Survey says… Bombers O-lineman appears on Family Feud

What’s more nerve-wracking: playing pro football in front of 30,000-plus fans or being put on the spot by Steve Harvey on one of television’s most iconic game shows?

That’s a question only Blue Bombers offensive lineman Asotui Eli can answer.

Eli and his wife Tiana’s family participated in Family Feud in February and their two episodes finally aired earlier this week.

“It’s a different kind of atmosphere, but I’d say they’re similar. I’d say Family Feud challenged me a little more mentally,” said Eli following Friday’s walkthrough.

“It was an awesome experience. Never done anything like that. My wife applied for us online, it’s her dad’s favourite show, and by the grace of God, we prayed, and thought it was a long shot, but then we got accepted into the next round, had a Zoom call with them, did a couple trial runs, and things went smoothly. Next thing you know, they’re buying us tickets to come down to Atlanta to film.”

They came darn close to bringing home $20,000, too. They made it to the Fast Money round where two players take turns answering five survey questions in 25 seconds or less. If they combine to reach 200 points or more, the family wins the big cash prize.

Eli and Tiana stepped up to the plate and came oh-so-close by finishing with 190 points.

The question that stumped them was “How many pounds do you think the average Chihuahua weighs?”

The highest scoring answer was five pounds, but Eli guessed thirteen and Tiana said fifteen and neither response put points on the board.

“Damn Chihuahua,” said Eli, a 29-year-old from Richmond, B.C., with Samoan heritage.

“See, I got a little French bulldog pug, and she’s the runt. She’s tiny, she’s probably 23 pounds. So, I just thought off the top of my head, minus 10 off that and that’s got to be close, right? But no.”

Another question was “Name a famous person named Michael” and Eli answered with Jordan. Surprisingly, No. 23 only garnered nine points.

“There’s a lot of famous Michaels out there, but I just thought with his clothing brand and stuff that he would be a little more international,” said Eli.

“It’s all a part of the game.”

They ended up walking away with $950. Not exactly $20,000, but still a once in a lifetime experience that they’ll cherish.

“We enjoyed it and had fun,” said Eli.

“And Steve’s a funny guy, just like how you see him in the movies and on TV shows, that’s him in person. He’s the same guy, he’ll make you crack up.”

Unfortunately, the CFL shouldn’t expect Eli’s appearance to give the three-down game a boost in viewership from game show diehards.

“I actually shouted out the Blue Bombers and the Canadian Football League during the show, but I don’t think they showed it.”

Eli and the Bombers (9-8) host the Montreal Alouettes (10-7) Saturday at 2 p.m.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca