Marty Piombo - Nicaragua (Espada)

[PWS]

Hope he can tolerate heat as well as cold!

We certainly have a muscular group of older guys this time around. I'm beginning to wonder if there is some kind of age split... that's not a spoiler, that's speculation!

[CuckoosNest]

He says of himself "I'm a mix of Boston Rob and Russell." I think he's selling himself short... he's way more level headed than either and (so far) has much better people skills. Anxious to see if he's got the bloated ego of either of them and, if so, if he can keep it in check. Definitely one to watch.

[PWS]

I agree---at least from what they showed of him he seemed to be a way better "leader" than the other men on his team.

[Dragonlady]

At first, I really liked him. He looked good to me but the more he opened his mouth, the less I liked him. He's immediately very critical of everything without taking time to see how things play out.

[Rusicade]

Man, Probst absolutely HATES Marty, judging by his blogs.

He cites out-of-control arrogance and not understanding the game as well as he thinks he does as the reasons. Which to me, sounds like a certain guy we've seen a lot from recently whom Probst loves.
Anyway, onto an unrelated point - Jeff loves Jimmy Johnson...


I think Marty is doing a fine job. Good alliance with Jill, his move with the idol earned him some brownie points, and he is a physical asset on his tribe. And he understands not to barge his way into a leadership role. I think he's a good bet to make the merge, anyway.

[Magnum]

I don't understand why everyone thinks he wants to be leader and that he'll clash with Jimmy T. HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE THE LEADER, he wanted the leader gone so the tribe would be more uneasy.

[SurferBlonde]

Man, Probst absolutely HATES Marty, judging by his blogs.

I think Probst hates that Marty had Jimmy J voted out of the show. JJ was the star attraction this season, and many football fans, who would otherwise not care for Survivor, would watch the show just to cheer on JJ. Viewership is important because Survivor does not enjoy the same TV ratings as it did during its initial seasons. Plus JJ showed a rare class on the show. But I agree with you that Marty is quite smart in the way he voted off JJ. I think he will next make Jimmy T the leader and put a target on his back. Unfortunately, the smarts are not going to help his older tribe (with people like Dan) win physical challenges against the younger tribe. If he goes into the merge with a 4-6 disadvantage or worse, his immunity necklace won't save him for more than one week. But that's assuming that the younger folks can play strategically, which I'm not sure they can!