J.P.'s Closing Statement



Aight guys, so first off thanks for the good question and answer session- I think you guys had a lot of good questions and I hope you got whatever out of my responses that you needed for you to make your decision on whether or not you support my game over Brad or Brandon.  I think we've shown that despite the three of us having similar games, that I think I played to the best of my abilities given the fact I was labeled as a threat from very early in the game- and while I wasn't allowed to hide my abilities like my opponents in order to float around as a non-threat, I was still able to make moves to position myself to get me to this point (without having to win challenges after the final 5, mind you), so I think I proved that I had several components of both a strong physical, mental and social game. 

I think this final three was more of a series of happenstances that forced the three of us to ultimately honor our alliance to each other.  Like I said in an earlier response, to me this game was moreso of who had the best back-up plan because everytime a major move was in the works it was thrawted to something random- like an immunity win or a self-vote.  I don't think this final three happened merely because Brad was some strategic mastermind and knew the self-destruct formula of the Jaburu tribe and was aligned with everyone (to pretty much everyone's knowledge)- while I will admit he played the game well within the Jaburu Tribe.  But as Brandon and I would be the first to tell you we were both trying to make moves to better position ourselves at each others expense, and had something gone the other way Brad would not have been in power because I don't think he played much outside of the Jaburu circle and I think personally that is his weakness.  On the other hand, I think I was more successful than Brandon was at putting myself in positions of power especially going into Tribal Council which is key- and ultimately I pulled off more moves in my own favor than his; including the final 10 move that ultimately allowed Jaburu to have the numbers advantage.

Despite being a target, I don't see that as a hinderance to my game at all.  How many times did Peih-Gee try to vote out Todd in China?  Like 3 or 4?  Parvati was constantly a target in Micronesia but bonded socially with the right people who wanted her around.   And how many times were players like Tom, Yul and Chris Daugherty targetted in their respective seasons?   So no, I don't think getting votes at Tribal Council equates to playing a bad game- like I had any choice in the matter but to get more votes for someone else and I know people call me arrogant or cocky or whatever, but I do feel proud of myself because this game was not as easy as you all probably think it was.

I'd like to thank Ashley for putting up with me yet again, it's been fun as always.  Thanks to the cast for putting up a good fight and I hope to keep in touch with you guys because I do feel like the friendships made were genuine- it was not a fun process voting some players out but I hope you all understand that it's not anything personal but a strategic move to ensure my longevity in the game.  It's been a long road that I am both anxious and excited to see end.  All I hope is that I put up a good fight here because I've been fighting since day 1 to win this game and to go out on a win would be amazing.  Thanks again for the ride!

- J.P.