Danny Jamieson: The Tony Mandarich of the Challenge
Now before I start, while this article will try to be light hearted, Tony Mandarich has been through some stuff. If you are curious at all about his recovery and current outlook, I highly suggest checking out the AMA he did over on the NFL subreddit. With that out of the way, let’s get into it:
Danny Jamieson: The Tony Mandarich of the Challenge
Now that we are a couple comparisons into this series, I want to get into the pair that started all of this for me. I have more Hall of Famers on my list, but for once let’s not talk about great players who are remembered for their talent. Rather, let’s talk about the Incredible Bulk: Tony Mandarich
The Build Up
Tony Mandarich was an offensive tackle, and going into the draft he was touted as the best offensive line prospect ever to play the game. The hype was real, and scouts thought he was a once in a millennium player, the like of which would never be seen again. In the 1989 draft, he was picked second overall by the Green Bay Packers. The next pick in the draft? Barry Sanders, known as possibly the best running back in NFL history.
People may not have had as high of hopes for Danny Jamieson, but they were certainly excited to see him on the Challenge. He was one of the most popular castmates on one of the most popular seasons of Real World: Real World Austin. People watched him fall in love with Melinda, and couldn’t wait to see more of their great relationship unfold on a new show.
The Attitude
Guys, I love Tony Mandarich, and a big part of that is just how arrogant he truly was. After the draft, he held out for 45 days, because he didn’t want to be drafted to a “village.” Now I know Green Bay isn’t the best destination, but he was a rookie and had never seen a day on the field as a pro player. Not only this, but he, as an offensive tackle, was trying to compare himself to Lombardi, you know, the guy the Super Bowl trophy is named after. He said in an interview, “Obviously, everybody remembers Lombardi when they talk about Green Bay, and I want them to remember Mandarich, too.” I might be an outlier, but the only historic offensive tackle I can remember is Forest Gregg, and I’m not even sure I spelled his name right.
Now, let’s talk about my man Danny. The man who on Fresh Meat 2 said he wasn’t afraid of going against Landon in elimination. Let me repeat that, wasn’t afraid to go against one of the best ever to play the game in elimination. I have no chance of ever being on the Challenge, and I still have dreams about Landon wrecking me. I mean they aren’t about eliminations but… Let’s move on. Moral of the story, Danny is cocky. I’d write more about it, but now I’m too busy thinking about Landon.
The Bust
What we have all been waiting for, the biggest thing that relates Danny Jamieson to the Incredible Bulk, and that is that they both ended up as Incredible Busts. As soon as Tony Mandarich entered training camp, he stopped performing. It was so bad that his teammates were calling him out, saying they could “run through him like butter.” We know now that it was due to him stopping his steroid use, as he was afraid of the NFL testing protocols, as well as losing his motivation to work out due to his numerous addictions. He is known as one of the top 5 biggest busts in draft history, and his performance was so bad the Packers finally cleaned house (How did that Barry Sanders pick work out for you Lions?).
Danny Jamieson is similarly known as the worst competitor on the Challenge, a truly impressive feat when considering how awful some of the competition was. However, it is not only his incompetence that really gives him that title. He was cast on 6 separate seasons, and never won a single elimination. That is the most elimination losses without a win in Challenge history. The biggest shocker of all of this, is that Danny is not a small guy. You would think that he would somehow luck into an elimination win, on at least one season, but no. Instead, he would big himself up for nothing, rinse and repeat.
