Piombo Shows Swagger in Survivor Opener

If another season of Survivor isn't enough to get the couch potato blood going, consider that one of our own, Marty Piombo of Strawberry, is mixing it up this season in Nicaragua.

If you're a true Survivor fan in both mind and spirit (if not body), you surely have pondered, "Could I do that? I'm sure I could start a fire on a wet beach in the middle of the night while 19 fitness nuts in bikinis and boxers stand over me judging my ability to ignite a wet stick with a wet shoe string, and deciding whether to keep me around for another three days. Yeah, I was made for this!"

You may not have found the time to apply, but the 48-year-old Piombo did, and last night he demonstrated a subtle yet firm leadership approach on a team guided by none other than two-time Super Bowl champion football coach, Jimmy Johnson.

Early on, Piombo said, "I want nothing to do with Jimmy Johnson in this game. Frankly, I have no idea why the hell he's even here." But age and wisdom prevailed, and Marty and Jimmy found enough common ground to look to the future of the team.

Jane, a dog trainer from North Carolina, sparked the Espada tribe, comprised of contestants 40 years and older, by lighting a fire on the first day with a pair of eye glasses. In the history of Survivor, only one other contestant has lit a fire without flint or a torch. See Jane burn! Inspired by the blaze, Marty exclaimed, "We're going to take this thing."

The younger tribe of La-Flor won early success by finding the "Medallion of Power," but quickly traded it to Espada for fish hooks and flippers. Their confidence in their beauty and brawn was called into question as Jud, nicknamed Fabio by his teammates, stepped on a spiny branch, almost lost his thumb to a two-inch crab, and flailed away with a machete at great personal risk. Shannon, a pectoral-enriched pest control officer from Louisiana, told Fabio to "sac-up," something you don't hear everyday in the Tam football locker room.

Marty showed his insight to the challenge when he stated that the puzzle was probably a picture of the tribe buff, but it was not enough, as the younger tribe won first immunity. 

Marty confided to Coach Johnson that they should "make sure you don't lead in a way that gets you into trouble."

While not yet an alliance, their shared leadership was enough to focus their tribe on the need to eliminate the weak. Wendy, the goat farmer and self proclaimed "chatter-box," touted her virtues of trustworthiness and lack of blisters on her feet as reason enough to keep her around, but alas, nine other Espada members agreed with her husband, and thought she should have kept her mouth shut. Wendy was voted off and sent home to her goats.

Stay tuned for next week, when Jeff Probst extols the virtues of opening up a can of "Whoop Ass" in Tribal Council!