The Principal Survivor: An Interview with Butch Lockley

Butch Lockley, the principal who told everybody to believe in themselves, may have been the most well-liked of the final four. But that very quality may have made sure he didn't advance to the final three. What was his strategy and does he feel that being such a nice guy hurt him in the end? RealityNewsOnline had a chance to talk to him about those topics and more.

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Butch, from a couple hours North of you here at RealityNewsOnline! Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions! Let's start by asking what your original strategy was in approaching the game, and how did it change as the game went along?

Butch: To expect the unexpected. Be ready to adapt and to react to any situation that Survivor threw at us. To start with, my main strategy was to learn all I could during the show about each person and what they were doing and with whom. I would then use this information for my gain. I also wanted to have a strong alliance with one person in the final four.

RNO: How do you, as a principal, feel about the way Heidi, a teacher, behaved - including the way she treated Christy, the way she talked about herself and the other "cute" girls, and her stripping for peanut butter and chocolate in the challenge?

Butch: I do believe she has a personal life and she was doing what she wanted to in order to survive. I do know that some of her comments were taken out of context. I did know that the area she was from would not like what she did or said on the show. As a principal, I would have to look at how it affected her job performance, and if she was still an effective teacher.

RNO: While you were on the show, were there any actions you specifically avoided (lying, scheming, backstabbing, etc.) because of how it might have looked to the kids at your school?

Butch: I was there to play the game. I changed to "under the radar" strategy because I felt it would take me to the final 4. Once I started, I knew I could not change.

RNO: Now that you look back at the show, how do you feel about apparently being so out of the loop?

Butch: I was only out of the loop for about 1-2 days (after Dave Johnson left). I took a wait and see attitude after Dave left and things did happen. This was when Matt and myself started our alliance to make it to the final 4.

RNO: Why did you choose to remain mostly passive - at least as it looked to us - instead of making some more active moves in the game?

Butch: It says: OUTWIT - OUT PLAY - OUTLAST. It does not say how you have to do it. You are just not aware of some of my active moves.

RNO: Do you think you were too likable to go into the final two, or do you think the jury would have voted based on who was the better strategic player?

Butch: This was my main concern!!! I knew I was in a good position if the jury's attitude was to not vote for the people they hated. If they were to vote for the one who "played the game the best," I knew I would be in trouble because they had no idea what I did. I was in the process of deciding how I was to do that at final TC.

RNO: Do you think your alliance with Roger helped or hurt you?

Butch: For the 1st 12 days I believed it helped the both of us.

RNO: Did you do anything in particular to stick around after your alliance partners Roger and Dave were voted off or was it simply that the core alliance tore themselves apart?

Butch: Again, I took a wait and see attitude until Alex came to me in regards to voting Deena out. I did consider going to Deena and starting an alliance - as she did consider the same. My focus then changed to Matt and working with Rob. I knew if Matt got Rob we could go far.

RNO: Did you give your alliance partner Roger any advice when he would blow up in camp?

Butch: Only once, I just told him to calm down.

RNO: Did you object to any of the choices for players to vote off, and did you try to sway anyone's vote?

Butch: Yes and No. Sometimes I was in a position not to try and sway. If I did try to sway I knew I was out (Dave). Early when Alex and Roger were talking about voting out Matt or Dan - I said DAN. And that is who we went with. I did work on keeping Rob focused.

RNO: Thanks again for your time!

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

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