Lesson 3: Its Who You Know
Given that the challenges require each project leader to raise a certain amount of money for his/her charity its no coincidence that this has been a recurring lesson every season so far. However, this was the first time it was repeatedly underscored by this seasons winner, country singer Trace Adkins, who came in second in the 2008 season. Having learned all too well exactly how the show worked his first time around, Adkins barely paid any attention to his first projects task of designing a delicious meatball or trying to sell some to the average joe. Instead he focused his energies entirely on getting big donors to provide him with equally big checks. Although it seemed like you were watching an act of hubris as you watched him keep his temporary shop doors closed far longer than they should have been, the strategy worked perfectly in the end. Adkins did it again on Sundays season finale where he went up against magician Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame. Both men appeared to be in a dead heat in terms of the quality of their commercials and the shows they put together for their final challenge, but Penn pulled out all the stops calling in for donations from fellow Vegas acts and bringing in a whopping $503,655 for his charity, only to be outdone by Adkins who somehow managed to beat that amount by raising $564,000 for the Red Cross from his Nashville brethren. Who knew cowboy boots were so well-heeled? In the end, if theres a last takeaway from all this its that Country Musics Much Bigger Than You Think.