By John Powell – GlobalTV.com

He may have been playing against a “bunch of chickens” as he said but those chickens came home to roost for carpenter, Adrian Rocha. He practiced competitions beforehand. He had his strategy and Big Brother rules all laid out. What Adrian couldn’t prepare for was that the other houseguests who were playing it safe would have such an effect on his game.

John Powell: Adrian, it’s wonderful to be talking to you today. How are you?

Adrian Rocha: I’m doing good. How about you?

John Powell: Fine, thank you. So, last night was an emotional one for you. How are you feeling this morning, reflecting on it all?

Adrian Rocha: Honestly, it’s a little devastating. I felt like I had a lot of game left to give and I was so ready to take some shots. Reflecting on everything that happened, especially last night, just thinking about who really had my back, that’s the hardest part. It’s tough knowing that my allies are still in there fighting without me and I can’t be alongside them. I can’t protect the people I wanted to keep safe, especially Kelley. Oh my gosh, Kelley…People might think we were torn apart but I knew she had my back, always. It just sucks. I knew one of us was going home that night and it was tough. Really tough.

John Powell: In the Big Brother house you lose your support system, your friends and family. How much did it mean to have Will sitting beside you last night almost like a father figure?

Adrian Rocha: It was emotional. I didn’t start tearing up until he started tearing up. Will and I connected almost from day one. Early on, we created “Willpower”—that alliance between me, Zach and Will. I loved all of them to death but we just kept seeing each other on the block. We were always sitting on the block together and it was tough.

Hearing his speech meant a lot. Just to hear how much he liked me, how he thought I was the nicest person he ever met, that meant the world to me. I think it was hard for him too because he knew how much I wanted to win this game. He didn’t know how much I had prepared for it but he understood why I was there. I really wanted that win and I couldn’t pull it off when I needed to.

John Powell: You really prepared going into Big Brother. You trained, ran through challenges, had a strategy. What happened when you got in the house? Did things change because of how other people were playing?

Yeah, I didn’t want to play too hard right out of the gate, especially because Kelley was being perceived as playing very aggressively early on. So, I tried to take a more laid-back approach, tried to lay low.

The only downfall of that was… well, Kelley played hard and I was close to her. That association came back to bite me. On top of that, I was labeled a “comp beast” even though I hadn’t actually won anything. It made no sense but that’s how people saw me.

In this game, people will make up any reason to put you on the block and that was the reason, just my association with Kelley. At first, I was okay with it because it was her game but I didn’t realize I’d be so closely linked to her.

She kept gravitating toward me and people noticed. I’m not the kind of person who pushes people away so I couldn’t just say no to the hugs, the handshakes, all of that.

The one thing I should have done, something I had planned to do, was win the first HoH. I threw it but I didn’t want it to look like I threw it. What I didn’t anticipate was that Ashley and Jimmy would do so poorly that I ended up looking really good.

It was a basic physics problem. I knew exactly how to balance it. When I got the first tier, I was like, “Cool.” But then I looked around and realized no one else was getting it. I thought, “Gosh, maybe I should just win this thing.” But then Vince starts pulling it off, and I figured, “Okay, let me just stand still and wait for the clock to run out.” And then he won.

I have four rules that I think every winner needs to follow in this game. I tried but I didn’t manage to follow them all. The first is: Join or create the winning alliance. That’s where the first HoH comes into play, you need power to form alliances.

People want to work with the first HoH and like I always say, you have to either win 100% or throw it completely. You can’t land in second place, that’s what makes you a huge threat and that’s exactly what I did.

I kept debating whether to throw the Creeping competition, but then Jimmy false-started and I thought, “Dang it, now I really need to win this.” I figured I could lay low because Keanu had those massive quads. “Quadzilla” I called him. But, then he false-started too and suddenly I was like, “Alright, I have to win this.”

I didn’t but if anyone had to beat me at least it was a former champ: Kaycee. So, I’m not too mad but still a little upset.

John Powell: We found out that Ava was the one who flipped the vote. She convinced Vince and Zach to change their minds. Does that surprise you and how do you feel about that?

Adrian Rocha: It does surprise me a little that she turned them against me. If I had Vince and Zach, it would’ve been a tie and who knows what Lauren would’ve done?

It might’ve been risky for my allies to vote with me but I couldn’t tell them to vote for Will just to protect themselves. I had to fight for my own game.

I love Ava to death, I really do, but she was kind of getting on my nerves. She always played it safe. I knew she’d vote to keep Will, they had that connection. I wasn’t as close to her as he was.

Plus, I think she was afraid to go against the house. I don’t know if that’s going to work for her long-term. The only way I see her making it to the end is if people don’t view her as a threat and take her to final two. They could argue she didn’t really do much.

Yeah, she flipped Vince and Zach but I don’t think that was too hard. They were running scared. I trusted them, especially Zach, to keep me in the loop, but I also knew they couldn’t exactly say, “Hey, your game’s done if you don’t win.”

That’s why I was upset, sitting there before Blockbuster because I knew if I didn’t win I was going home.

John Powell: You mentioned in your exit interview that the other players were playing it safe. What effect did that have on your game and why do you think they’re doing that?

Adrian Rocha: It affected my game a lot. I was like, “Hey, I’ll take the shots you’re too afraid to take. Keep me in the game—I’ll do it.”

Even though I wasn’t winning comps I was still getting second place. I was trying to pitch that I’d go after the big threats for them.

But the way the game unfolded…it was like a Series of Unfortunate Events. I was linked to Kelley, then somehow connected to Keanu. It just spiraled…I figured some people were still willing to work with me because I played an honest game but I couldn’t win against Will and that’s the position I found myself in.

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