Tom or lack of Tom should I say.
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A lot has been said about Ulong having no leader. I'm not sure I totally agree. James organized a group to vote Jolanda off because he knew he wouldn't last long with her around - he said as much on Survivor Live or Insider. James also said he had a plan and he was the leader.
Now if you were to say James as leader is the same as no leader ... well, I couldn't disagree.
James allied with a useless Ashlee. Then, in a walk in the woods with Jeff, James found that Jeff didn't like to be told what to do by Jolanda either. On the other hand Kim did like to be told what to do, but by Jeff rather than Jolanda. Now they only had to find one more person to join this original alliance and they could take control of the Ulong tribe. Naturally Angie would go along with such a plan. When James, Ashlee and Kim make up your core you should expect trouble - Stephehie and Angie didn't see it.
Stephenie didn't show long range vision by voting off Jolanda. She could have aligned with BJ, Ib, Jolanda and Angie to vote off Kim - that would have left a much stronger tribe ... and Jeff might have remembered to pee before bedtime, if he was thinking instead of cuddling.
Survivor is not a game about outnice and outfriend. Just because you don't like someone is not the reason to vote them off. You have to look at what they have to offer at the start of the game. Yes, Jolanda was bossy, but a real player, a confident person is going to see thru Jolandas personality and realize she has strengths that are needed. She could be voted off later. As a team very few had any long range vision, very few (if any) knew what it takes to play the whole game, and very few knew how to play the early game.
I think both Jolanda and James had alot in common in that they both overpromised and underdelivered. Just because you talk a good talk don't mean you walk it. Jolanda lost that challenge single handedly and James managed to beat her score by losing the Home Depot challenge (that he swore he had wrapped up) and the knot tying challenge( that he swore he had wrapped up) as well as possibly being the only redneck that can't shoot a gun to save his life, and let's not forget got his butt kicked " by a homosexual".
Stephanie has kicked butt and taken names in every challenge. She earned her place as last survivor of Ulong.
I'm sure most everyone would disagree with me, but I think Ulong would have been better off to keep Angie and get rid of Bobby Jon. BJ was too into the intense, he-man physical aspect of the game and didn't waste any time thinking. Angie did as well or better than several of the guys in the physical challenges, and actually seemed to spend a few seconds trying to figure things out at the same time, thus finding a way to get ahead while BJ seemed to find ways to fall behind (just for one, most recent example...going all-out full speed ahead in the last swimming challenge against Coby, so that by the second time they met, BJ had run out of gas and Coby was able to pass him)
I do believe voting off Jolanda was the first mistake made by Ulong. While she did seem annoying, how could we know what would have happened if she didn't go in the first TC vote. It is entirely possible she could have led Ulong to some victories.
The other big mistake, in my opinion, was getting rid of Angie over James. When Koror gave Ibe immunity, James should have been gone. Let's be honest. The knot was his decision. The bathroom was his. He couldn't shoot a gun to save himself. His performance in the Sumo challenge was laughable.
Originally Posted by queenb
You're right. Steph and Angie were the two strongest on that team. I think the teams main problems was the guys attitude. James was annoying. It's like the attitude was "we are the big strong guys and you are just the little weak wimmins". Forget the fact that Steph and Angie kicked butt. Steph deserves to be where she is.
I agree that voting Angie out over James was foolish. Angie and Steph carried the tribe in many of the challenges and I'm not sure why either would have been targeted as long as they were continuing to lose IC. That said, i think Ulong's downfall wasn't due to voting Jolanda off first or a lack of leadership - I think it was a lack of Tom. And let me briefly explain. Tom has such strong character that he just refuses to give up. His intensity and determination have definitely inspired Ian on a couple of occasions when it looked like Ian couldn't go on anymore in some of the challenges. I think Tom has also inspired Gregg, Coby, and many of the others. It may not be something they realize, but just put yourself in the position of seeing this middle aged man, gray hair, who doesn't look any more special than anyone else, and then look at how in physical challenges, he has seemed like Superman. I think Tom is teaching us all alot about the character of firefighters all over this country...
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