don’t think anything you say is going to convince me that you played the game strategically better than Rudy, so instead I would like you to answer this question: Why should I vote for you if I think the other person played a more strategic game?

3. You’ve played a previous game in Dennis’ series: Survivor Bavaria. And you won that game. Now….okay. Honestly, I tend to stand behind the thought process of Jenna Lewis from Survivor All-Stars as far as previous winners go. To put it in the words of her, “No one wants to see a winner win again.” I’m strongly opposed to voting for previous winners, especially from the same series. Sooo…Why should I vote for you since you’ve already won one of Dennis’ games?


Okay, next up, Rudy!

Rudy, I’ve known you from a previous game, and when I saw you were playing in THIS game I must admit I was a little intimidated. I know you’re a smart person. And also we weren’t exactly allies in the previous game we had played together so that kind of set my guard up going into this game. However, I’m SO glad we decided to work together. I do consider you a very smart and strategic player, and I think you were a good person to align with because while I’m stronger in other areas, I don’t always have the best strategic mindset, heh. So I want to thank you for staying with me for as long as you did and helping me in several parts of the game. The questions I have for you are mostly on strategic moves you made during the game. While at the moment I feel you were the mastermind behind much of the moves that went down for this game, part of me is wondering if maybe I’m giving you too much credit, or maybe I have the wrong information. So just answer these questions as thoroughly as you can so I can make an informed decision about your gameplay.

1. In the beginning (before the merge even) you had told me that you wanted Keith gone because you felt he was a big threat. Were you just feeding me bull, or was this your actual mindset at that moment and you changed it after the merge?

2. Explain to me how the Eliza vote went down. I want to know who decided to vote for Eliza (you or Kathy) and how exactly the alliance of yourself, Kathy, Tina, Keith, and Rob M. was formed. Also I want to know if you planned on sticking with this alliance at the time that you formed it.

3. Who decided to vote off Tina, you or Kathy? Because I was lead to believe that you were the person pushing for Tina to go, but based on your opening statement it sounds like you were pressured into voting Tina. Sooo, which is it?

4. Why did, in the final six, you end up voting for Keith and not myself?

5. Take me through your strategic process of the final four round.

And that’s it! Sorry if these questions sound kind of harsh, they weren’t meant to come out like that. I just wanted to take this juror position seriously. Good luck you guys!

[Rob Mariano]

Jan 19, 2009 4:52:02 GMT -5 Gary Hogeboom said:

Ugh, sorry I'm typing this at like 4 in the morning, but I feel like I write best when I'm suffering from insomnia, lmao.

Hola you two! I sincerely congratulate you guys on making the finals, and I’m really glad to see the two of you up there! You guys have played pretty good games in my book, and I think that, from my perspective anyway, you guys worked really hard to make it to the finals. I think that you both were underdogs in your own ways, and you both had to deal with a lot of obstacles the rest of us didn’t have to deal with during the course of the game, such as merging in the minority (for Rob M.) and not being able to be around for some of the challenges and social aspects of the game (for Rudy).

Anyway, I have a few questions for both of you, because I’m still not totally sure who I’m going to be voting for. Although to be honest I AM leaning heavily toward one of you at the moment. But of course I’m always open to changing my mind (duh, or else I wouldn’t take the time to ask y’all questions, LOL). I’m trying my best to look at the game from an open mind and vote for who I think most deserves to win, so please answer my questions to the best of your ability.

Mmmkay, first off ROB!

Rob, I loved meeting you and getting to know you throughout the game! At first I wasn’t sure if we would be able to click or form a friendship because we seemed to be on opposite sides alliance-wise, but I’m glad that for the most part we were able to look beyond that and form a friendship. You were always so interesting to talk to, and I enjoyed our late night chats. Anyway, I have three questions for ya:

1. I had a bunch of conversations with you during the latter half of the game about honesty and such. I had mentioned to you in some conversation that I hated blindsides. And you said you hated them as well. Sooo, what I want to know is, why did you decide to blindside me, especially in a unanimous vote where I really didn’t have a shot of saving myself? Why didn’t you let me know I was going like right before the vote? Also, when answering this question, lmao please don’t apologize to me. I hate jurors who are like “My question is I WANT AN APPOLOGY!” hee. This question isn’t that kind of question. I understand why I was voted out, I get that. I just want to know why you decided not to tell me, especially after knowing that I strongly dislike getting blindsided.

