Champ to Survivor Fans: Don't Be Too Hard on Dreamz

By a unanimous vote, Earl Cole - the thoughtful, soft-spoken advertising executive from Kansas City, Missouri - on Sunday night became the newest member of the Survivor millionaire club. But as so often has been the case this season, the talk was all about Andria "Dreamz" Herd, whose final flip-flop may go down as the biggest betrayal ever in Survivor history.
"I'm sorry, Yau-Man." Those three little words had huge implications in a season that had seen its share of tricks - most of them pulled by Yau-Man Chan. Early on, Chan showed himself to be a wily castaway quick to improvise in situations that could lend him an advantage. Chan, who once used a welcome-back-to-camp hug as cover to inspect a competitor's bag, later swapped an immunity idol with a fake to throw off its other seekers.
Unfortunately for Chan, his riskiest move of giving a Ford truck (won as a reward) to Dreamz in exchange for final-four immunity cost Chan the game, when Dreamz reneged on his promise. "I was quite disappointed," says Chan, who was viewed by many as a lock for the finals. "He basically outplayed me. I have to accept that."
After much talk of being a man who honors his word, a man of whom his son could be proud, Dreamz blamed his change of heart on a game that he felt encouraged lying. Although he regrets that his decision to retain immunity hurt Chan, he would not do things differently if given the chance: "I'm happy with the spot I'm in."
Dreamz, along with Cassandra Franklin, was one of three African Americans to make it to the finals - a Survivor first. However, his impulsive game-play was very different from Cole's, whose behind-the-scenes maneuvering, smart alliances and numerous stays on Exile Island earned him the honor of being the first black man to win the title. "I feel good about that, and I'm glad that I played a good, smart game," says Cole, who actually hopes the country will understand Dreamz's choices. "He had one strategy, I had another," says the champ. "I don't know how America is going to feel about what Dreamz did, but hopefully they won't be too hard on him." - Reporting by Rhoda Charles
For more of what Earl had to say about his big win, click here.