Justin: 'Survivor' has outwitted, outplayed and outlasted the competition

I've accepted that I don't have the pipes to audition for "American Idol," the looks to become "America's Next Top Model" or the brains to compete on "Jeopardy." But I'd kick butt on "Survivor."

That belief, however misguided, is shared by millions of fans who have kept the CBS series on the air since 2000, making it the granddaddy of all reality competition TV.

"Anyone can play 'Survivor,'" said Andrea Boehlke, a Wisconsin native who has competed on the show three times. "You can picture yourself in the same position and wonder what you would do."

Boehlke was at the Mall of America in late March for a promotional event in which more than 1,000 people got a chance to try their hand at signature games like Breaking Windows, a variation on a beanbag toss, and A Bit Tipsy, a block-stacking challenge. They also got a chance to slide into the confessional booth and buy souvenir tote bags and T-shirts.

But the biggest draw was photo ops with former contestants.

"They swarm you, but in the best way," said last season's winner Rachel LaMont as a line of fans waited for their chance to give her friendship bracelets, rehash strategies and gossip. "I can walk around the mall and not really be recognized, but I walk into something like this and I'm an A-list celebrity. That's fun."

Interest in Connecticut-based contestant Solomon Yi proves that you don't have to go home with the winner's check of $1 million to be treated like a rock star.

"There's been over 700 players and they know who every single one of them is," said Yi, who finished 10th last season and works for Minneapolis-based Medtronic. "It's like we're Major League Baseball players. They know our stats."

The show, which airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, isn't as popular as it was when it debuted. Over 51 million viewers tuned in for the first-season finale, second only to the Super Bowl that year. In 2001, more than 600 people waited at Rosedale Center to audition for the third installment.

Last season, only about 5 million tuned in to find out the winner and the show has dropped out of the Top 20. But it's still a solid performer and has picked up younger fans streaming old episodes.

"The first time I was on the show, it was mostly my parents' friends who were watching," said Boehlke, who was 21 during her first time on "Survivor" in 2011. "Now, when I'm in Milwaukee, I get recognized about once a week. It's often young people who say they discovered the show during the pandemic."

One of reasons the show has outwitted, outlasted and outplayed the competition is that it's stuck to its guns. No celebrity editions. No "golden" spinoffs. No major tweaking to the format. But the rules of the game — the tribe decides who gets the boot and who gets the booty — allow for a different tone every time around.

"Some seasons the most social person wins. Other times a strategic person wins," LaMont said. "Each season, you're forming your own society and the rules of society change. That makes it super fun as a player and for viewers, it feels fresh every time."

"Survivor," unlike "The Bachelor" and "Real Housewives" franchises, doesn't rely on soap opera antics, making it easier for viewers to relate to the competitors.

This season's sentimental favorite may be Eagan native Eva Erickson. In a recent episode, host Jeff Probst choked up when she shared her battles with autism. As of this past Wednesday, she remained in the competition. The three-hour finale is May 21.

One of the most emotionally vulnerable players in recent history was Minnesotan Carolyn Wiger, a former drug counselor who wasn't shy about sharing details about her own addictions. She's currently obsessed with Erickson's journey and her relationship with competitor Joe Hunter, a California fire captain.

" That's what I'm watching for, not who finds an idol," Wiger said at the MOA event. "If one has to vote the other off, I'll be dying."

Wiger, who finished third in Season 44, has parlayed her popularity into doing Cameo videos and working as a life coach.

"People say that I give too much of myself, but that's the story of my life," said Wiger, who also appeared in the third season of the Emmy-winning reality competition series "The Traitors." "I could be forgotten tomorrow, so in the meantime, I want to talk to as many people as I can who reach out to me about their struggles with addiction."

She commends the show for continuing to cast a wide net.

"There are always people you can relate to," she said right after a nearby fan declared her love at full volume. "You watch and think, 'Wow, it's possible to do that show. I can't relate to any of those 'Housewives' but I could actually do that.'"