2. While I do feel you played the game socially better than Rudy, I feel that Rudy played the game much better than you strategically. Granted, you merging in the minority alliance and him merging in the majority alliance had a big part in it, but still, I ALWAYS saw Rudy playing the part of the power player or the swing vote in almost all of the merged tribal councils. I do understand that you made some good moves at the end of the game, but for the other two thirds of the game I felt that you played a very under the radar kind of game. Now, I don’t think anything you say is going to convince me that you played the game strategically better than Rudy, so instead I would like you to answer this question: Why should I vote for you if I think the other person played a more strategic game?

3. You’ve played a previous game in Dennis’ series: Survivor Bavaria. And you won that game. Now….okay. Honestly, I tend to stand behind the thought process of Jenna Lewis from Survivor All-Stars as far as previous winners go. To put it in the words of her, “No one wants to see a winner win again.” I’m strongly opposed to voting for previous winners, especially from the same series. Sooo…Why should I vote for you since you’ve already won one of Dennis’ games?

And that’s it! Sorry if these questions sound kind of harsh, they weren’t meant to come out like that. I just wanted to take this juror position seriously. Good luck you guys!

1. Gary, let's face it none of us enjoy being blindsided but this is Survivor and we all know what we signed ourselves up for. However, I had to weigh your dislikeness for being blindsided against my desire to win this game and my desire to win came out on top. I would never think of apologizing for doing what I did to you because it was one of the most brilliant strategic moves of this game. The way I saw it, I was in the final 4 with 3 great players who had all been close allies from day 1. I was the outsider so I wasnt in a position to be warning people that I intended to vote for them in fact, I should have been all but dead in the water at that point. You saw what I had just done to Kathy the round before I certainly didnt warn her about that move for similar reasons.

What surprised me was that you actually told me that you were planning on voting for me without first securing the votes to make sure I was leaving. Once I saw this fatal flaw in your plan, I seized the opportunity to approach Robb and Rudy behind your back and make separate final 2 deals with each of em and persuade them that you were so unbeatable and they'd be much better off voting you out instead of me. Why would I waste any time warning you about my intentions when I needed to focus 100% of my efforts on persuading Robb and Rudy to vote you out in order for me to survive? This is all part of the way I play Survivor I don't believe in telling my biggest threat who I know is trying to vote me out what my plans are because then my biggest threat can always turn the tables on me before the results are officially announced. I had way too much respect for you and the social bonds you were able to make with Robb and Rudy throughout the game that I was terrified I would be the one going regardless of what they were telling me. Therefore, I didnt feel so certain that it was a unanimous situation and there was nothing you could do about it, as you described in your question. I was genuinely concerned that I would be the one leaving that round from the moment you told me you were voting me until the moment the TC results were officially announced.

2. You should vote for me to win for 2 reasons. First, because Survivor is about facing adversity and doing everything you can possibly do to overcome that adversity and that's what I have done in order to will my way to the finals. I am not going to argue with you over who the better strategist was this game but I will tell you that every single move I made was in my own best interest and it put me one step closer to making the final 2. I don't know if Rudy necessarily needed to lie to people like you, Eliza, Tina and Keith but he did it anyway. I only lied to the people I knew were voting me out of the game because it was my only way of survival.

The second reason you should vote for me to win is that Survivor is after all a social game and you even said in your question that you are convinced I made more of an effort to relate to the jurors socially which is extremely important when its time to crown a sole survivor. Do you want to vote for someone who backstabbed your entire alliance without spending much time chatting with you or relating to you throughout the game or do you want to vote for the player who overcame the most adversity and put the most effort into talking with you throughout the game and relating to you on a personal level with things outside the game? That is a question only you can decide and I wish you the best of luck with your decision.

3. I have to say I wasnt expecting this one I am very impressed that you even remember that Survivor Bavaria game cuz it was such a long time ago. I would say that it's not really fair to hold a game I won 5 years ago against me. I should be judged based on my performance in this game not punished for winning a game 5 years ago when I had way more time on my hands than I do now. If anything, the fact that I did win Survivor Bavaria should be even more reason for you to vote for me to win this game because it shows that I was able to master Dennis' games on more than one occasion which we all know is not an easy thing to do

[Tina Wesson]

Razzle-dazzle me.. kiss up...beg...write me a poem... sing .. dance.. whatever you feel you need to do to get my vote Best BS'r wins...maybe.

[Rudy Boesch]

Hey Gary, thanks for the questions, and I will try and do my best to answer them. Here goes.

