January 7

Last night, the cast for the twentieth season of Survivor was revealed. The title for the milestone season is "Heroes vs. Villains" and it includes ten contestants that viewers have loved to root for and ten contestants that viewers have loved to root against.

As an avid Survivor fan, I'm excited to see the new season, which premiers on February 11, but I'm also a little disappointed. Why would a fan of the show be excited to see some of the best players throughout the years return for an all-out battle for the one million dollar prize? Because last week I sent in my application and video (click here to see my audition video) to the producers marking my eighth time applying to the show. As fun as it will be to watch these "all-star" players, it means that my last application was a waste because there weren't any new applicants accepted to the Survivor family.

As many of you probably already know, I apply after every season ends and have been for quite a while. I've gone to four open casting calls where twice I pulled an all-nighter to get a good position in line and sent in my application via the postal service another four times. For one of my auditions, I shaved my chest so producers could more clearly see my name when I took my shirt off for the camera. I wanted to take my pants off too and stand there in just my boxers, but the way the line wrapped around the audition area, the casting people wouldn't let me do it. I've brought in props and even spoken in the third person as two different characters to try and get myself some extra attention and notice. But to this day, I still haven't even gotten a single call back.

Not only am I an die-hard fan of the show and have been trying to get on it since turning 21, I've themed my residence halls after the show when I was a Resident Advisor in college. I made arrangements every Thursday to get the night off of work so I could drive to a friend's house to watch it when I didn't have cable. I don't have cable now, but I still go to extreme lengths to see the show without spoiling the end result for me. I used to have my mom go to the CBS website, load the video on her screen, and email a copy of the link to me so I wouldn't have to see who was kicked off upon opening the CBS homepage.

I've seen every episode except, ironically, the first season. I did, however, read the book that executive producer Mark Burnett wrote upon completion of that first year in Borneo and the season is in my Netflix queue. Every year, my mom purchases a Christmas ornament for my sister and me and this year she gave me an awesome Survivor ornament that plays the theme song. At one point, my sister had the song play on her phone as my personal ringtone when I called her. During the last "All-Stars" edition of the show, I actually teared up during the opening credits and I'm sure this season will be no exception.

People always tell me how great I would be on the show, but I honestly don't think I would last very long at all. I think my only redeeming quality would be good television. On every application, one of the questions asks which previous castaway could I relate to the most. I have a few things in common with a few different ones, but overall, I believe I stand alone. I don't think there are any players that would be as zany and physically entertaining as I would be. I've never seen anyone break into a random song for the pure enjoyment of the other castaways. I think that being with someone like myself for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week could really wear on someone's patience which is why I don't think I would last very long.

I don't want to be on the show for the prize money. Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to be in possession of that sum, but it's not my prime objective for wanting to be on the show. I want to see everything that isn't shown to the audience by the producers. Do the castaways just sit there for hours on end with nothing to do? Are they really stripped from any type of luxury like toothbrushes and a place to make a bowel movement? I want to see what kind of mental toll the show would take on me. I'm already a skinny guy, but what would I look like after being out there for thirty days on a diet of rice and mangoes? And the challenges! The challenges look like so much fun. Is it really that hard to run across a rope platform?

On February 11, I will be as giddy as a school girl for the new season, but seeing some of these contestants for a third time on a show that I've been trying to get on for over five years is frustrating. All I can do is hope that the producers will keep coming up with fresh ideas to keep the show from repeating itself so the audience doesn't lose interest. As long as the show keeps going, I will keep applying.