On December 4th, I had the opportunity to attend a watch party for the reality TV show Survivor! I was invited by last season’s third place finisher Ben Katzman, who’s also a musician. The opportunity came because I was the Radio200 director for Lasell’s radio station – and I was contacted by his promoter to chart his newest album. His promoter kindly set the interaction up, so shout-out to Ben, Emma, and Jess from Terrorbird for this amazing opportunity!
I drove to Fenway from Lasell and arrived at 6:30pm. My dad met me there, and we went over to Game On!, a sports bar a block away from Fenway Park. We went downstairs to the private event, and the bar was decked out. The lights were dimmed, TVs were all over, and there was a DJ blasting music. My dad and I checked in (after some confusion regarding if I was on the “list” or not), and we sat down.
The food and drinks were AMAZING. If you’re in the Fenway area, I suggest trying Game On, even if there’s no event going on! I highly recommend the pulled pork sandwich, the pretzel bites, and the lemonade.
At around 7:15, the reality TV stars came down the ramp. I was in total fangirl mode when I saw Ben along with a big group of Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race contestants. In that group were hosts Brice Izyah and Wendell Holland. This event was a part of a national tour called Brice and Wen Present, which was stopping in Boston this week.
After some hesitancy and anxiety from being starstruck, we went over to the DJ booth where Ben was hanging out. He recognized me immediately. “JESS!” He exclaimed before we hugged. Then, I got a picture with him and his season’s runner-up Charlie Davis. Before the show, I also got pictures with other contestants Frannie Marin and Jake O’Kane, and even got to have a conversation with Jake. I was living my best life! Finally, I got pictures with Wendell and Brice before the show began playing. The main event was starting! The lights dimmed even more, and everyone was tuned in. During commercials, the DJ continued with the music.
Watching Survivor with a big group of people was unlike anything I’ve experienced. We got to hear everyone’s reactions in real time, and I also got to flex to my Survivor online friends that I was at this event!
What happened in the middle of the episode, though, I never would’ve predicted. Suddenly, Wendell came up to our table and asked if we wanted to go to the VIP section to get pictures with everyone I missed. I was shocked, and of course I said yes. He led me to the coveted section where I got pictures with everyone else that I wanted to have a picture with. Why Wendell landed on me for this opportunity, I don’t know. Maybe Ben mentioned it to him? Maybe it was by chance? We’ll never know, but big thanks to Wendell for doing that!
The show ended with my current favorite getting voted out, and the DJ playing Sweet Caroline in honor of her crazy blindside (and yes, her name was Caroline). My dad and I only had one more thing to do before we left, which was attempting a Survivor challenge. Boston Underground Games provided different puzzles for partygoers to try, and they were a lot harder than they look on TV! We tried a game where we had to balance a ball on a ledge, pull the rope connected to the ledge up to the top of a giant wall, and release the ball into a hole. My dad and I both failed, but it was a lot of fun!
That night was a night I’ll never forget. I can’t wait to attend the next Brice and Wen Presents tour!