By John Powell – GlobalTV.com

Some queens don’t wear crowns. Cirie Fields will always be the queen of Survivor even though she has never won a season. Not that she hasn’t come close though.She has one of the most successful and impressive records in the history of the show finishing fourth, third, 17th, sixth and now 6th on the American version of the series. On the Australian series, she finished fourth.

So why hasn’t she won? Cirie lays it all out of us, discusses her legacy and the criticism of some fans.

John Powell: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. How are you?

Cirie Fields: Awesome, John! Thanks for having me!

John Powell: The last time we spoke you were on Big Brother and I didn’t know that that was going to be the launch of a Cirie World Tour. I mean, we had The Bold and the Beautiful, Dirty Laundry and Survivor Australia. What did it mean to come back home to Survivor in America though?

Cirie Fields: I mean, there’s no place like home. I said it in the first episode. Right when kids go to college, or when you’re married and living on your own, and you come back to the family home, there’s this warm hug that you get. That’s what it felt like for me coming back for Season 50; I got a warm hug.

John Powell: Going into last night’s Tribal—I mean, obviously Tiff won immunity, I guess that threw a big wrench in your plans. Going in, did you think you had any hope of escaping alive?

Cirie Fields: I mean, I threw my Hail Mary and tried to implicate Aubrey, but I kind of knew before Tiffany even won. If you remember when I spoke to Rizzo and he told me about Tiffany being the plan. I asked him, “What if Tiffany wins immunity?” and he said, “I don’t know.” And I’m like, “What do y’all mean you don’t know?” So that was my first indication that I was in serious trouble.

John Powell: Watching you play what amazes me the most is people will tell you anything. They tell things to you that they would never say to anybody else. This season, it was more like you were the coach. You were coaching up all sorts out there. What do you think it is about you and your gameplay that just breaks down those barriers and allows people to divulge things to you that they wouldn’t to anybody else?

Cirie Fields: You know what it is, John? It’s the authenticity. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not there to try to manipulate people. When I connect with you, we connect on a real level. We talk about real things. I’m not there trying to flim-flam you and once you connect with people where they are it breaks down their guard and it makes them comfortable. All it is is a comfortable relationship and that’s why people tell me things. They know that they can trust that I’ll keep their secrets…most of the time. (laughs)

John Powell: I spoke to Ozzy and he had nothing but praise for you and love for you. He’s like, you always treated him like a member of the family, and he takes that to heart. He also praised all your guidance in the game that helped him. And he said, “The one moment I don’t have Cirie on my side, I mess up.” What did you think of working with Ozzy? And what happened with everybody targeting, even Rizzo, like, kind of went against you.

Cirie Fields: I love Ozzy and it was mutual. Like that first vote, when they were coming for me, Ozzy was like, “No, we got to keep her.” He gave me his extra vote. So it was a mutual love and a mutual protection of each other. We all make mistakes. We make stupid mistakes and we look back in hindsight and be like, “Damn, I shouldn’t have done that.” So, nothing but grace for Ozzy. Ozzy has always been a graceful soul. He’s come along these 20 years and grown in Survivor right alongside me, the same way I have.

In terms of Rizo, Rizo is younger than all three of my sons, right? And every one of them has done something where I said, “Did I not tell you not to do that?” But that did not change—I didn’t turn on them, or care for them less because they made a mistake or did something I didn’t think they should do. And Rizzo, like the other 23 cast members, including myself, was there to play to win, and he did exactly what he thought was best for his game because he knew that he wouldn’t win at the end with me. So, I don’t have any hard feelings towards Rizzo either.

John Powell: When you’re a parent, the hardest thing to do is to let them make their own mistakes because you’ve learned to protect and support and guide your kids. You know the bus is coming, and it’s in your power to intervene, but you say, “Look, they’ve got to make their own mistakes.”

Cirie Fields: Exactly.

John Powell: It’d be nice if we could get to see Rizo grow up like Ozzy on Survivor and how he would mature. You’ve come so close so many times. What do you think has been the chink in your armor? Why do you think you haven’t made it over that line? Is it because of the threat you pose? Is it what you bring to the game? What do you think it is?

Cirie Fields: You know, there are over 700 Survivors now. Probably the number is, I think last I knew, 758 or something like that. Out of those 758, there may be four that are willing to sit next to me. (laughs) That is the problem! The other 754 know better. (laughs) So I think at this point, unless they can get a group of people like Tiffany… Tiffany said to me, “I will sit next to you in the end knowing that I’m going to lose to you.”

John Powell: Wow.

Cirie Fields And verbatim, I believe her 100%. Ozzy was willing to go to the end with me. Parvati will always go to the end with me but outside of that, you know, most Survivors know that, oh my god, it’s going to be an uphill battle if I sit next to her. And that is what my problem is.

