S38: Dan "The Wardog" DaSilva

[Whimsy]

Meet Dan.Age: 38

Hometown: Ossining, New York

Current Residence: Los Angeles

Occupation: Law Student/Former Military

Personal Claim to Fame: Bronze Star Medal in Afghanistan, close second was being the youngest in my Basic Training company and making it through in a time when 20 percent or so were sent home. It was 1997 pre-war standards.

Hobbies: Gym, basketball, and Netflix binging.

Pet Peeves: Weakness for sure, but most of all negative energy, that person who just complains constantly and the world never breaks their way.

If You Could Have 3 Things on the Island What Would They Be and Why? Nail clippers – I don’t know why dirty long nails just strike a chord. Football – it would be nice to have something to toss around. Chess Board or deck of cards – sometimes it would be nice to remove your brain from the game but I don’t know if that’s even possible.

SURVIVOR Contestant You Are Most Like:  The Wardog is his own blend – I’m not Tony, I’m not the Specialist, I’m not Boston Rob. Whose game did I respect the most? That’s a better question. I thought Yul played great, I thought Mike was a great winner, I loved Parvati’s game, Earl dominated, 3rd version of Tyson, 1st version of County Bumpkin (J.T).

 

[peachmangosteen]

Has this guy been on another reality show or something? He looks so familiar to me.

[ProfCrash]

All I have seen is this information and he has already annoyed me. I work with a lot of folks who are retired military, former military or are in the Guards/Reserves and I have no clue what medals most of them have been awarded. Hell, I had a friend promoted to Brigadier General in the Guard and he didn't tell folks at work. Someone discussing a Bronze Star and his making it through basic training in the "pre-war standard" is ridiculous. I don't remember Ben's bio but this one reeks of annoying.

It is not that I do not respect the service, I greatly respect the service. And he had to do something impressive to be awarded the Bronze Star but the talking about it is just weird.

Now, it is more then possible that Production has told him to hype this info in his bio. The pre-war standard still strikes me as manufactured and ridiculous. The nickname is stupid, Wardog? Really?

Just all sorts of uggghhh

[Lamb18]

He refers to himself in the third person (the Wardog) - he better do something impressive to make me like him.

[LadyChatts]

I don't like him for the nickname alone.  I hate nicknames on this show, especially self imposed ones.  Why even tell us his first name, since this is what he will no doubt have Probst call him all season.

Kudos to him though for going back pre HvV to name former Survivor contestants.

[azshadowwalker]

4 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

It is not that I do not respect the service, I greatly respect the service. And he had to do something impressive to be awarded the Bronze Star but the talking about it is just weird.

I agree with most of what you said except this. I don't respect the military. At all. And the people I knew who were in it were either drafted or economically "drafted." None of them talk about their time at war or in the service. People who do are searching for the ridiculous hero worship Americans give them. Just begging for a, "Thank you for your service," from every random stranger. This guy bases his whole persona on that. Yuck. 

[Bryce Lynch]

He is another one I will probably either love or hate.  I like a lot of what he says in his profile and that he is a military hero.  But, referring to himself in the 3rd person, by his nickname....

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

I don't like him for the nickname alone.  I hate nicknames on this show, especially self imposed ones.  Why even tell us his first name, since this is what he will no doubt have Probst call him all season.

Kudos to him though for going back pre HvV to name former Survivor contestants.

I don't mind the nickname, but referring to himself by it, in the 3rd person is a yellow flag.

[marys1000]

Pretty much everything Prof Crash said.  And as a vet I want to root for vets but not yet. 

[green]

On 2/11/2019 at 8:46 AM, ProfCrash said:

Now, it is more then possible that Production has told him to hype this info in his bio.

Possible?  Of course production told him to do it.  What the hell else would he have in his bio?

This is his "handle" production wants used.  He is their token "military/police/fireman" guy this season.  He wouldn't be on without it.  This is how they cast, shape storylines and edit.  Nothing new. 

And I doubt the guy normally goes around discussing this stuff but if you want to be on Survivor they aren't going to cast you as ho hum Joe Blow from Normaltown.  They DEMAND an angle. 

So you do what production tells you to do the same way as you pack what production tells you to pack.  Otherwise you are back couch potatoing like the rest of us and you will never ever get on the show. 

