Post by Debb Eaton on Aug 22, 2008 20:09:20 GMT -4
Debb's Closing Statement
First of all, I want to thank you for your comments and your questions, and especially for your congratulations. I think it shows a great deal of maturity when you can come out of this game with such a high level of sportsmanship. It was an honor to have played with each of you.
When I started this game, I wanted to focus on three key areas: strategic thinking, social skills, and challenge performance.
My strategy was to form an alliance with people I could trust, and stick with it. Those people turned out to be Rodger, Kimmi, and Nick. I also formed a close alliance with Jerri, and that bond turned out to be the key that kept myself and my alliance in this game.
Kimmi may have played a larger role than I thought when it came to putting together the alliance of 4, but I definitely played a larger role when it came to actually keeping that alliance of 4 together. It was because of my bond with Jerri that allowed us gain the numbers at final 9, and then to split the votes in order to maneuver around the secret immunity idols. If I hadn't gone out and developed that relationship, it's very possible that our alliance of four would have never made it to the end at all.
Some of you may not have seen all the work I put into this game, but I want to assure you that I had a role in every single tribal council. In fact, I voted for the correct person to leave more times than anyone else in this game (I only missed twice - once when Jerri left, and again when Nick left. The reason I didn't vote for Jerri was that I knew I would need her immunity in order to survive the next round, and also I just liked her and didn't want to vote against her. In the final three, I didn't vote for Nick to leave because I felt like he deserved it more, and also because I was pretty certain that Kimmi had Rodger's immunity anyway, and I figured my vote wouldn't make a difference).
As far as the other votes went, voting Maralyn out was easy because I did believe that Kucha had worked well together and we all deserved to at least be on the jury. I wasn't willing to vote out Jerri like some people wanted, so I pushed for Maralyn to go instead.
After that, I knew I needed Elisabeth to go. She was gunning for me because she thought I had played in season one, (which by the way is not true), In order to get Liz out, I had to lie to her and make her think that I would vote with her against Michael, even though I was planning on voting her out the entire time. I just wanted to sway the votes away from me in case anything funny happened, and I also wanted her to feel safe so she wouldn't try to form a counter alliance.
With Elisabeth gone, I knew that Jeff would catch on to the fact that I was a threat. He tried to form an alliance of himself/Kimmi/Nick and Alicia. I heard this from two people, and since I wasn't included in his plans, I needed to put a stop to his scheming right away. I suggested to my alliance that we take him out. It would have been Jeff going that day if he hadn't won immunity, and therefore we took out who we thought to be his closest remaining ally, Alicia.
I was also the only member of my alliance of four to successfully vote out both Michael & Jeff. The fact of the matter is, I always had a handle on what was happening in the game. Although the four of us all worked together, I was usually the one people would come to in order to confirm who the target was going to be, and also to find out what their assignment was when it came to vote splitting.
One problem that I saw with my plan for sticking to my alliance of four, is that I knew there was a chance I would be vulnerable when we got to the final 4. So I did plan for that. I had set myself up in a position where I would have Jerri's immunity which would ensure my place in the final 3. After that, I knew my only way to get to the final 2 would be to win the challenge, which I did, by holding on to the immunity idol three times longer than Kimmi did. I had a complete strategy that I developed and stuck to, and it think it was a good strategy, because it got me to the final 2.
As far as my social game, I came in wanting to get to know everyone that I was playing with. For some that worked out better than others. With the people I eventually became aligned with, I built some truly great friendships. For those of you that I didn't get to know as well as I could have, I still tried to learn things about you on a personal level. Out of respect for your privacy, I won't go into too many details, but I can tell you that Alicia is from Ohio. Michael is from New Jersey. Jeff is from Pennsylvania. You all played a large role in me getting to this position in the final 2, and for that, I am immensely grateful.
As for the last area, challenge skills - I don't think anyone can deny that I gave my all to every challenge. I was a huge contributor during the beginning of the game, helping to lead my tribe to an undefeated pre-merge position. After the merge, I won three individual immunity challenges, which is more than anyone else in the game. At the final 3 when I knew my butt was on the line, I was so devoted to winning immunity that I held onto that idol for more than four hours.
In short, I gave 100% to this game. I love Kimmi to death and I think she played well and deserves her spot in the final 2, but when it comes to overall strategy and commitment, I hope you'll agree that my head was always in this game. There were times when Kimmi was away and had to rely on the other members of her alliance to fill her in on what was happening in the game. She self voted twice, and I think her assertion that she did it to avoid voting out Elisabeth and making enemies is ludicrous, because during that time that she self voted, she also neglected to compete in the immunity challenges. She obviously was just neglecting the game and now she is trying to cover for it. Meanwhile, I was here every day checking things out, talking to people, strategizing, competing in challenges, and doing my best to further myself in the game.
I had a well rounded strategy, and more than anything else, I was here to win. I never once took my eye off the prize. I succeeded in the three areas that I was trying to focus on: strategy, social game, and challenges, and it got me to the final 2. Now it's up to you as the jury, and I hope you'll agree that when it comes to comprehensive game playing, I'm the most deserving of the prize. For all of the reasons I've stated, I would be honored to have your vote as the winner of Survivor Second Chances: The Australian Outback.