1. In the beginning (before the merge even) you had told me that you wanted Keith gone because you felt he was a big threat. Were you just feeding me bull, or was this your actual mindset at that moment and you changed it after the merge?
No, I was being completely honest with you at the time. I actually did change that mindset after the merge. Let me explain. Keith and I go a fair ways back, so I knew how he played. He is a great person and I get along with him well, but I also know how he plays, and since at that point (before the merge) I had not talked to him all that much, I was going on what I had experienced in previous games. Now that was not fair to him, so perhaps that was a mistake on my part. I was pretty convinced at that point that he and Tina were together and that they needed to be broken up. We had talked about that one more than one occasion. However, after the merge, I got to talking to him again and my perception changed. I confided to him of my suspicions of he and Tina being together and he denied them, and with such good reason that I believed him, and I still do. It was at that point that he offered me the alliance with him and Kathy against you. I accepted, and despite what some may think, I was sincere in that. I figured that if I had two alliances going, it would enhance my position in the game, and it did until it came to the round where Keith was voted out. Though I will address that in your other question. So in short, I really did think Keith was a threat at the time we talked, so I was being totally honest with you, though my opinion did change after the merge, and I should have informed you of that.

2. Explain to me how the Eliza vote went down. I want to know who decided to vote for Eliza (you or Kathy) and how exactly the alliance of yourself, Kathy, Tina, Keith, and Rob M. was formed. Also I want to know if you planned on sticking with this alliance at the time that you formed it.
I was the one that threw Eliza's name out there. Kathy was game as long as it was not me or you being voted for, if memory serves. Also, I had not gotten to know Eliza yet, and that is my fault, so it really did not matter to me one way or another if she went of not, so to me, it was like a convenience vote. I know that sounds horrible, but that is the way it went down at the time. So I rallied the votes I needed, and she was gone. So yes, voting Eliza was my idea. As far at the alliance with me, Keith, Rob, Tina and Kathy goes, I touched on that a little in the previous question, but I will go into more detail. As I said, after the merge, Keith came to me with an alliance idea. He told me that he thought that you were getting too strong and needed to be taken out sooner rather than later, and offered an alliance with himself, me, and Kathy, with Tina and Rob M on the outside. Not in the alliance but not out of it either. In other words we were going to use them for votes. I was a bit conflicted about this at first because you and I had hit it off so well and had formed what I thought to be a pretty tight alliance and I did not want to betray that, at least until I absolutely had to. So I gave it some thought and decided that one more alliance would only help me so I agreed with Keith's plan. I figured that it would only keep me safer as I had two groups of people that would vote with me, and it did work to a certain extent. So in effect, Kathy and I floated between those two alliances. As to if I planned on staying true to it, the answer is yes and no. I planned on staying loyal to both alliances until it became necessary to betray one of them, and I thought that I could deal with that when the time game. That time came during the round where Keith went, and I will go into more detail on that in your next question.

3. Who decided to vote off Tina, you or Kathy? Because I was lead to believe that you were the person pushing for Tina to go, but based on your opening statement it sounds like you were pressured into voting Tina. Sooo, which is it?
With the exception of the Keith vote, this vote was the toughest for me. As I said in my opening statement, I fear I have lost Tina for good after this, and if I ever have a chance to fix things with her, I will gladly take it. I want to make it clear that this vote was not personal, nor was any ill will behind it. I simply saw it as a survival vote. To explain a little how this vote went down in my mind, here is a quote from my own journal the round that Tina went home:

This may be the round that I go home. I was gone for a very good reason....welcome back my brother from Iraq. What I did wrong though was to not tell anyone that. So right as we speak, I am doing damage control and trying to get the heat off of myself and Gary and deflect it to Tina. Which I hate to do since she is a friend of mine, but in this game, its survival of the fittest. And if I know her like I think I do, she will understand, though she may be hurt a little. It looks like we have a majority vote for Tina, so perhaps yours truly will stay around at least one more round.

This was during a time in the game where I could not be around as much between the travel time home and spending time with my brother, as well as spotty internet access at times, so as as result, I was in danger of going home myself, so I heard from Kathy and Robb I believe that Tina was the other person on the block, so not having any other information, since I had not been around much, I used what little time I had before votes were due to deflect attention away from me and onto one of my best online friends. I really, really, really hated to do it, but as you can see, I thought that she would understand. It turns out that I was wrong on that, but that was what I thought at the time. It was a selfish move, and I admit that I was only looking out for myself that round. I would have tried to deflect that vote on anyone to save my ass, and I probably should have, but it was Tina, and I did it, though I am not proud of it. So to answer your question, I guess you could say that it was both of us. I just went along with it and did nothing to try and change it. I hope that answers your question.

