Big Brother 3: A Defense of Lisa as Champion

Now that the votes have been cast, there's begun to be a chorus of complaint rising from certain fans of Big Brother. While the words vary from singer to singer, the general tune of the song is this: Lisa didn't do anything to deserve her win - Danielle played a much stronger game. Phooey! The object of the game was to be the last player standing, and by a vote of nine to one, Lisa was chosen. Instead of complaining why Danielle didn't win, maybe it would behoove us to look at the reasons why Lisa did!

1. Lisa played a complete game. Let's give credit where credit is due. Of all the players in the game, the two most manipulative and sneaky were Danielle and Roddy. Roddy wasn't smart enough to lurk in the weeds, and it became very obvious to everyone just what a threat he was. Exit "the devil." Danielle was much more subtle for most of the game, but it became more obvious as time went on that she wasn't quite as benign as she pretended to be. Danielle played a great game, except that she forgot to play the last inning. Her evicted housemates saw the real Danielle the rest of us already knew. Should we be surprised they chose not to honor her for it? Lisa played well. She didn't make any powerful enemies. She came off as a likeable person most of the time. Giving Lisa the win (and Eric, in the end) makes for a happy ending. Most of us, even evicted houseguests, like to walk away with one of those.

2. Lisa and the cell phone competition. One of the real surprises to me was Lisa's decision - alone in the house - not to give in to temptation and selfishness when faced with the opportunity for a call home and cash prizes at the expense of denying her fellow housemates the same. In that moment, Lisa stole the integrity card from Jason and never relinquished it. I was a huge Jason fan throughout much of the season, but this caused me to turn my allegiance from Jason to Lisa. In this instance, Jason's Christian values disappeared. He never quite looked the same to me afterwards. I suspect this moment also made a big impression on the evicted houseguests. You knew Danielle would sell her friends out..

3. The issue of personal growth. My initial reactions to Lisa were very negative, based on her alliance with Chiara early in the game. Lisa is no virgin, nor will she be mistaken for such after this season. Nevertheless, as time went on and her relationship with Eric deepened, I think she came to realize some things about love and compassion. I don't feel Lisa could go back to living her old life in the same way Chiara is now. I think she's changed. Moreover, I put some stock in Danielle's jibes about Lisa and Jason having possibilities. I think they would do each other good if the situation ever arose. I've no doubt they will stay close after the game is over. I don't think the tears she shed in evicting him were false. If I'm wrong about this, it only proves Lisa was a lot better playing the game than even I thought.

4. Lisa rarely put her personal feelings in the way of the game. It would have been very easy and completely understandable for Lisa to vote to return Eric to the house instead of Amy. Likewise, it would have been easy to take Jason to the final two over Danielle. Danielle wanted to do this, and likely would still have lost the game. While at times Jason's halo may have tarnished somewhat, he remained to the end and remains to this day a positive, utterly likeable person beloved by those who know him. Voting against Chiara was difficult, but Lisa did so. Voting against Gerry proved one of the few instances where Lisa did get personal. Fortunately for her, Gerry was forgiving. Voting against Eric risked true love for the sake of the game. If I were in her position, I could never have done what she did.

Was Lisa lucky? In some measure, she probably was. Marcellas' headlong spiral into madness prevented a veto that might have placed her in jeopardy. Jason's decision to select her, not Amy, for the final three was also a bit of luck. That is no crime. Fortune is a part of reality. Sometimes we're lucky as humans, Sometimes we're not. That's just the way life goes. We can't fault her for things she couldn't control. What we can judge is how she played the game. In the end, I believe she earned her victory.

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