Top Ten One-Time Players that Should Reappear: Part 1- Males

Okay, before I get to the actual blog post that starts in the next paragraph, I thought that I would update you on Survivor news. Today is day 39 in Survivor: Cambodia. I would like to congratulate whoever won. I'm not done posting about that season before it airs. I still don't know if I'll do a cast assessment or not, but I will have something close to it in the near future. I just hope that I have enough of these posts to write before the next season starts.

The title of this blog post should be self-explanatory. But, in the event that it is not, I’ll be sure to explain as the post continues. I was thinking to myself, “I should do a top ten of players that only played once and should return to play the game again.” But then I thought that it might be better to create a cast for a potential season like that. In the end, I decided to do both. Men will have one list of ten contestants and women will have a second list later. Now there are some things that I would like to note about the list going into it.

1- If a great contestant is believed to never return to the game again, such a Greg Buis, then they won’t be considered for this list. I should have more than enough people by just considering those who would actually play again and ignoring anybody who probably won’t return to the game. 2- Obviously, if someone has played more than once, they won’t be on the list. 3- I will consider people for this list regardless of if they’ve ever been considered to be a returning player. That’s because, it’s unknown if we have records of everyone that has been asked back. 4- This wasn’t originally going to be a rule, but I decided that any one season can only be represented once. So if there are a bunch of great contestants from a single season, I went with who I thought was the best among them. I will probably mention alternates at the end of this post. 5- Women will get their own list later. I promise to get to them, hopefully next week. 6- This list may have been different before the announcement of the players on Survivor: Cambodia. I am excluding everyone from that cast so that’s why you might not see a great player from it on this list.

I have considered a bunch of great men throughout the history of Survivor and have come up with my list of ten men that have only played the game once that I feel should return to play Survivor again. I’ll talk about them and explain my choices. Without further ado, here’s the list:

#10 Shane (Panama): While some may find him annoying and arrogant, he’s a likable player by many people and has already been snubbed from returning before. He’s entertaining and likable to the point that many people have wanted him to play that game again. Why hasn’t he? Well, the reasons vary, but it’s terrible that we have yet to see him again.

#9 Burton (Pearl Islands): This person was very strong until his foolishness made his the first person voted out of his tribe. But a highly underrated twist brought him back into the game. He then went on an immunity streak and even lasted for a while without immunity. His foolishness, however, got him voted out of the game again. But I still like him as a player and think that he would make a great returnee. Why hasn’t he come back?

#8 Fabio (Nicaragua): I really like this winner. He had a pretty good game, even if he was a bit dimwitted. He would probably make a great player if he came back. I think that he is one of many winners that I’d want to see in the game again. While I like a lot of the winners, he was one of my favorites in quite a long time which is why I’m glad he did win. A lot of people like him and I think that he would do well a second time playing the game.

#7 Matty (Gabon): This player was pretty good at the game. He could have even won, if only he could have made fire. He was a pretty strong player and I’m not going to take away from the game of the person who did win. But Matty was a wonderful player and he’d make a great returnee.

#6 John (Blood versus Water): A Redemption Island king, John was a tough opponent in the game. Even though he fell short of reentry into the game, he was definitely a force to be reckoned with. He was even forced to beat his wife in a duel at one point and people can’t do that easily. Or, you’d think that such a thing wouldn’t easily be done. But he’s a strong player and that’s why he should reappear.

#5 Coby (Palau): Who doesn’t love Coby? He’s one of the most likable players that I can remember. He’s been considered to return to play the game again, but has yet to return a second time. He was entertaining and wonderful to watch when he played in Palau. The fact that he hasn’t already returned is a disgrace.

#4 Mike (Worlds Apart): This player would have been in a second season had he not won his first season. He’s actually a good player and possibly underrated winner. He may have made dumb choices every so often, but that didn’t prevent him from actually winning the game. He’s a great player and would make a great returnee when the time comes.

#3 Chris (Vanuatu): After outlasting the women on his tribe, Chris ended up winning the game itself. That was a very cool event to witness and one of the times when a person you didn’t expect to win actually pulled it off. He’s a great player getting the women to turn on each other and it’s very odd that he’s never been asked back to play the game again. But I’m sure that he would be a wonderful person to play the game again, so I put him on this list.

#2 Brett (Samoa): This man is a notable returning player snub. Has he seriously never been considered to play the game again? Regardless, his winning streak in Samoa had him fall short of the finals once he failed to win the final immunity challenge. He could have easily won the game too. Him as a winner would have been very satisfying. But, they can always bring him back and hopefully, he would play another great game.

#1 Tony (Cagayan): Why do I have this person as number one? Well, some people would say that if Richard Hatch had never played again, then that would have been a travesty. Well, only one other player besides Richard turned general cockiness and extreme game play into a win and that was Tony. Tony is a great winner and one of the most awesome players in the history of Survivor. He’s wonderful and interesting and if doesn’t return, then that would be a travesty.

Honorable mentions/alternates: Dirk & Sean from Borneo, Rodger from Australia, Silas from Africa, Gabriel, John, & Paschal from Marquesas, Jake from Thailand, Shawn from Pearl Islands, Rory & Travis from Vanuatu, Gregg, Ian, & James from Palau, Gary & Rafe from Guatemala, Bruce from Panama, Nate, Billy, & Adam from Cook Islands, Gary, Earl, Mookie, & Anthony from Fiji, Aaron from China, Jason from Micronesia, Ken & Bob from Gabon, Joe & Brendan from Tocantins, Mike from Samoa, Marty & Chase from Nicaragua, Grant & Mike from Redemption Island, Tarzan, Jonas, Leif, & Troyzan from One World, Eddie & Reynold from Caramoan, Hayden from Blood versus Water, Jeremy & Garrett from Cagayan, Wes, Dale, Josh, Reed, & Jon Misch from San Juan del Sur, and Tyler from Worlds Apart

Those are my thoughts on the one-time male players that I think should reappear. Stay tuned to this blog and you should soon see the list of females from previous seasons that I think should play a second time again. I thought that I’d do the males first and then the females second. I hope that you don’t mind that order. Anyways, I hope that you liked my thoughts on which one-time players should return to play the game again. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.