CINCINNATI — Who cares if it was below 10 degrees and snowing? Hundreds of "Survivor" fans lined up outside the American Sign Museum Thursday morning for their chance to find a hidden immunity idol with a big payoff.
As part of preparation for their 50th season, the brains behind the popular reality show decided to let fans have a chance to search for their own immunity idol, an honored "Survivor" tradition. Instead of being safe in an upcoming vote, fans who found the idol will have a chance to go to the live season finale in Los Angeles.
"Survivor" hid immunity idols in all 50 states, and the Tri-State was lucky to be the home of Ohio's idol. That meant people from across the state — and even those in bordering states — followed a riddle to the idol's location at the American Sign Museum.
A "Survivor" superfan, I joined my coworkers to participate in the idol hunt, arriving 40 minutes before the idol was available at 10 a.m. It turns out an early arrival meant nothing, as hundreds of fans had already lined up alongside the industrial building when we pulled up.
Watch our idol hunting experience here:
We were able to speak with the very first person in line, Darren Trenkamp, a Highland Heights native who told us he arrived at 4:30 a.m. alongside his cutout of host Jeff Probst.
"I've been watching 'Survivor' since it started Day 1," Trenkamp said. "I just love the show. It's been a dream of mine to find an idol, and there's one right here in Ohio, so this is where I'm at."
Several people were camped out, sitting in folding chairs while cuddled under blankets. Garrett Carpenter was ready to go in sweats, gloves and headphones to help keep him entertained while waiting four hours for the museum to open.
"I've been watching since I was 9 years old, so it's definitely been in my life ... I'm pretty excited about today," said Carpenter, who called on Probst and co. to give him a call to actually compete on the show.
While the bitter cold was unrelenting, fans found solace in getting to meet a few "Survivor" alums from the area. Angela Perkins, a Cincinnati native who competed on the show's 36th season, would hype up the crowd by yelling Probst's infamous line — "Survivors ready?" Meanwhile, "Survivor: Caramoan" competitor Matt Bischoff braved the cold in shorts, carrying around his torch and taking photos with eager fans.
We personally waited in line for around two hours (you heard that right) before entering the museum and "hunting" for the idol, which was incredibly easy to find.
Once we got to the idol, we were able to grab a pic and upload it to the "Survivor 50 Challenge" website, entering us in the contest for a chance to attend the finale.
While we walked out, we asked one of the employees how many people had been inside.
"361, according to my ticker," she said.
Based on the line outside, that number very clearly could have hit four digits by the time the idol hunt was over.
If you're interested in trying to find an idol, you may not be out of luck. Kentucky is still awaiting its clue for its hidden immunity idol. Plus, there's a chance to enter virtually by clicking here (warning: there's "Survivor" trivia you have to answer).
And if you're really jealous that we participated in the hunt, just know that two of us are still recovering from how freezing cold it was out there.
