Post by Ami on Nov 16, 2015 13:25:16 GMT
Hello, hello, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.
I'm going to keep my Opening Statement pretty short and sweet, because I'm sure you all are ready to pick apart the game that I played and are eager to ask your questions.
I started this game in an incredibly fortunate position. Akha dominated challenge after challenge, both before and after the swap, sending me to only one pre-merge Tribal Council. I'll be the first to admit that I rode this wave for a while. I had set myself up on Akha to where, even if we did break our winning streak, I didn't have to worry about going home. I had an alliance with Monica and Caleb early on, and had a solid connection with Joaquin. I knew there were weaker players on my original tribe, so I did what I had to to secure my position, but was careful not to establish myself as a dominant force early on, and let my allies take on that role. While that may seem like an early mistake, as I can't sit here with the fighting resume that Monica or Caleb could have sat here with, we see that my allies sit on the jury, and I sit here in the Final Tribal Council, pleading my case. After the swap, I continued to ride the Akha wave. We were continuing to win, and the Original Akha ladies had majority on our tribe. I didn't see the need to stir things up. I was still sitting damn pretty, talking to the new tribemates as I could, but again, careful to not establish myself as a dominating threat in the pre-merge stage of the game.
Then here comes the merge, I thought this was going to be my chance to break out and shine. To make a huge move that would shake the game to it's core. Damn, it was gonna be impressive. I instantly started to try and buddy up to Kelly, thinking she was my best bet at starting a cross-tribal alliance to storm the merge with reckless abandon. And then she quit, and I had picked the wrong person to try to establish any sort of connection with. After Kelly's quit, I had a real life engagement that unfortunately distracted me from the game. I would get on when I could, and, admittedly, did what I was told for a couple of rounds. I'm not blaming real life on my absence, I admit that I should have been more proactive, but it is what it is. When I returned from being MIA at the Final 9, I was pretty sure my game was toast. I had no grasp of what was going on, admittedly, and assumed I was toast. So I worked to rekindle my relationship with Joaquin, and stuck close to my girl Monica. People would hint to me that they wanted to make a move, but nothing ever happened. In my brief absence, I noticed that the powers-that-be weren't being challenged. It had become clear to me that Rudy and Caleb had hit it off, and Kelly and Ashley leaving were seemingly at their hands. I talked with Joaquin and Monica about this, and began my period of "Caleb hunting". Unfortunately, the numbers weren't there, and Rudy's nemesis Nick took the fall. In any normal situation, I feel like I would have been instantly targeted for my attempt to oust Caleb, but somehow Joaquin's name had been thrown into the mix, and my willingness to play a quieter game early on paid off, as Joaquin took the fall for me. After Caleb's exit, I knew I could continue to ride the wave, and my name never came up in conversation because I had been careful not to establish myself as a force throughout the game.
Okay, so I wasn't a force. I wasn't making big flashy moves. I wasn't leading any sort of alliance. But I worked my way through this game without ever being worried that I was a target. I had established the relationships necessary to get me to the end (Monica's idol, holla) and was never the topic of conversation. While my game might have been excessively Under the Radar, it was a game that ended me in this seat. I am pretty sure Rudy brought me here because he thinks he can beat me easily. I definitely talked up my "goat" game if you will to help further myself along in this game, making people think I had no shot at winning. Whether I do have any sort of chance is up to the Jury. Anyways, thank you all for a great game. It's been fun. Looking forward to your questions.
Good luck, Rudy.
I'm going to keep my Opening Statement pretty short and sweet, because I'm sure you all are ready to pick apart the game that I played and are eager to ask your questions.
I started this game in an incredibly fortunate position. Akha dominated challenge after challenge, both before and after the swap, sending me to only one pre-merge Tribal Council. I'll be the first to admit that I rode this wave for a while. I had set myself up on Akha to where, even if we did break our winning streak, I didn't have to worry about going home. I had an alliance with Monica and Caleb early on, and had a solid connection with Joaquin. I knew there were weaker players on my original tribe, so I did what I had to to secure my position, but was careful not to establish myself as a dominant force early on, and let my allies take on that role. While that may seem like an early mistake, as I can't sit here with the fighting resume that Monica or Caleb could have sat here with, we see that my allies sit on the jury, and I sit here in the Final Tribal Council, pleading my case. After the swap, I continued to ride the Akha wave. We were continuing to win, and the Original Akha ladies had majority on our tribe. I didn't see the need to stir things up. I was still sitting damn pretty, talking to the new tribemates as I could, but again, careful to not establish myself as a dominating threat in the pre-merge stage of the game.
Then here comes the merge, I thought this was going to be my chance to break out and shine. To make a huge move that would shake the game to it's core. Damn, it was gonna be impressive. I instantly started to try and buddy up to Kelly, thinking she was my best bet at starting a cross-tribal alliance to storm the merge with reckless abandon. And then she quit, and I had picked the wrong person to try to establish any sort of connection with. After Kelly's quit, I had a real life engagement that unfortunately distracted me from the game. I would get on when I could, and, admittedly, did what I was told for a couple of rounds. I'm not blaming real life on my absence, I admit that I should have been more proactive, but it is what it is. When I returned from being MIA at the Final 9, I was pretty sure my game was toast. I had no grasp of what was going on, admittedly, and assumed I was toast. So I worked to rekindle my relationship with Joaquin, and stuck close to my girl Monica. People would hint to me that they wanted to make a move, but nothing ever happened. In my brief absence, I noticed that the powers-that-be weren't being challenged. It had become clear to me that Rudy and Caleb had hit it off, and Kelly and Ashley leaving were seemingly at their hands. I talked with Joaquin and Monica about this, and began my period of "Caleb hunting". Unfortunately, the numbers weren't there, and Rudy's nemesis Nick took the fall. In any normal situation, I feel like I would have been instantly targeted for my attempt to oust Caleb, but somehow Joaquin's name had been thrown into the mix, and my willingness to play a quieter game early on paid off, as Joaquin took the fall for me. After Caleb's exit, I knew I could continue to ride the wave, and my name never came up in conversation because I had been careful not to establish myself as a force throughout the game.
Okay, so I wasn't a force. I wasn't making big flashy moves. I wasn't leading any sort of alliance. But I worked my way through this game without ever being worried that I was a target. I had established the relationships necessary to get me to the end (Monica's idol, holla) and was never the topic of conversation. While my game might have been excessively Under the Radar, it was a game that ended me in this seat. I am pretty sure Rudy brought me here because he thinks he can beat me easily. I definitely talked up my "goat" game if you will to help further myself along in this game, making people think I had no shot at winning. Whether I do have any sort of chance is up to the Jury. Anyways, thank you all for a great game. It's been fun. Looking forward to your questions.
Good luck, Rudy.
