For those of you who didn’t already know, former Texas A&M safety, Clay Honeycutt, has been spending his summer as a contestant on a reality show called "Big Brother." I know what you’re thinking – what the heck is "Big Brother"?! Let me tell you, it took a few episodes to fully understand.
In short, "Big Brother" is a reality show on CBS where 16 contestants from around the country join together and live in a “house” that’s isolated from the rest of society in an attempt to win half a million dollars. Every week (split into three episodes throughout the week) the contestants have to compete in challenges in the hopes of saving themselves for another week and avoid getting “evicted,” or kicked out of the house by their fellow contestants. If they can stay in the competition all they way through the 13 weeks, one person will win all the money.
He’s found love and quickly became this season’s heartthrob, but who really is Clay Honeycutt? Clay entered the game describing himself as a family man, athletic, and a lover of the outdoors. He is from the small town of Dickinson, Texas and played safety on Texas A&M’s football team before graduating early after three and a half years. Right off the bat his fellow housemates describe him as well liked, and with his ‘nice-guy’ personality and charming smile, he has the chance to sneak his way to the end of the show.
So how did a 23-year-old graduate student from Texas A&M end up on a reality show like this? During an interview with "Big Brother," he explains that he didn’t actually know what the show was until a friend suggested he audition for it. Around that same time he was already in California for an internship so the opportunity seemed perfect. To prepare for his journey ahead, he binge watched eight seasons of the show in just about three months (which in all honesty is kind of a long time to binge watch eight seasons… that would only be about two episodes per day).
Most of the challenges in the game haven’t challenged his football skills, but even if Clay doesn’t walk out with the money, he might leave the show with love. Since the start of the season, he’s gained interest in a 33-year-old home stager named Shelli Poole. The two are like Bonnie and Clyde when it comes to working together, but their relationship might become a problem in the following weeks. “Clelli” has stayed in the shadows working behind the scenes so far, but fellow contestants are starting to realize how big of a threat they both are to the game, and might send them home.
Watching "Big Brother" for the first time this season, I see how easy it is to mindless watch each episode. I laugh at the pointless drama I start to wonder how this show has lasted on television for so long. After weeks of keeping up with the show I told everyone that I was solely watching it to write this article, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore. Its almost like watching "The Bachelor" where there’s really no point to watching it other than to see dramatic events unfold. So I guess I would call it a guilty pleasure. This show surprisingly got me interested and even after this article is finished I still want to see what happens to “Clelli” and who wins the half a million dollars.
So if you’re up for it, watch "Big Brother" on Sundays and Wednesdays at 7:00 and Thursdays at 8:00. If not, you can catch all the latest episodes for free on cbs.com
