100 Most Entertaining Survivors #96: Jeff Varner

From his sadistic confessionals to his overall demeanor, Jeff Varner earned his spot on my top 100. Had he made it past the top 10, he would probably be much, much higher.

Jeff Varner is probably deserving of a top 10 spot, but I have placed him here. Jeff himself asked me to make this comment only after he said,

“96? C’mon. I deserve a higher spot than that! lol I look forward to seeing the 95 other people you think were more entertaining. Thanks for the distinction. You were 7? I’m ancient.” -Jeff Varner

He also said “If 95 and higher are NOT more entertaining than me, I’m gonna give you crap, k?”.

Anyway, this blog now has the approval and support of the 96th most entertaining Survivor ever, Jeff Varner.

(I did mention to him that if it was a list of my top 100 favorite contestants, he would be much higher.)

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Jeff Varner, a 34 year old news anchor from Greensboro North Carolina.

This is the point in the entry where I talk about the bias that went into making this specific decision on the top 100. Well, this one shouldn’t be too hard. I was 7 when this season came out. When you are 7, it seems like a big deal when someone shares your name. That love of my namesake has stayed with me every time I watch this season.

One of the moments that I especially loved with Jeff was his confessional before one of the reward challenges. He discusses the joy he finds in watching the other tribe complain about how hungry they were and winning all of their food. After another, when his tribe expresses sympathy for the ailing Ogakor, he comments that he felt none and would chop their heads off if he could.

While the entertainment provided by Varner may be a paltry sum compared to today’s contestants on Survivor, at the time he was a huge villain. His sadism and personality were not oft seen on Survivor before him. Even Richard Hatch, a super villain in Survivor, didn’t have nearly the sadistic qualities that Jeff Varner possessed.

Jeff’s personality is also something worth noting. He was just a generally happy guy (sadistic, but happy). He had some hilarious lines and his sarcasm was unmatched on his tribe. His friendship with Alicia was perfect, as she invited his sarcasm and they fed off of each other. I think that had Jeff been invited back to All-Stars, the season would have been much better. If he had formed an alliance with Alicia, they might have been able to do some damage.

There you have it. It is not the longest entry on the top 100 list, but it is one that I firmly believe in and will advocate and defend until the cows come home.

Thanks

Jeff

PS: I have asked Jeff Varner to make a comment about his entry onto the top 100, if he does I will add it to the post. Keep checking back for that.

Clue to #95: This person had one of the highest IQ’s to ever be on Survivor. He also was the brains of his ever-frustrating alliance.