Survivor 41: Danny McCray Shares A Moment He Feels Was Life-Changing

Danny McCray is opening up about his time on Survivor 41. Danny is the latest contestant to have been eliminated from the competition. Despite being sent home, Danny shares that there are some moments the show gave him that changed his life for the better.

Danny began this season as a member of the Luvu tribe and found himself at the top of the tribe before the merge. Danny formed alliances with several contestants, becoming especially close with Deshawn Radden. After the merge, he connected with Shan Smith and Ricard Foyé, known mostly for their strategic moves throughout the game. While Danny seemed to be thinking strategically throughout the season, he was not perceived as a threat in the same way that Shan and Ricard have been, often opting to stay cool and collected before making any decisions that might cause distrust. Outside of the competition, Danny is an ex-NFL player who played for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears between 2010 and 2015.

Even after being eliminated, Danny views his experiences on the show in a positive light. Danny tells People that he wasn’t particularly surprised when his name came up during the vote, saying “I knew they liked [Deshawn] a little bit more than they liked me, and that vote would go his way and not mine.” He also explains that his strategy to go up against Ricard involved eliminating Heather in order to have a stronger group, but things just didn’t seem to be lining up so he and Deshawn ended up voting for each other. He says that the pair grew so close because of instances of conflict not shown on camera. “Deshawn would often go on these crazy rants and have these crazy ideas and have a conflict with everybody on the beach. And I would be the person to go talk to him say, “Hey, man, this is not how you want to be right now. You have to back off and try to communicate with this person.” Danny explains that he and Deshawn shared a brotherly bond as a result of those conversations.

Danny reveals that the show actually helped him get through one of his toughest experiences. He explained that he wasn’t able to avoid thinking about the 25th anniversary of his father’s death the way he normally would outside of the show. “I was able to sit there with my thoughts, knowing what day it was, and I just figured it was time to let that go,” he says. Danny notes that there was a huge outpour of support via social media following his openness about the anniversary on the show. He says that he is glad his vulnerability about his situation helped a lot fans who had also been struggling with the death of a parent. Danny hasn’t visited his father’s grave yet but has made plans to, and says he has talked to his mother about his father’s passing upon leaving the show. While he wasn’t able to leave Survivor with the prize money, he left the show with a weight he had carried for years having finally been lifted.

Having had years of experience in forming alliances, working in groups, and thinking strategically as a result of his time in the NFL and as a football player for LSU, Danny stood out as a strong competitor. He seemed to remain level-headed in tense situations and performed well, and it is good to see that even after being eliminated his calm and positive demeanor remains evident. Although it had been 25 years since his father passed away, the grieving process is largely unpredictable. Like former contestant Evvie Jagoda mentioned, there seem to be a lot of heartfelt and wonderful moments fans might not expect to see on this kind of show. The vulnerability Danny showed during his time on Survivor is incredibly admirable.

Source: People