DC ExtraTime: Week of June 25-27, 2016

Originally Posted in DC ExtraTime sections of DCBLOG's MTV Trifecta coverage

the weekend of June 25-27, 2016, re-posted here for the interest of readers.

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

If you're a loyal DCBLOG reader, then generally punctuate our posts covering the MTV Trifecta of the Real World/Challenge franchise and Are You The One? with side posts covering the people and the stories of these shows. This week, we're re-posting these bits here for the sake of those who don't want to scroll all the way down to these stories, as well as the timing of two stories that have taken place in the past couple weeks of the tragic shootings in Orlando, FL two weeks ago and the Cleveland Cavaliers' NBA title win a week later. Enjoy these pieces of DC ExtraTime.

TRAGEDY IN ORLANDO

RW GO BIG'S CHRIS TAKES A STAND

In the past two weeks, there have been things bigger than the Trifecta take place in our imperfect world, and the biggest story in this country has been of the tragedies that took place in Orlando, FL two weeks ago Sunday. This weekend in a special two-part ExtraTime, we'll take a look at how two members of both the Real World family, and two who are even prouder to be who they are in this Pride month, have done their part to take action and remember the victims in the aftermath of the horrific Pulse nightclub shootings that killed 49 people on June 12th, and the death of singer Christina Grimmie two days earlier.

Credit: IG/@ChristopherAmmon

   First, it wasn't that long ago on Real World Go Big or Go Home, we saw roommate Christopher Ammon travel across state lines from Las Vegas to his hometown of Salt Lake City to confront the cult he spent his upbringing in and sent in his resignation letter from the Mormon LDS Church after their actions that took place which offended against the LGBT community. Now, in the aftermath of the tragedy that has united an entire nation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and queer people, he has taken action once again, this time in the wake of a tragedy that's touched not only an entire country but especially the section of our society who was most affected that early Sunday morning.
   On Monday in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Senate was faced with legislation containing several gun control amendments, including proposed changes to the hit list of potential terrorists, universal background checks of those who purchase guns, and adding mental health considerations for gun purchases. But more than week after the shootings and a 15-hour Senate filibuster led by a New England Democrat to encourage Congress to act on gun control legislation, the GOP-controlled upper house of our nation's legislative branch voted 53-47 to reject that bill, and a tsunami of negative reaction ensured. In reply, on Wednesday members of the House of Representatives' Democratic Caucus staged a 2-day sit-down protest on the floor of the House chambers to demand legislation until they adjourned for the holiday break on Thursday, as the hashtag #NoBillNoBreak trended on Twitter and both President Obama and the Clintons gave their support.
   As the sit-in began in the south wing of Capitol Hill, Chris went to Twitter to once again take a stand, and this time he posted a list of what he called "The Deadly 53" with the message "to remind our senators WHO and WHAT they represent." His photo caption added, "These 53 Senators just blocked a bill that would have prevented the #Orlando massacre by preventing anyone suspected of terrorism over the last 5 years from buying guns." Then, he posted pictures of each of the 53 Senators (all but 2 are Republican) who voted down legislation that would've prevented not only the events in Orlando but also the deadly shootings in Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia Tech and in Tucson, AZ. Included in those put on blast included two early campaign opponents in Ted Cruz-TX and Marco Rubio-FL, President Obama's 2008 opponent John McCain-AZ, Orrin Hatch from Utah, and Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. Those individual pictures' captions read, "Killer... I Support Homophobia, Racism, Hatred and Guns."

   Along with him resigning from the LDS on his Real World, this was the bravest and boldest move Chris has ever undertaken. He took the opportunity to go all in on the 53 people who decided to not take a stand against gun violence and didn't prevented the kind of atrocity that the world watched in horror two weeks ago. Yes, there was what happened when he turned his back on Jenna after all of the racism that cast a cloud over the most recent Real World. But he's earned more of my respect in putting this major issue in the forefront among the MTV community and demanding that the people take action to demand legislation that can prevent the events of June 12 from happening again in this country. If he can do what he did to get us interested in this serious topic and to contact our legislators everywhere, then we should too.
   We leave you with captions from two pictures Chris posted on his Instagram in the week after the tragedy.
- First, from a throwback pic he posted a week after the tragedy which is posted above: "A week ago, I took this picture. That was before #Orlando. Today after a lot of tears, meditation, and connecting with old friends, I finally woke up with a smile on my face again. The shooting at #pulsenightclub reminded me of how fragile and temporary life is. It reminded me how important it is to fight for what I believe in. Most of all: it reminded me to cherish every day that I have left on this earth. You never know when it may be your last. 💕"
- And the second IG post is of a tattoo depicting a story from early LGBT history: "This weekend has reminded me how important it is to tell and preserve queer stories. @josephbrycetattoo helped me to tell this "lost" queer story: the love story of Achilles and Patroclus, the first censored queer story in history. When Patroclus was struck down in battle, it inspired Achilles to rejoin the fight and to engage in the most glorious battle of his life. This is how I feel about the tragedy in #Orlando. Lives have been lost. Our brothers, our sisters, and our lovers. This should not discourage is: it should motivate us to action. Now is the time to fight. #orlandolove #PulseNightclub."

