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'Survivor loss no cause for bitterness for Chan" |
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Written by Chuck Barney, MCT
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Tuesday, 15 May 2007 |
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Yau-Man Chan, the Martinez, Calif., resident who came oh-so-close to winning $1 million on "Survivor: Fiji," swears that he tries not to torture himself with all the wouldas, couldas and shouldas. But he admits it isn't easy.
"I made a very expensive mistake," Chan said on Monday, just hours after the CBS reality series concluded with Southern California ad executive Earl Cole striking gold.
The mistake was his decision to trust fellow competitor Andria "Dre" Herd (Dreamz) to keep his end of a bargain the two men made during the game. It eventually prevented Chan from becoming one of three finalists who argued their cases to the nine-person "Survivor" jury with the grand prize riding on their votes.
After winning an oversize Ford truck in a reward challenge, Chan stunned everyone by handing over the vehicle to Dreamz, a man who has spent part of his life homeless and claimed to never have had a car. For his part, Dreamz agreed to surrender his immunity status to Chan if the men made it into the final four.
"I promise to God," said Dreamz, insisting that he wanted his young son to see that he was a "man of my word."
Alas, the chance to vie for $1 million was too much to resist for Dreamz, who reneged on the deal and advanced to the final three with Jones and Cassandra Franklin.
"My weakness is that I don't read people well," Chan said during a telephone conversation from New York City. "I should have known that Dreamz wasn't going to go through with the deal no matter how many gods he swore to."
Chan's ouster - shown early in Sunday's finale - brought to an end one of the most engaging and inspiring runs in "Survivor" history. A scrawny, 54-year-old computer whiz and table-tennis aficionado who works at UC Berkeley, Chan was given almost no chance of thriving in the physically demanding game.
But thrive he did. Chan, who was raised in Borneo, put his familiarity of island living - as well as his keen mind - to great use. He also proved to be no pushover in the physical challenges. In Sunday's episode, he bested his rivals on a grueling obstacle course that required participants to compete blindfolded.
"One of the most enjoyable things about this experience is that I learned so much about myself that I didn't know," said Chan. "I expected to do well with the brainy stuff like puzzles and not so well against the brawny guys in the physical challenges. But now I have a totally different view of myself in terms of physicality."
Chan's underdog status, fighting spirit and determination to play the game with unwavering integrity made him a favorite among fans, as well as his fellow competitors. During Sunday's live cast reunion, host Jeff Probst asked the jurors to demonstrate, with a show of hands, whom they would have voted for had Dreamz not bowed out of the deal. The result: Chan in a walk.
So does he hold a grudge? Apparently not.
"There are no hard feelings," he claimed. "I was certainly quite upset when it first happened. But I've come to terms with it and decided I have to own the problem. Life is too short, after all ... Dreamz, on the other hand, committed a moral infraction in front of 20 to 30 million people. He'll have to spend the rest of his life trying to live that one down."
Many outraged "Survivor" fans were hoping that Chan would at least get the truck back, but he really never wanted it.
"That's really not my lifestyle," he said. "My family owns two hybrid cars, and I'm preaching `ecology' all the time. Had I come home with that big ol' thing, my daughters would have disowned me." | Only registered users can write comments.
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