Eye on Survivor: Brawn Tribe: Time to put up or shut up!

Freshly entered into a chilly February, it’s already time again to prepare for a new season of the most difficult and groundbreaking show on television for the past 14 years and 27 seasons. Heading into season 28 we’re presented with a fresh batch of 18 Americans going for the title of sole survivor and the additional one million dollars. No returnees, no redemption island and I must say it’s refreshing and I’m excited to see what this new group has in store for us.

As a matter of fact there’s only one big twist this season. The players are being divided into 3 tribes: brawn, brains and beauty. With this, they’re going back to the format they last used in season 26: Philippines. Personally I’m glad they’re going back to the 3-tribe format. Past seasons with 2 tribes have learned us that people often lock into a 5-person alliance that lasts almost the entire game. This makes for predictable and boring seasons. With 3 tribes this is almost impossible as proven by season 26 which was very successful, as the game knew different alliances that turned the game upside down on multiple occasions.

The theme of the season feels a bit obligatory to me. They needed a theme to divide their players so they chose a bit random for brawn, brains and beauty. But very similar to Heroes vs. Villains multiples contestants fit into multiple tribes this season, as will become apparent during the preview of the cast.

We’re about 3 weeks away from the premiere on February 26. For the next 3 weeks, starting today, I’ll be giving you a preview of each tribe. Who are they and what are their chances according to my humble opinion? That being said, let’s get started with the first tribe on the menu: Brawn.

As for the three qualifications a survivor winner is considered to have (according to Jeff Probst), brawn is the one that carries you through the first phase of the game until the merge. But after that brawn usually makes you more of threat and therefore not many players (actually none that I can remember) have won survivor purely on brawn.

First up for the brawn tribe is 39-year old Tony, a police officer from New Jersey. He’s the poster boy for the brawn tribe as he’s strong, broad and walk and talks like a cop. But how will that affect his chances in this game because nobody likes a cop… right? I guess it all depends on how big his ego is and if he can downplay that ego which will be really important in a tribe that’s called ‘Brawn’. His luck could lie with his fellow police officer Sarah. If he can connect with her and they find two more kindred spirits, that might be the start of something good for Tony.

Next up is Lindsey, a 29-year old hair stylist from Indiana. In her own words she’s very good at reading people and making them her ‘puppets’. Every time I hear this kind of thing an alarm bell goes off because you’re never as good as you think you are. Add to that she says she’s a slave to her emotions and I don’t have high hopes for Lindsey. Emotions as a guideline is never a good way to go in survivor. Subsequently, unless Lindsey can get into a good alliance and stay off the radar, she’s an early exit for me. I definitely don’t see a big time strategy player in her as she sees herself.

Next is Sarah, a 29-year old police officer from Iowa. Sarah seems to be a very laid-back and down to earth women. She doesn’t seem the type to let her ego get the better of her and will definitely go as far as the merge. If I was her, I would form an alliance of 4 and be the leader behind the screens but let someone like Tony or Cliff be the leader in front of the screens to stay out of the heat. If she does this I give her good chances to get far.

Next for the brawn tribe is Woo, a 30-year old martial arts instructor from Ohio. Woo is the kind of player everyone wants in their alliance: laid-back, not a clear leader and seems trustful and loyal. I see Woo getting in the majority alliance of the brawn tribe pretty easily. From there on, he can stay off the radar and get far. Physically he seems like an Ozzy-type to me with the swimmer body type and fishing survival skills. He could become this season’s challenge beast.

Last but one is Trish, a 47-year old pilates instructor from Massachusetts. Although she’s clearly a strong women, she seems to me as like the mom type of this group. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing as those type of player have gotten far in the past before. The only problem is, who will she be a mom to in this group as there’s nobody below 29 in this group. Therefore I don’t see Trish getting far, as she’s one of the oldest in this group and she will probably annoy people more then anything else.

Last but definitely not least is Cliff Robinson a former NBA-star, now 46. As in every season there’s always that semi-famous contestant. Here it is Cliff Robinson. But as far as those semi-famous contestants go, they don’t really have a good track account when it comes to Survivor. I’m afraid Cliff won’t fair any better. He’s a very intimidating person in stature and I alsowouldn't be surprised if he turns out to have the biggest ego in this bunch of brawn. Something you can’t really blame him for as how can’t you have a massive ego if you spend the better half of your life in the world of blitz and glamour of the NBA. I see him rubbing his tribe mates the wrong way pretty quick and therefore being an early boot. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he disappointed in the brawn department.

That’s it for the brawn tribe. My prediction for this tribe is that Sarah and Tony will team up as their fellow cops. They will form an alliance with Woo and Lindsey as they are from the same age as Sarah. This will leave the two oldest Cliff and Trish on the outs and I see them as the 2 persons voted out first. I see Sarah getting the furthest and therefore she’s my favorite in the brawn tribe.