John Powell: We saw you in that coconut challenge. I mean, you get dropped off, and it’s like finding a needle in a haystack out there. A lot of people are like, “Oh no, she didn’t really do that.” But give us the download on how that challenge went and how you eventually found that coconut.

Cirie Fields: So for the naysayers, I don’t usually cry unless I’m being voted out. I cried like a baby in Micronesia; I think I might have even cried in Panama from being so proud that I made it that far. I was exhausted beyond belief. Because there was no coverage when I got there, and because of Ozzy coconut story, it didn’t even register to me that this is something I might have to do.

I’m like, “Why are there so many? Oh, this must be the coconuts Ozzy was talking about.” No. So, the fact that I was able to find it was just mind-blowing. I wasn’t even really thinking about it because I was resigned to the fact that I’d stay at Exile Island. I didn’t really think about the catastrophic decisions that would have been made if I didn’t make it back there, because I didn’t think it was like that. I didn’t think they were going to mess up or vote out the wrong people. I don’t know how to change people’s perception, because that’s their reality, but I don’t cry for nothing.

John Powell: We also get people bringing up your gameplay and how you approach the game and all that stuff, they’re like, “Cirie doesn’t go into challenges,” and “Cirie doesn’t do this or that” and they don’t understand that there are very different ways to play Big Brother, Survivor, Traitors. All those games have different ways and all are legit ways to play the game. So here’s your chance, Cirie. What do you say to those people who say she’s always out of the challenges, etc?

Cirie Fields: I have never called myself a challenge beast. When I saw Survivor and loved Survivor, what attracted me was the strategic and social gameplay and there are challenge beasts. Ozzy was one challenge away from being the all-time leader with Boston Rob, and my hat goes off to them.

But just like in regular life at your job, there are people with specific skills. We all are not the same. We don’t possess the same skills but that doesn’t mean that my way of playing the game is less than yours, or yours is better than mine.

My hat is off to you if you can win your way to the end but we’ve seen challenge beasts win their way to the end and still not win the game. So, to each his own. My way is my way, and I’m comfortable with my way.

I don’t like the gym. I don’t plan to ever go to the gym. (laughs) And although there have been times in Australian Survivor where I beat every Australian person in an endurance challenge, when I want to do it, I can, but that is not my way. If I ever were to talk to a jury, I would tell them: I know that my way to the end is not going to be paved with challenge wins or idol finds but that doesn’t make my way wrong.

John Powell: Is there anything about your journey, whether it was a moment with someone or some kind of strategic moment, that you wish fans would have seen this time around?

Cirie Fields: The only thing I wish fans would have seen about my journey that was not shown is I cooked the hell out of those chickens, okay? I made an awesome chicken soup, and everybody loved it! Finger-licking good! Ask your next interviewees. They didn’t show it at all.

John Powell: You have become a legend on the show. Looking back now over all the years and all the moments that you’ve had, what do you think is your Survivor legacy? What are you hoping that you leave fans and future players? What is your legacy, Cirie?

Cirie Fields: I hate to sound cliché or even like a copycat, but Jeff says it best: You come for the million dollars, and you leave with an experience. You leave with so much more. You leave with a journey that your mind could never prepare you for. So I say to the future Survivor players: Come as you are. You will be changed. You will learn things about yourself that you didn’t even know existed, because that is what happened for me.

I gained a confidence in myself that I couldn’t get off the couch. I was comfortable. You have to know that stepping outside of your comfort zone will bring you amazing things. It will introduce amazing parts of your life to you; it will introduce you to parts of yourself that you didn’t know existed. And that’s what Survivor has done for me. I have found strengths that I didn’t know were inside here. I have found resilience that I didn’t know I possessed, and I have found a confidence that can never be taken away from me at 56-years-old.

John Powell: One more final question, Cirie, and that is: You’re a jury member. This is Survivor 50. This ain’t no granddad Survivor, this is Survivor 50. When you’re thinking of who you want to represent this season, what were some of the things going through your mind that you were wrestling with when you decided on a winner?

Cirie Fields: I was looking for who I would be proud to see, because like you said, this is Season 50, and the Season 50 winner will represent the entire Survivor journey from Season 1 through 50, the whole organization.

Who would I be able to hold my head up and have a conversation with and be like, “Yes, so-and-so won Season 50”? I voted for that person because I thought they were the most well-rounded. I respected their game the most, and I think they played the best game out of the people that were left there. That is why I chose that person. That is how I made my decision.

John Powell: Well, Cirie, as always, it’s a pleasure to talk. I hope this isn’t the last time we see you on Survivor. I know you’re getting up there like me and us old folks—things don’t work as much as they used to!

Cirie Fields: That part! (laughs)

John Powell: It’s always a pleasure to see you, and I hope we get to see you again in the future. Also, can’t wait to see you at the finale. I’m sure you’ll have a lot to say, as you always do.

Cirie Fields: Oh, thank you, John. Thank you. It’s been amazing talking with you again.