Hey old man!
You should vote for me because as Angie said, we played a similar game, but I played it better.
If you read my Opening Statement, you'll see that my strategy in the beginning was to be well-liked but not too liked to be considered a threat. I also had an alliance with Angie, Kevin, and Michelle during this stage, which helped me out a lot.
During the second stage, I did a lot to develop the trust of others. I made sure to build relationships with those in my house specifically, realizing that most of the people I actually wanted to work with in this game ended up in the University, so it just worked out for me.
Once we hit the merge, I stepped it up a lot, convincing people to vote out Dan as well as Jeff, and then Memphis. I got the people I wanted in the Final 5, to the Final 5, which made me feel pretty confident and safe, as they would all target each other rather than me.
In addition, I didn't just "feel" these people would take me to the Final 2 over the others as some of them did, but I knew they would. I set myself up in the best position available.
As stated, most of what I did was more behind-the-scenes, which is what I wanted. I wanted people to think I was no competition or threat going into the finale, because I wanted them to want to take me. This proved successful in the end, and I hope I am now proving to you that I played this a lot more than you thought I did.
I think if you read my statement and all my answers to the questions at this Questioning, you will see that that was precisely my strategy. To "sneak" my way to the Final 2!
But it wasn't all floating!
I did what I had to do.
During the beginning, my strategy was to be friendly with others, make a small alliance, and just make it through. I did not want to be one of the first five out, but I also didn't want to be an early threat.
In the middle stage, I expanded my relationship with others and built new relationships with some. I got out those I was uncomfortable with, like Ronnie, and lost some allies along the way (like Michelle). However, I also managed to turn some bumpy and questionable relationships into great alliances (like my relationship with Brian).
At the merge, I made the deals I made, and I got the people involved in these deals to the Final 5 with me (Angie, Jordan, Brian, and Russell). Not only would these two sides target each other rather than me, who was close with all of them, but it would also put me in the best position available to get to the Final 2. Along the way, I took out those that I wasn't as close to and therefore could have reason to potentially take out the game (Dan, Jeff, yourself, Memphis, and Michele).
What are you talking about old man!? I touched a lot of balls in this game.
See the first part of the final HoH for example! I touched the 3 balls 177 times to be precise! A lot more times than Angie touched the balls.
No, but in all seriousness, that was exactly my strategy. I didn't want to seem like someone that was making big moves, as I knew that it would help me get ahead.
In reality, I had been a part of two of the biggest alliances in the game; one with Russell and Brian, and one with Angie and Jordan.
I also beg to differ on not taking credit for anything. I won't take a credit for a lot of what went on in the early game, especially prior to the house division, partly because I didn't want to be a part of anything, as I knew it would get me through.
As the house division, I made the alliances mentioned above, and was also a big part of the reason in Ronnie's eviction.
Come Final 10, I convinced many of those in the house to evict Dan rather than Jordan. In doing so, and immediately following this, I joined my alliance of Brian and Jordan with the alliance I had with Angie. This would make it a lot easier for my two separate alliances to coast together until the Final 5 (well, that was ideal, but in reality it was really only until the Final 6), as it would convince my alliances to work with each other (with the exception of Jordan) until that point rather than to target each other and not the others that I was not close with.
Next, I was a big part in Jeff's eviction as well. I saw Jeff as a good friend in this game, but I knew he was closer with others in this game than myself, and so I took the steps necessary to remove him from the game and convinced enough other people to do so as well.
At this point, I actually started trying in the competitions, and actually did quite well and won some. I planned for Memphis to go next, so I can't take the credit for your eviction. I did not want you to be evicted. In fact, had I known you were going to be evicted, I probably would have used the Veto on you that round to avoid the situation rather than have you be evicted over Memphis.
Next week, I was the reason for Memphis's eviction as well. By me choosing to evict him over Michele, Russ did the same, and Angie and Jordan did as well, making Memphis next to go.
The rest of the game was actually pretty much smooth sailing and allowed me to get through stress-free for the most part. I knew I was in the good graces of others and had a good ride to the finals, and it worked out pretty well for me. My strategy went as planned and everyone targeted each other rather than targeting me, and I made my way to the finale pretty easily.
I'm going to go with
338.
Thanks Jerry!
