John Rocker couldn't stay entirely incognito for long on the first episode of the 29th episode of "Survivor" tonight. He sure tried, including a fake last name.
But Wes Nale from Louisiana, an eager beaver Braves fan, figured him out quickly (as did his dad Keith, who was on the other team and ended up on Exile Island.)
Rocker, after some hemming and hawing, owned up to his identity and asked Wes to keep it a secret. He told cameras he might consider going after Wes but Wes seems like a puppy dog who likes John. It would make sense for John to cozy up to Wes and create an alliance, which might help him maintain his anonymity a bit longer. But it's hard to tell what his next gambit is.
For now, he has a cover last name: John Wetteland, another relief pitcher from his era that even fewer people remember outside of hardcore baseball fans.
Not surprising that Rocker was a dominant physical presence during the immunity challenge for his team Coyope. He hooked a rope, then became a human jungle gym to help other contestants up a barrier. But his team lost the challenge over a difficult mental puzzle.
Good news for Rocker: he wasn't the first one eliminated. That was a major fear of his. Based on what we saw, he wasn't even considered.
He ultimately picked 'The Amazing Race" alum Nadiya Anderson simply because she looked like a threat from her experience on that other CBS show that has won all the Emmys (but never quite matched up to "Survivor" in ratings.) So did four other guys. So she was blindsided and Rocker was able to live another day.
Amusingly, Nadiya made some stupidly offensive comments about the gay guy, saying he was one of the "girls" in a sense, which came across condescending. Rocker? Kept his trap shut.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Already on Twitter, he is generating buzz, good and bad:
Meanwhile, former 99Xers Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb on the Sports Hub in Boston decided to antagonize Rocker in a radio interview that aired this morning by rehashing his past. After a few questions about the SI interview, they started in on steroids. Rocker said they only have eight minutes and he's here to promote "Survivor." That stuff was years old. Toucher's justification is that many of their Boston fans, especially younger ones, needed context in terms of why he was famous. (In Rocker's defense, he's answered those questions 1,000 times and they could have rehashed that stuff before talking to him.)
He ultimately cut short the interview even after they reluctantly began asking him about "Survivor."
As a "Survivor" fan, I would have genuinely enjoyed hearing Rocker's thoughts on his experience on the show but he didn't choose to talk to me.
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