Gorham High School's Bob Crowley—Survivor!
Surviving Africa Gorham High School's Bob Crowley spends time
on Casco Bay after returning from his Survivor summer in Gabon, Africa. Photo credit Peg Crowley
Dede Perkins
When the 17th season of Survivor Gabon, "Earth's Last Eden," premieres on September 25 at 8 p.m., you can be sure hundreds of Gorham residents will be watching as Gorham High School physics teacher, Bob Crowley, takes his place on the yellow team and competes to win the $1,000,000 awarded to the game's sole survivor.
Crowley is in good company. Of the 18 contestants chosen for the television show, one is an Olympic Gold Medallist, one a professional video game champion, and one is an actress from Gilmore Girls.
To win a spot on the highly competitive television show, along with thousands of Survivor wannabes, Bob sent in a written application and personalized video to the show's producers, in January '08. In March, Bob received the news; along with 800 other applicants, he had made the first cut. More good news came in April. Along with 47 other semi-finalists, Crowley would fly to Los Angeles to continue the selection process. In late June, he was on a plane to Africa, one of the 18 finalists who would play Survivor Gabon.
For nearly seven weeks, Crowley and his fellow contestants lived in a remote African location. Filmed 24 hours a day, the teams built their own shelters and found their own food all the while negotiating the physical, mental, and emotional challenges of the game.
A self-proclaimed adventurer, Crowley is well suited for the Survivor challenge. He's an avid outdoorsman, resourceful and handy, and always looking for a better way to do anything. Before his stint on Survivor, Crowley built his home, a chicken house, a sauna, and a pond using recycled materials.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly's Dalton Ross, Crowley said, "My strategy is to provide the tribe with somebody that can do things and make life a little easier around the camp."
On the Survivor website, host Jeff Probst said, "He's the oldest guy out there. And unfortunately, that works against people all the time, even though there's probably nobody better equipped for this game. He's probably the guy who will be the biggest asset, if they don't get foolish and vote him out."
Crowley may be the oldest man out there, but he has a loyal fan base as evidenced by the comments on Survivor's Message Board. According to one ex-student, "In high school, I learned how to pull a truck out of the mud using principles from physics. And build a spud gun that could launch potatoes at frightening speeds....We also learned that Bob Crowley is a snake fighting, ocean storm surviving, enthusiastic explorer who has a brilliant solution for every worst case scenario... If Bob Crowley is half as entertaining on Survivor as he was in class, everyone will be rooting for him until the bitter end.
Here's to Bob Crowley, who taught us practical applications of physics to go with our memorized equations. We can't wait to see him on the show!! Congratulations Bob, we love you!!!!"
Did Crowley survive? The result of Survivor Gabon, "Earth's Last Eden" is a closely held secret. If you ask Crowley, he'll probably shrug. "Watch," is all he can say.
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