There’s a common belief that is uttered in the sporting world during every Olympic year; it’s better to win bronze than silver. In reality, silver is obviously the better finishing position but for the psyche, bronze winners tend to be more satisfied with their results. That’s because winning silver means you just lost out on being first. Winning bronze puts you on the podium but you know that you weren’t one spot away from the top. It allows the bronze medalist to simply enjoy their experience with less regrets.

I believe there is a similar phenomenon that could be described on Survivor. And no, this is not about Crystal Cox. We often talk about the heartbreak of being cut right before final tribal council but what about the final tribal losers? Cirie Fields lost at the finish line in Survivor: Micronesia and that was quite a blow. Still, when the dust settles, people remember her fondly as the person who would have won had the season been a final three. Despite some evidence to the contrary, it may have been quite the dog fight between her and Parvati Shallow, we only remember her as being robbed for being cut near the end.

Which still hurts by the way.

Look at Amanda Kimmel from that same season. She was the one to make it into the final tribal council next to Parvati. She had a chance to possibly win a million dollars. She ended up not being able to capitalize and gets to be remembered as one of the poorer final tribal council players in the history of the game.

Considering how everything played out, would you rather be Cirie, the mastermind who had her dreams cut short but is still remembered as one of the best to play the game, or Amanda, the losing finalist who became known for her tendency to choke when the game is on the line? Yeah, the choice was easy for me too.

There’s something to be said about going out with unresolved mysteries. Cirie’s case is far from the only one of this nature. We can go all the way back to Survivor: Marquesas. If Kathy Vavrick-O’Brien finds a way into that final tribal council, she likely destroys whoever she goes up against. Instead, Neleh Dennis chose to cut her and take Vecepia Towery to the end. Neleh ends up losing and outside of some fervent internet fans, has mostly been forgotten with the sands of time. Kathy got to return for Survivor: All-Stars, where she unfortunately did a lot of damage to her legacy, like a lot of other All-Stars but in the time between Marquesas and All-Stars, Kathy remained one of the biggest Survivor names. In large part because she ended up losing the game while being so close to the end.

Let’s just see a quick rundown of the last boots before final tribal council in each season, compared to the people who eventually lost at final tribal council:

This list is a murderer’s row of huge names in Survivor history. Rudy, Lex, Kathy, Rob C, Fairplay, Yau-Man, Malcolm… I could go on and on about how big some of these names are to Survivor fans. Of course, you have your exceptions too. Not many people are clamoring for more Jenna Lewis, especially when put next to a name like Boston Rob. Still, in more season than not, that final person cut before final tribal council becomes iconic whereas the final tribal council losers are often cast by the wayside.

I will admit that a lot of that has to do with the edit of these players. Producers can see storylines develop throughout the season and they know that people will want to see more of David than they will of Hannah. It isn’t their fault that the more interesting character ends up being cut before the end but it does give them a narrative to work with.

It makes sense too. The producers don’t want to have a character you feel nothing about losing right before the end. Those players are obviously going to have an impact on the season by going so far, they have to make the audience feel a certain way when they go home. For the most part, people will feel sad for them. It started all the way back in Borneo when Rudy ended up going home 3rd. He was the original r.obbed goddess (I’m sure he would love to know that he’s been called this term) and there is a long line of people that follow him.

In other, more rare situations, that final boot is someone you’re happy to see leave. Not because they weren’t good characters, but because they were villainous. Jonny Fairplay is the ultimate example of this case. If every villain needs a satisfying downfall to feel fully fleshed out, they made sure to give Jonny the best downfall of them all. Not only does he lose the final immunity challenge to Lill, somebody he values as less than human, he then has to go sit on the jury and watch his nemesis, Sandra Diaz-Twine, take home a million dollars. This after unwittingly giving her the best winner quote ever, “We have bigger fish to fry first. But she’s not one of the final four. And I got a million that says she won’t be the final one!”

There are a few other characters that might fall into the Jonny type. Ozzy in South Pacific certainly had his share of detractors, so too did Rodney and Kass in their respective seasons. All that matters is they were highly memorable characters that outshine the people that went on to lose that season (save possibly Ozzy for Coach, that one is debatable).

So if ever you end up on Survivor but get cut right at the end, don’t fret. Remember that you might not have won in the first place and that since you lost the game at such a memorable spot, you’ll likely be remembered more favorably than the players who lose that final tribal council. At least that counts for something… right?