It's long been debated in the Survivor community who the G.O.A.T. of the game is. From two-time winners to multiple-time players with astounding game resumes, there have been non-ending debates about who deserves the title of the Survivor G.O.A.T., aka, the Greatest Of All Time.
An important clarification must be addressed first, though. While in most scenarios a "G.O.A.T." refers to the best player, in the Survivor vernacular (as in the sports world), a "goat" is the type of player everyone drags to the endgame because they are seen as easily beaten. For instance, Clay Jordan is considered one of Survivor’s most notorious goats, as he should have been easily beaten by everyone back on Survivor: Thailand, including by eventual winner Brian Heidik. However, due to Heidik's poor social game and as he kept rubbing everyone the wrong way, Heidik barely beat Jordan by one vote.
Having established that difference, let’s get to the nitty-gritty. For the last couple of weeks to pass the Survivor off-season, the RHAP (Rob Has A Podcast) team has been doing a series of podcasts about who is Survivor’s ultimate G.O.A.T. between five players: Sandra Diaz-Twine, Parvati Shallow, Cirie Fields, Tony Vlachos, and Boston Rob Mariano.
As previously stated, former two-time Survivor player Rob Cesternino and writer for Parade, Mike Bloom, have been discussing, through a series of debates, the pros and cons of considering Diaz-Twine, Shallow, Fields, Vlachos, or Mariano as Survivor’s biggest G.O.A.T. While the whole series deserves a full listen, I want to concentrate on their discussion regarding Fields, whose latest appearance on the show was, of course, on Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans. Fields also appeared in Survivor: Panama, Survivor: Micronesia, Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, Survivor: Game Changers, and Australian Survivor: Australia V The World.
During the discussion, Cesternino argued in Fields’ defence, with Bloom presenting the opposition case. Cesternino highlighted Field’s influence over her fellow players to dictate votes, her agency both in the game and as a juror, the majority of correct votes she has throughout her over 40 Tribal Council appearances, and Fields' being considered the best social player the game has ever seen.
Bloom’s most poignant counterargument was that aside from a streak of bad luck, Fields had repeatedly failed to clutch the endgame throughout the majority of her season for one reason or another. Bloom also added that Fields’ superb social game was also her own Achilles’ heel, as it was an argument people used against her as to why she needed to be eliminated before a Final Tribal Council, as she would manipulate her way to one of those final seats.
Cesternino quickly counteracted with the following points: various circumstances completely out of Fields’ control had hindered her throughout her Survivor history (a Final Three being switched to a Final Two in Micronesia or Advantage-geddon in Game Changers). Fields also had an uncanny ability to find people who were willing to throw their games for her (Ozzy Lusth and Tiffany Nicole Ervin publicly declared they would’ve gotten Fields to Survivor 50’s Final Tribal Council with them even if it meant they lost), and ultimately, Fields always got far in the game when everyone knows how dangerous she is, which makes her even more lethal than other returning contestants.
Another point Fields made, as Cesternino noted, was that Fields doesn’t fit the typical survival archetype, even from her first season. As people saw “one of them” excel at the game, many were inspired to play as well. In addition, as we all saw during the Survivor 50 finale, Fields was the recipient of the first-ever “Spirit of Survivor“ award, "for inspiring others to discover the fire that burns within."
Fields’ participation in other social strategy game shows, such as The Traitors and Big Brother 25, was also discussed, mostly to recognise her ability to excel in them. As both Cesternino and Bloom noted, Fields always gave a masterclass in how to play these games due to "her charm, her manipulation [abilities], threat management, and convincing people that her ideas were theirs."
Lastly, Fields' lack of a win was also brought up, which is the one thing that completely sets her apart from the other contenders for the RHAP Survivor G.O.A.T. title. Diaz-Twine was the first person to win Survivor twice, followed by Vlachos and Shallow (winning Survivor: Australia v The World). Mariano managed to win on his fourth try, but it's still a win. In Fields’ ultimate defense, Cesternino mentioned that being a Survivor winner isn’t the most important thing, but rather the experience and growth that comes from the experience, therefore validating that a non-winner can and should be considered for being a Survivor G.O.A.T.
I am a Fields, Diaz-Twine, and Shallow Stan, with these three players being on my Mt. Rushmore, and I would throw in Vlachos there as well. While a win, or a two-win, certainly leans the balance for the Survivor G.O.A.T. title in favour of any of these players, Fields has also proven her eligibility for the title for decades by being constantly a lethally social and strategic menace throughout her reality TV career and always getting away with murder with a smile. Also, she does have a The Traitors win under her belt, which, once again, proves the point of her being a rightful contender.
Everyone will ultimately have their own different or similar opinion regarding who they consider to be an all-time Survivor G.O.A.T., but I would lastly like to add this in: thanks to Fields, we have the "3-2-1 vote plan," innumerable iconic confessionals, a plethora of evidence on how to play these games, thanks to her social abilities, and, most importantly, she was one of the co-founders of the Black Widow Brigade alliance, so keep in mind these facts next time this Survivor G.O.A.T. argument comes up.
You can vote on who you think the RHAP Survivor GOAT is at robhasawebsite.com/whoisthegoat
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