First of all, I want to thank you for your comments and your questions, and especially for your congratulations. I think it shows a great deal of maturity when you can come out of this game with such a high level of sportsmanship. It was an honor to have played with each of you.
When I started this game, I wanted to focus on three key areas: strategic thinking, social skills, and challenge performance.
My strategy was to form an alliance with people I could trust, and stick with it. Those people turned out to be Rodger, Kimmi, and Nick. I also formed a close alliance with Jerri, and that bond turned out to be the key that kept myself and my alliance in this game.
Kimmi may have played a larger role than I thought when it came to putting together the alliance of 4, but I definitely played a larger role when it came to actually keeping that alliance of 4 together. It was because of my bond with Jerri that allowed us gain the numbers at final 9, and then to split the votes in order to maneuver around the secret immunity idols. If I hadn't gone out and developed that relationship, it's very possible that our alliance of four would have never made it to the end at all.
Some of you may not have seen all the work I put into this game, but I want to assure you that I had a role in every single tribal council. In fact, I voted for the correct person to leave more times than anyone else in this game (I only missed twice - once when Jerri left, and again when Nick left. The reason I didn't vote for Jerri was that I knew I would need her immunity in order to survive the next round, and also I just liked her and didn't want to vote against her. In the final three, I didn't vote for Nick to leave because I felt like he deserved it more, and also because I was pretty certain that Kimmi had Rodger's immunity anyway, and I figured my vote wouldn't make a difference).
As far as the other votes went, voting Maralyn out was easy because I did believe that Kucha had worked well together and we all deserved to at least be on the jury. I wasn't willing to vote out Jerri like some people wanted, so I pushed for Maralyn to go instead.
After that, I knew I needed Elisabeth to go. She was gunning for me because she thought I had played in season one, (which by the way is not true), In order to get Liz out, I had to lie to her and make her think that I would vote with her against Michael, even though I was planning on voting her out the entire time. I just wanted to sway the votes away from me in case anything funny happened, and I also wanted her to feel safe so she wouldn't try to form a counter alliance.
With Elisabeth gone, I knew that Jeff would catch on to the fact that I was a threat. He tried to form an alliance of himself/Kimmi/Nick and Alicia. I heard this from two people, and since I wasn't included in his plans, I needed to put a stop to his scheming right away. I suggested to my alliance that we take him out. It would have been Jeff going that day if he hadn't won immunity, and therefore we took out who we thought to be his closest remaining ally, Alicia.
I was also the only member of my alliance of four to successfully vote out both Michael & Jeff. The fact of the matter is, I always had a handle on what was happening in the game. Although the four of us all worked together, I was usually the one people would come to in order to confirm who the target was going to be, and also to find out what their assignment was when it came to vote splitting.
One problem that I saw with my plan for sticking to my alliance of four, is that I knew there was a chance I would be vulnerable when we got to the final 4. So I did plan for that. I had set myself up in a position where I would have Jerri's immunity which would ensure my place in the final 3. After that, I knew my only way to get to the final 2 would be to win the challenge, which I did, by holding on to the immunity idol three times longer than Kimmi did. I had a complete strategy that I developed and stuck to, and it think it was a good strategy, because it got me to the final 2.
As far as my social game, I came in wanting to get to know everyone that I was playing with. For some that worked out better than others. With the people I eventually became aligned with, I built some truly great friendships. For those of you that I didn't get to know as well as I could have, I still tried to learn things about you on a personal level. Out of respect for your privacy, I won't go into too many details, but I can tell you that Alicia is from Ohio. Michael is from New Jersey. Jeff is from Pennsylvania. You all played a large role in me getting to this position in the final 2, and for that, I am immensely grateful.
As for the last area, challenge skills - I don't think anyone can deny that I gave my all to every challenge. I was a huge contributor during the beginning of the game, helping to lead my tribe to an undefeated pre-merge position. After the merge, I won three individual immunity challenges, which is more than anyone else in the game. At the final 3 when I knew my butt was on the line, I was so devoted to winning immunity that I held onto that idol for more than four hours.
In short, I gave 100% to this game. I love Kimmi to death and I think she played well and deserves her spot in the final 2, but when it comes to overall strategy and commitment, I hope you'll agree that my head was always in this game. There were times when Kimmi was away and had to rely on the other members of her alliance to fill her in on what was happening in the game. She self voted twice, and I think her assertion that she did it to avoid voting out Elisabeth and making enemies is ludicrous, because during that time that she self voted, she also neglected to compete in the immunity challenges. She obviously was just neglecting the game and now she is trying to cover for it. Meanwhile, I was here every day checking things out, talking to people, strategizing, competing in challenges, and doing my best to further myself in the game.
I had a well rounded strategy, and more than anything else, I was here to win. I never once took my eye off the prize. I succeeded in the three areas that I was trying to focus on: strategy, social game, and challenges, and it got me to the final 2. Now it's up to you as the jury, and I hope you'll agree that when it comes to comprehensive game playing, I'm the most deserving of the prize. For all of the reasons I've stated, I would be honored to have your vote as the winner of Survivor Second Chances: The Australian Outback.