And during the show I'm sure the production assistants will "slant" questions in his confessionals this way too so he will be forced to answer the same way.  Just like the "NFL Wives" were forced to do on TAR4.  This is what "reality TV" is all about.

[ProfCrash]

4 hours ago, green said:

Possible?  Of course production told him to do it.  What the hell else would he have in his bio?

This is his "handle" production wants used.  He is their token "military/police/fireman" guy this season.  He wouldn't be on without it.  This is how they cast, shape storylines and edit.  Nothing new. 

And I doubt the guy normally goes around discussing this stuff but if you want to be on Survivor they aren't going to cast you as ho hum Joe Blow from Normaltown.  They DEMAND an angle. 

So you do what production tells you to do the same way as you pack what production tells you to pack.  Otherwise you are back couch potatoing like the rest of us and you will never ever get on the show. 

And during the show I'm sure the production assistants will "slant" questions in his confessionals this way too so he will be forced to answer the same way.  Just like the "NFL Wives" were forced to do on TAR4.  This is what "reality TV" is all about.

And I get that, I do. Otherwise I wouldn't have posted what I did. But I doubt that they asked him to make the comment about "pre-war" standards. I'll be interested to see how much he initiates the conversation about his military status around camp. Ben's tribe mates clearly knew that he had seen combat, he had to tell them because of the PTSD. And we heard people mention that he had been a Marine a bunch of times but I don't remember him discussing it all that often. There was the one time that he felt his honor was in question or something like that.

[marys1000]

I hearby name him Pambypuppy (because P****puppy) is a bit crude

[LadyChatts]

So if Wardog makes it to the final 3, he realizes he can't just tell people to vote for him.  'You want to vote for Joe?  Sorry, you're voting for me because I said so.'  I'm praying for a hilarious reunion show montage of his calling David weak and saying he's strong, and then watching him fail in the challenges and try to get out of working at camp.  What did he say tonight, something about his shoes needing to dry out so he couldn't help gather wood?  

I just don't get why they've kept him around.  He's terrible at this game in every way except setting himself up as being fodder in the final 3.  It's an insult to compare him to Tony.

Edited March 21, 2019 by LadyChatts

[Wandering Snark]

He does nothing at camp, is a worse challenge performer than Keith, and is a 'master strategist' in his own head and needs to let everyone know that he's right. I hate those people that you say 'Okay let's talk about this' and their response is "Okay, so here's what we do..."

And seriously, has he like never thrown anything in his life? A rock at the beach? A stick for a dog? Anything?

[KimberStormer]

I can't hate too much because that's exactly what it looks like when I try to throw a ball.  And at least he had the right play in voting for Wendy.  But the man is not long for the island, and I look forward to that day.

[Lamb18]

I've been calling Dan "Peacekitty" but I think a cat can hurl a hairball further than Dan can throw.

[ProfCrash]

4 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

He does nothing at camp, is a worse challenge performer than Keith, and is a 'master strategist' in his own head and needs to let everyone know that he's right. I hate those people that you say 'Okay let's talk about this' and their response is "Okay, so here's what we do..."

And seriously, has he like never thrown anything in his life? A rock at the beach? A stick for a dog? Anything?

A hand grenade?

OK, so the form is probably different but that technique might have gotten the ball further then his attempts at throwing.

[Bryce Lynch]

17 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

I've been calling Dan "Peacekitty" but I think a cat can hurl a hairball further than Dan can throw.

There is another word for kitty that might apply to Dan.  But, I won't go there. :)

[ByaNose]

Personally, if I was on a season with him I would be calling him by his name, Dan. There is no way I'm calling a grown a** man Wardog. Nuff said.

[Special K]

28 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

Personally, if I was on a season with him I would be calling him by his name, Dan. There is no way I'm calling a grown a** man Wardog. Nuff said.

Especially one who is so lame in challenges!  Maybe you could use irony air-quotes when you refer to him.  🙂

[mikewho]

I'd call him 'Wardog' with a snicker and a guffaw, 'cause it's such a silly nickname for a 38 year old man.

That being said, I kinda enjoy watching him on the show. He amuses me. With a snicker and a guffaw.

