An Instant Classic

Okay Fellow Survivor Geeks, after this evening’s Tribal Council, ten of the original twenty contestants of Survivor Samoa have been eliminated. By my calculations, that is exactly 50% and time for a Survivor Geek 101 review. Let’s begin with a little history lesson. Here is a list of the first eighteen Survivor winners.

• Season 1: Richard Hatch
• Season 2: Tina Wesson
• Season 3: Ethan Zohn
• Season 4: Vecepia Towery
• Season 5: Brian Heidik
• Season 6: Jenna Morasca
• Season 7: Sandra Diaz-Twine
• Season 8: Amber Brkich
• Season 9: Chris Daugherty
• Season 10: Tom Westman
• Season 11: Danni Boatwright
• Season 12: Aras Baskauskas
• Season 13: Yul Kwon
• Season 14: Earl Cole
• Season 15: Todd Herzog
• Season 16: Parvati Shallow
• Season 17: Bob Crowley
• Season 18: J.T. Thomas Jr.

What do all of these individuals have in common?

Each has Out Witted, Out Played and Out Lasted their way to $1,000,000. For this accomplishment, they are all stars, with several having competed in Survivor: All Stars and Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites.

Although they are all champions and therefore stars, it could be argued that they aren’t all Survivor legends. For clarification, let me offer this dictionary definition of legend.

Legend |ˈlejənd|
noun
An extremely famous or notorious person, esp. in a particular field: the man was a living legend

Obviously, based on this definition, all eighteen of the previous winners are not legends, not by a long shot. Conversely, there are several past competitors that, although they never won it all, deserve to be considered a Survivor legend.

With all that in mind, if I were to start a Survivor Hall of Fame, not only would several of the champions be members, but also the likes of Rupert Boneham, Jonny Fairplay and Wisconsin’s own Sue Hawk, would have to be taken into consideration.

The one thing all members of my Survivor Hall of Fame will have in common is that they have stood the proverbial test of time. The only qualification being is that they need to have competed in a completed season of Survivor.

Except for one man.

After tonight’s episode, I would have to give Russell Hantz special dispensation. The man is an instant classic. He is a first ballot Hall of Famer, hands down! There couldn’t be a Survivor Hall of Fame without Russell Hantz.

The Hall of Famer

Tonight he found a Hidden Immunity Idol for the second time with nary a clue. He also engineered the blindside elimination of yet another member of the old Galu tribe. Legendary stuff. I am beginning to tear up as I write this.

I used to call him the evil sock burner. I have described him as an evil genius. I have called him diabolical, sinister and fiendish, among other things. No more. From this point on, Russell Hantz will be simply referred to as the Hall of Famer.

With a huge target on his back, I don’t know how much time the Hall of Famer has left in Samoa. Hopefully he can continue his remarkable run and make it to the finals. It will be tough. But rest assured, I will treasure every single moment that he is still around. Until next time…from the booth.