Will Jimmy Johnson make you watch Survivor?

Time for another Tuesday guest post. (Yay). Let’s give a warm welcome to FOOB (Friend Of Out of Bounds) blogger Ben Chew.
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By Ben Chew
Normally, when stories about reality television come across the interweb, I don’t really think twice about reading them. However, when a former rag-tag Super Bowl-winning football coach of the Dallas Cowboys decides to make an appearance on Survivor, I stop in my tracks.
The NFL on Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson has confirmed that he will be appearing on the upcoming season of Survivor, which is being filmed in Nicaragua. It was believed that Johnson was going be on the previous season of Survivor but failed the physical. This isn’t the first time that someone associated with the Dallas Cowboys has appeared on Survivor; former back-up quarterback Gary Hogeboom appeared on Survivor: Guatemala in 2005.

One interesting thing that comes into play is; what type of player will Jimmy Johnson be on Survivor? Will he be the rallying figure head of the troop that will go out there and start chanting, “How Bout Them’ (Insert tribe name here?)” Will be the guy who tries to woo over the ladies and back-stab people at any turn? Or will Johnson be that aging contestant who will be voted off immediately either by failure during the immunity challenges or the threat that he might be in later rounds?
So, the real question that everyone will probably be asking is, “Will any casual football fans/celebrity-philes watch this season of Survivor for Jimmy Johnson?” On one hand it does help to have coached one of the more popular sports franchises in the world during the 1990′s and he is known for his commercial endorsements with Nutrisystem and Extenze. I have no doubt in my mind that loyal Dallas Cowboys/Miami Hurricanes fans will watch in droves to watch their former head do battle on the tundra that is Nicaragua but does that real bring in the casual fan? I would think not but I have seen stranger things in recent memory like a Chad OchoCinco and Terrell Owens having reality shows on VH1.
However, the one real issue that comes with Survivor is that it tests not only the mental fortitude of the opponents but also the physical. Johnson has been noted to have numerous health concerns, specifically dealing with his heart and the grind that Survivor puts a contestant through has to be taken into consideration. Will we all get behind someone who is 67 years young? It depends on who else we get to root for during the season.
I’m not really expecting our collective world to huddle around the television to watch Jimmy Johnson on Survivor but there is an appeal to his appearance just like, “Lebron’s Decision”. We already know what could happen but we still need to be there to at least watch what will happen. The ratings will be affected as far as Jimmy appearance lasts, whether it is for one episode or the entire season but the Earth will not shatter to pieces.
In the end, the Survivor motto, “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast” might determine the fate of Jimmy Johnson’s Survivor fortunes otherwise and ratings-wise.
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Ben Chew is the managing editor of the sports blogs “Outside the Boxscore” and “That NBA Lottery Pick.”