Content area
Full Text
Admit it, you were shocked. Stunned. Bewildered. Astounded.
How could it happen? When host Jeff Probst opened that last piece of paper and it read "Rich," you wondered: How could that fish- impaling, back-stabbing, arrhythmic-dancing Richard win the million- dollar booty? He wasn't genuine, he wasn't sympathetic, he wasn't even remotely likable. Why did he win?
Here's why: he was smart. The game came down to a battle of numbers (literally), and Richard, who appropriately wore black on the post-show hobnob, played the numbers brilliantly.
Let's break it down mathematically. Two tribes of eight each. The two groups seemed to be divided among post-Gen X slackers and older, more pragmatic members. The Pagong tribe had hang-loose dudes like Gervase and Joel, whereas the Tagi tribe had no-nonsense worker bees like Rudy and Susan.
Richard simply allied himself with a...
