Survivor: The Amazon – Taking a Look at Rob, and Why I Want Him to Win

I am one of the first people to admit that I was not terribly fond of Rob when the game first started. He came across as an idiot who was flip-flopping alliances and thinking that he had the game down to an art, all before he even started playing. Over time though, Rob has really grown on me. I have come to respect his strategy, laugh at his comments, and even come to the realization that he is the one that I want to be the winner of the million dollars. Do I think it is possible for Rob to win? Of course! You have seen the way he is playing. Every week it seems like he is making himself even safer than he was the week before. Let’s take a look at some of his greatest moments.

Like I just said above, I was not a big Rob fan when the game first started. His whole little escapade about asking the Magic 8-Ball immunity questions was a little out of hand. Also, it seemed like he was harping on Roger a bit too much. However, when we got a glimpse at what Roger was really like, it was easy to see that Rob was not stretching the truth because Roger really was being pretty overbearing. If you have read any of my MVP articles, I pegged Rob in the first and second articles as never having a chance to win the MVP. Pretty much from there on in he was becoming an honorable mention on more than one occasion. I don’t think I realized how well Rob had studied the game of Survivor. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as you will see later. Rob had a strategy going into this thing, and up until now it is still working out really well for him.

When tribes switched, it seemed to me that Rob was going to be in a pretty sticky predicament. I wasn’t sure if he would be too intimidated by the women to want to try and form an alliance, or if he would try and stick with Matt and Alex in trying to toss all the women. He did the smartest thing he could do – he bonded with the woman he felt was in the worst position, Deena. This was a good move on so many levels. Even though Deena felt vulnerable, she was still in power. Jenna and Shawna still looked up to her, and she really had no reason to think that either of them would vote against her. Rob knew that he was in tight with Alex and Matt, so all he had to do was get in with one of the women to make sure that his plan would work. He did just that, and is still sitting pretty because of it. Tossing out Shawna first, to whom he had no political ties, was a smart idea. Everyone was happy and it forced Alex to come back to him. This brings us over to the merge.

I’m sorry, but Rob is one of the smartest people since Brian H. and Rich Hatch to play this game. Although I must say Tina was a smart cookie when it came to strategizing as well. Anyway, Rob took the merge in stride. He knew that in order to remain in control, Dave and Roger would have to bite the dust sooner rather than later. Booting out Roger first because he was such a jerk and would have been a cranky jury member was a very smart idea, and I commend Rob on this one, even though it was the initial plan of the women. Even though Dave was my favorite player in the game, and my pick to win, I respect that Rob knew he was a threat and had to go as well. Rob is constantly thinking about how he can garner the votes to get the person that he wants gone to get the boot. I wouldn’t say that he is breaking the rule of plotting and scheming too much, but more covering every corner that he can. At least, that is what it seems like to me. Before each vote, Rob goes around and makes sure that everyone is on the same page and all the votes are going the same way. I like the fact that he doesn’t go into tribal council blind like other people do. Roger didn’t check anybody’s vote before he went because he thought there was a system already intact. However, he didn’t realize that this game is constantly changing and you have to keep on top of people if you want the most up to date information. Rob knew this, and is still using it to his advantage.

The most recent move that Rob had to make was the deciding if he was going to vote for Deena or not. Actually, I think he made the right choice. He has to look at it in the fact that everyone but Christy voted against Deena. She was just as tight with Jenna and Heidi as she was with him. Therefore, any way you look at it she is going to have to vote for one of them to win unless Christy makes it into the final two, which doesn’t seem likely at this point. Rob made the right decision when he voted her out. Sticking with Jenna, Heidi, and Alex is a smart decision because he is in the majority. They can just pick off Butch, Christy, and Matt and remain as the final four. I think Rob is playing a great game and I think of most of the people left he deserves to get to the end. I like Christy and Butch and would love to see them succeed but it just doesn’t seem very likely.

The next decision for Rob to make is when it is the right time to get rid of Matt. Right now Matt trusts Rob very much and Rob can use that to his advantage. He has to make the right decision as to when it will be time to give Matt the boot and won’t have to worry about him voting for Rob to win if he makes it to the final two. That will be interesting to watch and I’m looking forward to it. I also can’t wait to see if Rob makes the final two, what his reason to win will be. Honestly, he simply outplayed them all just by watching the show. Rob has the game down to the smallest fragment, and I would love to see someone like that take this thing. He deserves it in every way, and has a fan and supporter in me.

Phil Kural is a junior at Temple University, and can be reached at pkural@astro.temple.edu.

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