Fresh Meat 2

Before we continue on our search for the best Real World season of all time, I wanted to tackle Fresh Meat 2.  Believe it or not we've only had 3 seasons of The Challenge since the second version of Fresh Meat.

The best thing that Fresh Meat 2 brought to the table was the combine.  I think there is a really strong argument to be made that they should do a scouting combine before every version of The Challenge.

A quick look at the Fresh Meat 2 roster reveals 7 of the 12 have appeared in a season since, 5 have appeared in multiple seasons since and 2 have appeared in every season since.

The numbers strictly in that plane look pretty impressive, a nice infusion of talent.   But if you look a little bit deeper it will reveal that not only is the FM2 cast far inferior to FM1, but also will pale in comparison to some of the Road Rules rosters.

 
(**editors note :  It is simply earth shattering how often MTV producers have people pose together back to back.  I've never in my days seen so many ridiculous shots of two people as I have while searching for images for KIWTJ)

In my opinion the two best competitors to emerge from FM2 are Laurel and Caramaria.   CaraMaria is one of two people to appear in every challenge since its airing and has developed quite a bond with Abram.  Despite being the first female taken in the Draft, her exploits have paled in comparison to Laurel.

Laurel has been an absolute beast on and off the field.  Be it her shouting match with Easy E, her romance with CT or her evisceration of Paula - she has really added some spice to the house.   She also has emerged along with Evelyn and Rachel as the holy triumvirate of female competitors.  Clearly FM2's biggest export.

There have only been 3 males that have appeared on future seasons from Fresh Meat.  Luke pictured above and Brandon probably have the strongest resumes, but that really is not saying much.   Luke appeared in a final challenge as a part of a larger team, but proved to be one of their weaker competitors.   The third is Vinny who probably has appeared in his last challenge in Battle of the Exes.  Lets just hope he doesnt have a heartache before next season.

The missing link is Noor.  Noor was the top male performer from FM2, but for whatever reason is yet to appear on another season.   His linkedin profile reveals that he is working for SBE Entertainment, so maybe he has decided to pursue career over challenge.

The last 2 competitors to discuss are Theresa pictured above and Mandi.   Mandi has been on every season since and is yet to really make her mark.   She has had romantic relationships and gotten into a few sloppy second debates.   Also she has proven to be a pretty chippy competitor, but really only has a pathetic 3rd place finish with Jenn in last season's Rivals.

Theresa has appeared in one other challenge and has shown a fair bit of athleticism, but has not made a real lasting impact.

In conclusion, a very disappointing cast when compared to the original Fresh Meat and I'm sure the MTV producers have been very disappointed.

Let me know what you think.  Is it too early to write the eulogy on this cast?  Will time show some more diamonds in the rough?  Do you think history has proven unfair to Brandon who got paired up with Transexual Kaitlin?  Are you amazed that we are this far into the blog and this is the first mention of TS Kaitlin?