Name: Are New Jerseyans better at 'Survivor'? Yes, say the three finalists of 'Winners at War'
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Are New Jerseyans better at 'Survivor'? Yes, say the three finalists of 'Winners at War'

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Share This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutDo New Jerseyans make the best “Survivor” contestants? We spoke to finalists Natalie Anderson, Michele Fitzgerald and Tony Vlachos to find out.A link has been sent to your friend's email address.A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the ConversationTo find out more about Facebook commenting please read theWelcome to our new and improved comments.This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.You will need to register before adding a comment.Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.Please be polite.It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.If you see comments in violation of our , please report them.“Dirty Jersey!” exclaimed Natalie Anderson as she hugged fellow New Jerseyans Michele Fitzgerald and Tony Vlachos in the final episode of “Survivor,” the seemingly unsinkable CBS show that just celebrated its 40th season.The finale aired on May 14, ending the season called “Winners At War” which brought back 20 former “Survivor” winners to battle it out for the title of sole survivor. Those 20 – including legends Sandra Diaz-Twine and “Boston” Rob Mariano – were voted off the island one-by-one until there were only three left.All three finalists live in New Jersey – which begs the question: Do New Jerseyans make the best “Survivor” contestants? Do big personalities, aggressive driving and brusque, tell-it-like-it-is attitudes make winners?“Jersey players are better than anyone else,” said Fitzgerald, who was born and raised in Freehold Township. “We proved that this year.”Vlachos, who was born, raised and served as a police officer in Jersey City and now lives in Allendale,&nbsp;won the top spot, taking home $2 million. His wife and two children joined him in a video call, as host Jeff Probst announced the winner from a set in his garage. Usually, this ceremony is done in front of a live studio audience – something that had to be canceled&nbsp;due to COVD-19.Fitzgerald and Anderson —&nbsp;Anderson&nbsp;has lived in Edgewater since 2009 —&nbsp;were the runners up, and joined Probst and Vlachos in the four-way video call.“Survivor” is a game that requires strong personalities – a thick skin and&nbsp;the ability to sniff out liars. “Survivor” winners have to keep calm under pressure and know when to play aggressive. In other words, they need to act like they’re from New Jersey.“Maybe it’s the drinking water in Jersey,” said Vlachos. “You’ve got to have eyes in the back of your head here. We’re in a rush to go nowhere.”Plus, in a game full of so many personalities, with people from so many backgrounds, it also helps to be open-minded and adaptable. Living in one of the country’s most diverse states is a perfect training ground.“We are accustomed to a variety of different mindsets,” said Fitzgerald. “We’re not judgmental people – a lot of those tools are from living in Jersey.”“Survivor” has been airing two seasons per year since 2000. Contestants are shipped to a remote island, divided into “tribes” and compete in&nbsp;challenges, in the hopes of winning $1 million (this year, the prize was bumped up to $2 million). The tribe that loses what's called the immunity challenge must go to “tribal council” and vote out one of its members. Midway through the season, the tribes merge and players compete for the chance to win individual immunity, which protects them from being voted out.The competitions are feats of strength – swimming through the ocean, climbing over mammoth obstacles, digging into hot sand, clutching onto wooden polls... for hours — as well as doing puzzles. Between challenges, contestants eat sparse meals of rice and coconuts, maybe a fish if they can catch one, sleep on a crude wooden structure, exposed to the elements, and scheme with their fellow contestants to keep themselves in the game and vote others out.The aspect of the game that has perhaps lead to the&nbsp;show’s ongoing success is the jury made up of every contestant voted out since the merge. In the end, it’s the jury that decides the winner. Contestants who play too dirty might burn bridges, causing them to lose votes in the end. Then again, fly under the radar too much and the jury may decide you haven’t been bold enough to deserve the prize money.“Winners At War” featured the best of the best – the players “Survivor” fans have come to idolize over the years. Natalie Anderson played with her sister Nadiya in the “San Juan del Sur” season in 2014 and won. Vlachos won his first season “Cagayan” in 2014 and played again in the “Game Changers” season, which he lost. Fitzgerald won her season “Kaôh Rōng” in 2016.New York State has produced four “Survivor” winners – the most of any state. But, New Jersey, through some slightly skewed and biased math, ties New York. Counting Anderson as a New Jerseyan (though she was born in New York and lived in Sri Lanka, Connecticut and The Bronx before moving to Edgewater), Jersey has produced three winners, and Vlachos has won twice, which puts the state’s count at&nbsp;four wins.“It’s the way we live here,” said Anderson. “We can’t chill out. Everyone’s going to test you. Everyone is always hustling.”And, boy, did the&nbsp;final three hustle.Anderson was ironically the first person to be voted out in the game, but later earned her spot back by living on the “Edge of Extinction,” a part of the island where those voted out go to wait out the opportunity to get back in the game by winning a competition. “We were sleeping on dirt every night," she said.&nbsp;"There were rats on the island. The lack of rice. The extreme cold of the night. We woke up every day to another worst day of our lives.”Fitzgerald was a target for several weeks, but managed to keep herself from being voted out, making it to the finals against all odds.“Natalie and I, we played from the bottom. In Jersey you have to be mentally tough,” said Fitzgerald. “As the season went on, I was making moves and started to find myself.”Vlachos is infamous for creating his&nbsp;“spy shack” and "spy bunker" in past seasons&nbsp;where he hid to listen in on others’ conversations.&nbsp;This season he invented the “spy nest” – a perch in the middle of a tree where he could eavesdrop.He even constructed a shaky bamboo ladder and fearlessly climbed it at the beginning of the season to set the tone of his game.“In the beginning, I tried to disarm them,” he said. “I built that crazy bamboo ladder, and I thought I was going to kill myself. I had to make them believe I thought it was sturdy and strong, so they’d go – ‘Oh he’s out of his mind. We don’t need to worry about beating him.’”His strategy worked. Vlachos made big moves in the game and&nbsp;didn’t even hold his fellow Jersey folk too close.“When Natalie came back into the game, she was Jersey Girl enemy No. 1,” he said with a laugh.But, now their fierce battle for $2 million is over, all is forgiven.“The final day on the island when we had breakfast, all of us were just saying things how they were – no one was taking offense,” said Anderson. “That’s how it is when you’re from New Jersey.”Vlachos even invited them over for a future pool party.Email:&nbsp;&nbsp;Twitter:&nbsp;&nbsp; Instagram: Read or Share this story: https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/2020/05/20/who-won-survivor-winners-war-nj-michele-fitzgerald-tony-vlachos-natalie-anderson/5217134002/to help improve our site experience!More Stories

Share This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutDo New Jerseyans make the best “Survivor” contestants? We spoke to finalists Natalie Anderson, Michele Fitzgerald and Tony Vlachos to find out.A link has been sent to your friend's email address.A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the ConversationTo find out more about Facebook commenting please read theWelcome to our new and improved comments.This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.You will need to register before...

Are New Jerseyans better at 'Survivor'? Yes, say the three finalists of 'Winners at War'

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