Robert Voets/CBS"The way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death."
That's "Coach" Ben Wade quoting Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi in our exit interview—because only a legendary samurai can provide the context for his ouster from Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains..
Unlike Courtney, we're going to miss Coach, and we told him so today in our exclusive chat.
"Thank you for saying you're going to miss me," he said (awww), "because I'm going to miss myself."
What else does Coach have to say about himself? A lot. Read on...
First things first, you have to know what Coach is doing this weekend: "I'm gonna conduct the Carolina Pops—a piece called 'The Amazon Jungle,' which I wrote based on my experiences in the Amazon." (It's true—we verified with the Pops box office ourselves—and came thisclose to buying a plane ticket to South Carolina.) After that, Coach is starring in a movie about a redemption-seeking "rock god" (please check out the open casting call descriptions at 180film.com).
About his second Survivor go-round, Coach said, "I set out to be more humble, to be less of the jerk than the first time, and to be a true warrior in challenges. And really be kind and chivalrous and honest and noble. And I think I accomplished that."
So is the last of the Mohicans still "utterly pissed off" at the tribe? "No, you can't be pissed off at fools and idiots," said Coach. "Just kidding. No, I am no longer pissed off. I was incredibly incensed at that time, but"—wait for it—"time heals all wounds."
Coach actually stammered at our assertion that he effectively sent Boston Rob home by voting for Courtney over Russell, but he quickly recovered his game: "I will debate that with reason, and then I'll debate it with my honor," he said, before throwing Jerri under the bus: "We were the swing votes, and we had the power, and I begged her to vote out Russell, but she had a grudge against Boston Rob—she couldn't get over that. So Jerri really sent him home. I didn't send anyone home."
"Let's talk about honor." Whatever you say, King Arthur. "I wanted to change the game and take the strongest players to the end. I think people should've put aside their egos...If somebody like me is able to tone that down, and say, 'Hold on a second. You're not always right. Let's play this game a little more chivalrously'...If I was able to do that, then anybody should be able to...for the good of the tribe." What's more delusional: Coach's "humility"—or his belief in a self-sacrificing Russell?
Which us brings us to Tribal Council, where Coach said he was "blown away" by the final vote. "It was really a shock. I didn't think in a million years they would continue to vote out the one person who was winning one point in the challenge—as Jeff said. I kind of self-deprecatingly said, "Oh that was nothing" at Tribal, when he said that, but I was loving it." (Who knew?) "But I really was shocked how they voted."
So will Coach be making goo-goo eyes at his Guinevere from the jury bench? "Jerri and I had this great connection...we promised each other that we'll see each other once this game is done, and we're away from this mess. She did break my heart that day when she told me she was going to Russell, [but] I don't think it was over. We definitely made the commitment. I'm looking forward to seeing her at the finale. We both agreed that the game is not the time or the place to start a relationship. But there's definitely chemistry there, no question about it.
Even though Russell didn't write his knight's name down, Coach blames him for his early exit: "He sent the ball rolling, and I was sitting at the bottom, unfortunately, waiting to be squashed."
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