New "Bachelor" Ready to Play
Tuesday April 6 2:00 PM ET
By Kimberly Potts
He really knows how to play the field. He's a great catch. He won't drop the ball on making a love connection...
Prepare to be inundated with sports clichés, as ABC kicks off the fifth season of The Bachelor in the season's upcoming final rose ceremony.
In a new game rule, Palmer gets some pass protection from a secret spy, a player who appears to be a bachelorette, but who is really there to provide the QB with a scouting report on the women's true intentions and locker-room behavior. There's also a new "first impression" rose, given to the women who makes the best first impression on Palmer, the usual round of group and one-on-one dates, trips to meet family and friends, and, in the premiere, a rose ceremony where Palmer says he makes a "terrible mistake." Oooh...
But that love fumble aside, and given his reference to a missus, does Palmer end the season engaged?
His lips are sealed, but ABC must be hoping that his love match scores ratings and helps improve the series' won-loss percentage. Out of four installments of The Bachelor and one season of The Bachelorette, the show's record is 4-1. Only Bachelorette Trista Rehn , says he signed on to be this season's Bachelor because he was looking for a serious relationship with someone more interested in him than in his career.
"One of the things that was appealing about doing this show was the fact that I had a chance to meet 25 women who were going to be beautiful and successful, with careers and all of that, but at the same time they didn't know who I was or what I did when they signed up," Palmer told the Star-Telegram. "I think that was probably the most appealing thing about doing this."
And about that list of potential "missus"-es, the lineup includes Debbie, 27, a massage therapist from Georgia; Holly, 26, a banker from Oklahoma; Jenny, 24, a professional skater from Michigan; Jessica, 25, an attorney from Texas; Mandy, 25, a professional soccer player from San Diego; and Julie, 24, a California native and former NFL cheerleader. The last one makes you wonder: Did Palmer really need to go on a reality TV show to meet an NFL cheerleader?
The only Canadian QB in the NFL, Palmer may ultimately end up more famous for being on a reality-dating show than for his football skills, but he's already infamous with his Giants teammates, who are joining him for a party to celebrate the show's two-hour premiere.
"I am getting ribbed a little bit. I'm sure it will only get worse. But it's been a lot of fun and the guys are really excited. It will be interesting to see what happens. What it's probably going to be is a Jesse Palmer roast by the time the whole thing's done," Palmer said. "I'll probably have a lot of pictures stuck on my locker.
"And I'll probably get tied to a goalpost at some point in the next two months."
We're assuming that's not one of his dates on The Bachelor.
http://tv.yahoo.com/news/eo/20040406/108128520000.html