4. Why did, in the final six, you end up voting for Keith and not myself?
This is an easy question to answer, and I have already gone a little into it in a previous answer. This is the round where my two alliances conflicted and I had to make a choice. I was also regretting at this point even making those two deals, but I had made my bed, and I had to lie in it, ie make a decision one way or another. I had strong ties with both you and Keith, and really liked you both, so this was a very touch decision for me. It came down to two things. I had this "vibe" that I had told Keith about that I perhaps needed to go in a different direction that I was going. Because see, before that round I was honestly going to stick with the Keith alliance and throw you under the bus. But the more I thought about it, I just had a feeling that that was not the right thing for me to do, and also, I had been aligned with you longer in the game and I did not feel as though it would be right to throw that away just yet, though as you know, I did do it eventually. So that's what led me to vote Keith over you, a gut feeling and loyalty.

5. Take me through your strategic process of the final four round.
The final four round, I was actually feeling pretty safe. Robb was immune so I was pretty sure that it would be you or Robb. I told you that was for sure going to vote Rob, and I am not going to lie now, I did lie to you when I said that. Robb told me that he was for sure going to vote for you and you were going to vote Rob, so I was thinking that perhaps that it would be a tie if I voted with you because I was pretty certain that Rob was going to vote for you as well. Looking back, I should have kept the same thought process I had when I voted out Keith and reminded myself of the longer alliance that I had with you. But I did not, I kept seeing end game, and wanted to move on, so I thought that if I voted you, I would feel horrible about it, and I really do, but it would mean I was one step closer to being in the finals. I never should have lied to you about who I was voting for, and took our chances with the tie, but I did not and you were voted out. I am really sorry about that, and I really regret it.

Thanks again for your questions and good luck with your vote!

[Rudy Boesch]

Jan 19, 2009 12:21:53 GMT -5 Tina Wesson said:

Razzle-dazzle me.. kiss up...beg...write me a poem... sing .. dance.. whatever you feel you need to do to get my vote Best BS'r wins...maybe.

OK, I have to admit, this was the juror I was least looking forward to hearing from, due to the simple fact that I was and still am ashamed at the way that you went Tina. I have said most of this in some of my answers, my opening statement and in PMs to you, but I will repeat a little here as well as add some more. Tina, Sherry, you and I go way back. You were right there with me in my first game nearly eight years ago helping out a newbie with enthusiasm and did not mind one bit when that newbie won the final IC and took someone else to the finals over you. More than that, you were my biggest supporter as I won that game. Over the years you have not only been a true ORG but a RL friend as well, and I could not start to repay you for that. And how do I repay you? I stab you in the back, not just once, but multiple times. I just want you to know that I am not this kind of person is real life, but when I play these kinds of games, I do sometimes get caught up in them more than I probably should and I forget what matters most. This game was, by far, my worse as far as lying and doing backhanded things, and while I am proud of my strategic moves, there were times when I lied when I perhaps did not have to or played dirty. Yes, I should have told you when you were going, but as I said in my PMs to you, my time online at the time was small at best, and despite what others may think, I was ALWAYS invested in this game. True, some times more than others, but I was always playing this game. The round you went, I was in trouble and I knew it, so when I finally got online in a hotel room in NC, I spent what little time that I had before the vote to feel out how everyone was voting and when I found out that it was you or me, I worked to get you out. Should I have tried to get the vote onto someone else? Yes, I probably should have. Should I have at least told you about the vote? Perhaps in a PM? Most certainly. For that, and everything else, I am truly and deeply sorry. I will understand if you never want to speak to me again, and honestly, I am not sure I would speak to me again if I were in your shoes. I am asking for your forgiveness, and pray that you grant it. Yes, I do want your vote, but this goes beyond any ORG, this goes much deeper. If I don't get your vote, that's fine, I would rather have you talking to me again.

[Keith Famie]

aight I am satisfied with the answers. Oh and Rudy, like I said, I do not think of you differently at all on a personal level and of course are still my friend and have respect for you so dont worry bout that and cause it only a game. You were still a tool though in this game heh heh

[Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien]

Congrats guys for a game well-played! I have played with both of you before in at least one game but not as closely as I have in this game. That has been a real pleasure. Both of you are great competitors and have your own different style of playing with your own special strengths.

Rudy I am so glad to have been your alliance partner in this game. We made some tough decisions together some of which we were proud of and some we have regretted. It was always my goal for you, Gary, and me to make the final 3. I am glad one of us was able to achieve this and even make the final 2. You proved to be a very strong competitor and played a very strategic game. It was a real pleasure playing with you and getting to know you better as a person.

Rob you always tried to find time to chat and I really enjoyed these chats and getting to know you better this game. Toward the end of the game you did try to work with me but there was no way I could obligate myself to another person and go against the alliances I already had even if it meant risking being voted out. You are a good player and you made the game more enjoyable.

