Countdown to Challenge XXV: Let the Countdown Begin

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

Okay, a spur of the moment post here. And isn't this been the perfect last few days if you're an MTV fanatic like me? It sure has.

   On Saturday, we had the Are You The One? Reunion in L.A., followed the next day by the Real World Ex-Plosion Reunion in NYC (of course we'll be covering them, contact info forthcoming). And on the same day that I announce a new change for me in introducing a new twitter account devoted to my obsessed live tweeting of MTV shows and big events called DC NOW, I also have one of my best-ever moments in the social media world. And in a world where good things come in threes, the third straight day of buzz for my favorite MTV shows was actually initiated by, of all people, yours truly.

Those who work in the demanding environment of the news business always relish the opportunity where they uncover something so big that they get to the story first before their competitors and bring that story to the public first. The accord that ended the Czechoslovakia/Germany war was scooped by NBC News Radio in 1937, ahead of not just its rival CBS, but even the international press. The infamous summer of 1985 of the Night Stalker in L.A. ended when a KNBC camera crew was first to the scene of Richard Ramirez being apprehended.  And earlier today in the wee hours of the first weekday of daylight savings time, it was me, this social media junkie, brilliant blogger and virtual friend of Team MTV, who actually got the buzz for the upcoming season of The Challenge into high gear. And quite possibly, this is my biggest scoop of all.

For those who follow the unique & tight-knit world of The Real World and The Challenge community, there is always a lot of speculation among fans and on the fan forums surrounding who would be competing in the upcoming Challenge, which is regarded by Grantland.com as "America's fifth major sport." And since mid-October of last year, to borrow a piece of baseball lingo, there's been a lot of talk around the hot stove surrounding season 25 of The Challenge, which began taping in Uruguay and ended on the first day of December. Thus, some of my very good twitter friends, who are also part of that cast, weren't able to wish me a happy 30th birthday in November.

This past week, in addition to some great episodes of both Real World Ex-Plosion and Are You The One? and the casts of both shows gathering ahead of their reunions, members of The Challenge XXV cast joined with some alumni and past host Jonny Moseley to do a few of the season's After Shows, which this time won't feature a audience and the set has been transformed into a sports studio show setting. There, inadvertently, one of the hosts, Road Rules patriarch Mark Long, also sparked some buzz when he posted a pic of the set, with the season's title in the monitors, which is "The Challenge: Free Agents."

Then earlier this morning, at about 3:30am when I was awoken by something and couldn't go back to sleep somehow, I actually turned on my iPad and did a little bit of browsing. In one of my tabs, I typed Challenge in the search box on the MTV.com mobile site, different for the MTV.com desktop site. And there, browsing in the menu, I happened to come across the pictures of the Free Agents cast. There, I immediately turned on my bed lights and stood up to some excitement, albeit a quiet one because of the people sleeping downstairs.

I immediately saved all the pictures on my iPad, then using an app, I then made a collage of the new pictures of the 28 competitors, using the same exact placement of all the cast that I did for a teaser composite that I posted on my Instagram just after the Closing Ceremony of the Sochi Olympics (I didn't give away the fact that they were on this Challenge back then). And after several minutes putting it together, before 4:00am, I posted that collage on Instagram, and the buzz finally started.

I then checked the infamous fan forum site VEVMO and found that no one on there noticed it at the time I posted my pic. And then, I then proceeded to post the two full cast photos on my Instagram, and I knew that I was gonna pull off the biggest scoop that I've had in the social media world. And then after sending DM's to a few of my followers about the pictures being posted, I immediately went back to sleep. By the time I actually woke up a few hours later, and even though MTV.com then took down the pics while I was asleep again, the buzz was officially on, getting the attention of TJ Lavin, some of the cast and the numerous fan accounts as they all posted pictures of the cast.

Now, I am one who would absolutely not want to start any drama, I'm that one who prefers to be drama free, and friendly with everyone. But if I wanted to start some buzz myself, then it has to be done responsibly and respectfully. I did the same thing with the great cast of Scrubbing In when I posted an IG pic of them as my iPad lock screen, which got their attention, helped to spread the word about their show and they became great friends with me last year during the RW/Challenge offseason. And I also did the same for RW Ex-Plosion as well, too. For this one, I knew that it was gonna be me - this super-fan - that would singlehandedly help start the buzz for the upcoming Challenge, during a time where people were either waking up out east or still sleeping here out west. I've done my part to help start the buzz, and now we are on the beginning stages towards starting another season of what's arguably the best reality competition show on TV. Let the countdown to Free Agents begin.

As you will suspect, and as we have done very successfully for Rivals II, Real World Ex-Plosion and Are You The One?, DCBLOG will be covering The Challenge: Free Agents like never before. We'll have our one-of-a-kind DC SocialPulse twitter diaries of how the cast, fans and myself will see all of the episodes of this upcoming season, one that TJ has hinted at as his favorite Challenge. While everyone else will be doing their own power rankings and predictions on who will win, our coverage will some of that, but will offer more of a unique perspective as this season unfolds. Here's a preview: 

- In case you're new to this world, just as I was when I watched my first Challenge in a while a couple years ago, I'll be posting a primer to introduce you to what the show is about, its history and everything you need to know. 

- If some of the people you're seeing this season aren't familiar to you because you might not watch that much Real World, it's because they're rookies, and with my RW experience in tow, I'll again be introducing (or reintroducing) you to them so you never know who they are before the show begins.

And we'll be offering some other things along the way here on the 'Blog as well, and we'll be continuing our Real World coverage into this Challenge as well, in addition to our coverage going on right now of RW Ex-Plosion and Are You The One?.

And in case you haven't known by now, the live tweeting of this upcoming Challenge, as well as the rest of the seasons of Real World Ex-Plosion and Are You The One?, is now living at my new, dedicated twitter account called DC NOW, located at @DC408DxNow. And of course, follow me @DC408Dxtr for conversations with the cast, my usual tweets with fans and followers, and alerts to MTV-related show material & DCBLOG post.

   So, the journey is now underway. For now, until I join you tomorrow for Are You The One? on DC NOW, good night and thanks for reading.

- DC