Then again, I've often enjoyed watching assholes on the show that others dislike. Who was that guy from years ago who pretended a rock (or coconut) was his Blackberry? I laughed at him too.

[LadyChatts]

Wardog is like some bumbling villain getting outsmarted by a bunch of kids.  I don't even consider him a real villain, just a funny one.

[Special K]

Just now, LadyChatts said:

Wardog is like some bumbling villain getting outsmarted by a bunch of kids.  I don't even consider him a real villain, just a funny one.

Like the villains on Scooby Doo?

[Bryce Lynch]

17 minutes ago, mikewho said:

I'd call him 'Wardog' with a snicker and a guffaw, 'cause it's such a silly nickname for a 38 year old man.

That being said, I kinda enjoy watching him on the show. He amuses me. With a snicker and a guffaw.

Then again, I've often enjoyed watching assholes on the show that others dislike. Who was that guy from years ago who pretended a rock (or coconut) was his Blackberry? I laughed at him too.

That was Shane.   

[PhoneCop]

I'd see how long I could get away with calling him "Warthog" to his face. Although given my accent—where "Saturn" is flattened into something more like "Sadurn"—he might not notice the difference.

Edited March 26, 2019 by PhoneCop

[Brookside]

Anyone else have an ad at the end of the thread for the US Army?  They may want to rethink their marketing strategy.

[Brookside]

I'm guessing Warthog failed 1st Grade math:  "The final seven ain't seven."

[KimberStormer]

Wardog has now entered the club of people who have somehow, some way, managed to claw themselves up from a hopeless merge position to the top, and then thrown it all away in spectacularly stupid fashion.  At least Gabby last season was being lied to and had some kind of reason to do what she did.  Is this the stupidest move in Survivor history? 

[loki567]

Christian and Gabby did literally the same thing last season and it ended with their boots over the next two episodes. 

I wouldn't necessarily bury him yet. He seems like he has a good ability to make the exact right pitch to the right people at the right times. Or maybe he made the move too early, we'll see. 

But either way, I'm enjoying him as a character and what's he bringing to the game. 

[kikaha]

He just backstabbed his closest ally.  Why would anyone trust a single thing he says from here on? 

[LanceM]

Yep and he probably lost Lauren as an ally too now.  

[Cloudstomper]

He looks like every other mug shot I've seen of crazy people. His eyes are scary.

[LadyChatts]

Dan’s actually the perfect person to take to the final 3 as a goat.  What did Ron say this past episode, that no one wanted to sit next to him in the finals because he’d win?  Ron must be seeing a different side to him out there.  

I do think he’s playing a good game.  Everyone has been wanting to get rid of Wentworth, Dan just finally got his hands dirty and did it for them.  I wonder if he just wanted to show that he wasn’t dependent on the former Lesus.

As of now, I’m assuming he has an enemy in Lauren.  We’ll see where he stands with everyone else.   

Edited April 19, 2019 by LadyChatts

[Eolivet]

4 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Dan’s actually the perfect person to take to the final 3 as a goat.

I disagree, because goats have to be predictable or at least you have to know they're not coming after you. Wardog is ... well, a rabid dog who will go after anyone. He's the ultimate agent of chaos. And after booting Kelley Wentworth (arguably the Parvati to his Russell), he will clearly turn on anyone and anybody.

I can't say Wardog is playing the best game after this boot because to any Survivor player with sense, he's now officially a liability, and the ultimate wildcard. But these are Kamas, so ... we'll see if they understand this, or if they all follow Kelley to 4444 Edge of Extinction Drive.

Edited April 19, 2019 by Eolivet

[jay741982]

5 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Dan’s actually the perfect person to take to the final 3 as a goat.  What did Ron say this past episode, that no one wanted to sit next to him in the finals because he’d win?  Ron must be seeing a different side to him out there.  

I do think he’s playing a good game.  Everyone has been wanting to get rid of Wentworth, Dan just finally got his hands dirty and did it for them.  I wonder if he just wanted to show that he wasn’t dependent on the former Lesus.

As of now, I’m assuming he has an enemy in Lauren.  We’ll see where he stands with everyone else.   

Dont understand how Wardick is the only one who voted out kelley lol. He didnt do it for them. Their asses voted her out too. Sucks cause I cant stand him and haven't for weeks