My questions are for both of you.

1. List all the strategic moves you made in this game.
2. What voting decisions did you influence and why did you target that particular person?
3. What risks did you take in the game that forced you out of your comfort zone?

The best of luck to both of you!

[Rudy Boesch]

Hello Kathy, thank you for your kind words. It was a pleasure to play with you again, and I hope to do it again soon. I will do my best to answer your questions.

1. List all the strategic moves you made in this game.
I think that one of my biggest strategic moves that I made was making that alliance with you and Keith while at the same time we had that alliance with Gary. I think that this worked out for both of us, at least in the short run because it gave us a bit of protection. So by voting with both sides, it did just that, it just fell apart when it came time to choose between the two. I was hoping that it would last longer, but circumstances said otherwise. Next, we came to a part of the game where I could not be around much due to finals, traveling, the holidays, and spotty internet. It was at once point during this time that I found out through you an Robb that I was in danger and it would be me or Tina going. With help from you two, I deflected the vote to Tina and sadly sent her packing. So in that round I did show some survival instincts to to speak. Then the round where Keith went, was when I found that we had to choose between our two alliances. Since Gary was one of the targets, you would not vote with him, so I knew you would be voting Keith. I had a tough choice to make. I could stay true to our alliance with Gary and for sure send Keith home or I could vote for Gary, destroy that alliance and not be certain that Gary would even leave. Obviously I chose to send Keith home, and it obviously worked. The round where you went, Gary told me that he would be voting for me since he had heard that I was plotting against him in the previous rounds. Now I knew that you would not vote for him or me, which means, since Robb had immunity, that you would be voting for Rob. Robb and I talked and decided that Gary had to go that round. I agreed, and since he said he was voting for me, I felt that I should vote for him, and even told him that I was doing so. Robb and I tell Rob that we are voting for you, so he would throw a vote that way while we voted Gary and therefore sending him home. So imagine my shock when you went home! Lastly, in the final four, I told Gary that I would vote for Rob, but in reality, had already decided to vote against him. I knew that we had the votes to send him home, and it was true, he would have killed us in the finals, so it was the right move. I hope that that answers your question.

2. What voting decisions did you influence and why did you target that particular person?
As soon as we merged, I knew that Amber had to go. I pushed hard for it, and tried to make everyone see that she was just too strong of a player to be allowed to continue in the individual challenges. She proved that in the first challenge when she posted along with you for twenty four hours! That only made my case stronger as people saw my point, and we sent her home fairly easy. Also, as I have said before, I was at least a little instrumental in seeing Tina gone. Knowing that it was either her or me, I did what I could to deflect the vote to her, with my only reason being only selfish self preservation.

3. What risks did you take in the game that forced you out of your comfort zone?
Again, I have to cite the Tina vote on this. I did not want to do it, I cannot stress that enough. I did not want to vote her out, but I had to in order to ensure my own survival. Also, those of you who have played with me in the past know that I am not a bad person, and I hate to lie, and back stab, and I did both in this game. So you could say that I played this entire game out of my comfort zone. I did lie when perhaps I did not have to, and though I did try my hardest to play honestly, i.e. PMing Keith to tell him that I voted for him right after I did it, I was not nearly as honest as I should have been. Finally, one of the other risks I took was playing more than one alliance. I have never done that before, and while it did work out for me, it very easily could not have. I just got lucky.

Thank you again for your questions, and good luck with your vote.

[Dan Kay]

Hey guys!
The lamest juror is here
Alright, so congrats on Final 2 and well deserved.
Neither of you are the ones who I wanted to see here in the Finals but I guess it would do, I was obviously not enough involved on the game to have a real opinion about either of you so my vote is absolutely in the air.

I have a couple of questions for you guys.
Both, why did you never tried to communicate with me?
Both, rank the jury members from 1 to 9 [1 being best and 9 being worst] on gameplay and compare them to a survivor from the show. Explain.
Both, what did you think of my decision to lay down my torch for Eliza.
Both, what colour are my eyes? [My eyes, not Dan's eyes]
Both, who didn't eat their rice?
Both, which player deserves to win the most besides you two?
Both, say which three jury members don't deserve their spots here. You can't say why. You HAVE TO say three jury members. [Not following the rules means no vote]
Both, why did the chicken cross the road?
Both, who are you rooting for in the new Tocantins season and explain why you are rooting for them. [You have to choose someone, not doing so means no vote]

I would like to remind you guys to keep everything real, ass-kissing and bullshiting would only make me not vote for you.

Good luck both,
Dan.