By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Friday, May 7, 2015
In 2001, Delta Air Lines flight attendant Teresa "T-Bird" Cooper had the adventure of a lifetime finishing fifth during season three of CBS's sturdy reality show "Survivor," set that season in Kenya.
Now at age 56, she wants a second shot at winning the $1 million season 31.
"I still really want that title," said Cooper, who grew up in Decatur and lives in Jackson, halfway between Atlanta and Macon. "If I do, I can finally let it go."
The show this week released a list of 32 former castaways who have played a single time but have not won.
Voters can pick their favorite 10 men and 10 women to be on the show until the night of the season finale May 20. (You can vote here once a day for the next 12 days.)
Here's her pitch:
There are an abundance of contestants from recent seasons with 15 from the past four seasons including two (Mike and Carolyn) who are still in the running on the current season. (If either win the entire competition, they would be eliminated from playing season 31.)
Only four of the 32 hail from the first 11 seasons, including Cooper.
She said she almost made the first all-star edition in 2003, but Tina Wesson took the "older woman" slot from her.
Cooper has a couple of things going for her: she is from a period of time when 20 million viewers a week watched the show. (Now, it's more like 10 to 11 million.)
Plus, she went pretty far on the show so people may remember her, even after 14 years. (She got a few votes when an Australia "Survivor" site last year asked for their favorite contestants over the years and came in 26th.)
But logic dictates fans will more likely vote for recent competitors still fresh on their minds. Cooper calls this "recency bias," which is a term in sociology.
To counter that, she is aggressively campaigning to get back on the show using social media (@tbirdcooper) and free media (like me) to help spread the word and garner votes. She said Delta, where she has worked as a flight attendant for 35 years, has been supportive of her endeavor. (Cooper has also been a real estate agent for the past 15 years.) And she has stayed in touch with the "Survivor" casting person to remind her that Cooper has wanted back in since the day she left.
Cooper, despite being the oldest eligible castaway, said she feels she is even in better shape than she was in 2001 at age 42. She runs and works out regularly. And she said her calm temperament should serve her well.
"I think the mental game is even harder than the physical one," she said. "I'm really patient. I am not a hot head."
She also hopes the fact it's been so long since she played, few of the players will really remember her game play from Africa. (Read this interview she did with the Australian "Survivor" site last year.)
"Because I'm an older woman with a Southern accent," she said, "hopefully people will trust me. I'll mix it up any way I can."
Cooper still follows the show and has enjoyed watching the new twists added since her time there such as the immunity idols, Redemption Island and Exile Island. She is bemused how host Jeff Probst has become more opinionated over time during challenges. She also suspects he is more involved in watching dailies from camp because he's more apt to ask leading questions during tribal council that might provoke people to shine unwanted light on certain strategies. "He can put bugs in people's ears," Cooper said.
She will have a packed suitcase on May 20 at the live season finale in New York City ready to go to Cambodia - or if she doesn't get the votes, back to Hartsfield-Jackson.
FULL LIST OF ELIGIBLE CASTWAYS FOR SEASON 31 OF ‘SURVIVOR’
Kelly Wiglesworth
Season 1
Survivor: Borneo
Previous Finish: Runner-up
Jeff Varner
Season 2
Survivor: The Australian Outback
Previous Finish: 10th place
Kimmi Kappenberg
Season 2
Survivor: The Australian Outback
Previous Finish: 12th place
Teresa “T-Bird” Cooper
Season 3
Survivor: Africa
Previous Finish: 5th place
Andrew Savage
Season 7
Survivor: Pearl Islands
Previous Finish: 10th place
Shane Powers
Season 12
Survivor: Panama
Previous Finish: 5th place
Terry Deitz
Season 12
Survivor: Panama
Previous Finish: 3rd place
Peih-Gee Law
Season 15
Survivor: China
Previous Finish: 5th place
Stephen Fishbach
Season 18
Survivor: Tocantins
Previous Finish: Runner-up
Monica Padilla
Season 19
Survivor: Samoa
Previous Finish: 7th place
Natalie Tenerelli
Season 22
Survivor: Redemption Island
Previous Finish: 3rd place
Stephanie Valencia
Season 22
Survivor: Redemption Island
Previous Finish: 14th place
Jim Rice
Season 23
Survivor: South Pacific
Previous Finish: 12th place
Mikayla Wingle
Season 23
Survivor: South Pacific
Previous Finish: 14th place
Sabrina Thompson
Season 24
Survivor: One World
Previous Finish: Runner-up
Troy “Troyzan” Robertson
Season 24
Survivor: One World
Previous Finish: 8th place
Abi-Maria Gomes
Season 25
Survivor: Philippines
Previous Finish: 5th place
Brad Culpepper
Season 27
Survivor: Blood vs. Water
Previous Finish: 15th place
Ciera Eastin
Season 27
Survivor: Blood vs. Water
Previous Finish: 5th place
Vytas Baskauskas
Season 27
Survivor: Blood vs. Water
Previous Finish: 10th place
Kass McQuillen
Season 28
Survivor: Cagayan
Previous Finish: 3rd place
Spencer Bledsoe
Season 28
Survivor: Cagayan
Previous Finish: 4th place
Tasha Fox
Season 28
Survivor: Cagayan
Previous Finish: 6th place
Woo Hwang
Season 28
Survivor: Cagayan
Previous Finish: Runner-up
Jeremy Collins
Season 29
Survivor: San Juan del Sur
Previous Finish: 10th place
Keith Nale
Season 29
Survivor: San Juan del Sur
Previous Finish: 4th place
Kelley Wentworth
Season 29
Survivor: San Juan del Sur
Previous Finish: 14th place
Carolyn Rivera
Season 30
Survivor: Worlds Apart
Previous Finish: ??? (still in game)
Joe Anglim
Season 30
Survivor: Worlds Apart
Previous Finish: 10th place
Max Dawson
Season 30
Survivor: Worlds Apart
Previous Finish: 14th place
Mike Holloway
Season 30
Survivor: Worlds Apart
Previous Finish:: ??? (still in game)
Shirin Oskooi
Season 30
Survivor: Worlds Apart
Previous Finish: 8th place
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