J.D. REMEMBERS

Two weeks have passed now since the worst weekend the city of Orlando, FL has ever had to endure, with two senseless tragedies taking place in less than 36 hours. Friday, June 10th saw The Voice alum Christina Grimmie gunned down after a concert performance, and two days later in the early hours of Sunday June 12th the deadly shooting at the Pulse Nightclub that left 49 innocent young souls dead and more than 50 wounded - the deadliest mass shooting we've ever experienced on our own shores.
   On our Rivals III post on Saturday, we brought you the story of Chris Ammon from the most recent Real World season taking a stand against the 53 senators who voted against gun control legislation this past week that would've prevented not just those two tragedies but also the other deadly shootings that have taken place in both the U.S. and worldwide in the past decade. Now in part 2 of this ExtraTime series, we turn our attention to another of those from the LGBT community who have been proudly represented on The Real World and The Challenge for a quarter-century.

Credit: IG/@JDOrdonez

Six years ago, The Real World Brooklyn saw the show return to its old-school roots in where the show all began in New York City, and across the Brooklyn Bridge in the city's largest populous borough. We saw the reality of being a transgender take place before an Olympian made it well-known, an Iraq Army veteran adjust to life back home before he was recalled by sheer luck, a Mormon who wore bow ties and, yes, Sarah before her Challenge days. Along with Chet, Katelynn, Ryan and the rest of the group, there was J.D., where we saw him get into words with the girls during that season and initiated the famous rat pranks in the house. With a degree in marine biology, he was a dolphin trainer before he moved up to the Big Apple and then to SoCal, as well as doing both the Cutthroat and Seasons Challenges. And because he worked at SeaWorld Orlando for several years, is a proud gay man and 90% of the shooting victims were of Latino descent (it hosted a Latin Night on June 11th), J.D. was deeply affected in all three ways by the tragedy in his old hometown.
   While he was in Orlando to tend to a funeral for a friend of his and reconnect with the Central Florida community that he became close with during his time at SeaWorld, J.D. went to the Pulse nightclub on Thursday, where so many flowers, balloons and signs have been left outside the club in the days after the shootings. His sign in front of the crime scene read, "#WeHoPULSE For the tears we've all cried. You won't be forgotten by those left alive. From one home #MickysWeHo to my other home #PulseOrlando We Stand Strong with #OnePulse. In Loving Memory #RIP." And his captions added, "From my East Coast home to my West Coast home and everywhere in between I am grateful to have our nation stand strong during this time and we shall move on and stronger!"

   For everyone who has visited Pulse since June 12th (including the Orlando section of Critical Mass cyclists who stopped in front of it on Friday), it has been a surreal and emotional scene for them to visit the site of the worst tragedy involving gun violence in American history and the worst act of terrorism here since 9/11. Because this took place during this Pride Month where the LGBT community can take pride in who they are, they've been deeply affected by it - much in the same way their predecessors were when the Stonewall riots took place in New York in 1969 (and for which a national monument was dedicated yesterday), it has been an emotional month. And J.D. isn't the only member of the Trifecta family who's been affected by this as, in addition to the many gay & lesbian RW/Challenge alums, Are You The One's Pratt and Chelsey both call Orlando home too.

Words can't describe the enormous and immense grief this entire country felt in the days after the events that took away, too soon, the lives of 49 men and women in the early hours of June 12 in Orlando. An entire region of 2.3 million people in a top-25 metropolis has been heartbroken three times in not just this tragedy, but also the death of Christina Grimmie and the young kid mauled to death at Disney World. As you saw in our last post, immediate action has been taken to regulate gun control and to prevent an event of this from happening again which sparked reaction on Capitol Hill, all after the shootings that have taken place in the past decade. And for the LGBT community that numbers in the tens of millions, the Pulse shootings have both saddened and united their people in a month where they celebrate their immense Pride.  For Chris, he took a stand against Congress for not passing laws last week, while J.D. made that emotional visit to where tragedy took place. The LGBT community has stood strong and will stay strong as Washington figures out what to do as soon as they can, and this time of remembrance continues for everyone involved in those shootings.

THE CAVS COMEBACK W/ TEAM MTV

Sometime here in our Summer of Sports, we'll have a special post offering a look on what happened on Father's Day night when the seemingly impossible happened in Oakland, and what led up to what is so far the sports story so far in 2016. And if we thought the comeback Devin and his AYTO Season 3 cast pulled off was incredible, it's JV compared to what LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off on the Golden State Warriors and win the NBA title after being down 3-1 --- the first team to do so. For one of those Northeast Ohioans who had endured so much heartache and frustration over the past 52 years, this is a once in a generation event that has united all of the North Shore.

   When I wrapped up my DCNOW live tweets of Game 7 of the NBA Finals last Sunday, I thought of people from the Cleveland area who I'm sure were celebrating this very title: retired Cavs radio announcer Joe Tait, longtime Cleveland weatherman Dick Goddard, and three members of Team MTV who come from the nation's 19th-largest TV market and now what it's like to be on top of the world.

● First, there's a member of the first Are You The One? cast who comes from the town where LeBron grew up and calls home once again in Akron. June 19, 2016 now joins that March night two years ago when Ashleigh and her original cast basked in the glory of winning that $1 million. When we met her she was that total package who's gorgeous and down to earth, but had become attracted to low-lives before going to Hawaii. While everyone else in the house was making headlines, she was one of the few who had a supporting part in that first season in not having much screen time. But Ash was part of the final outcome when she & JJ were the last to lock in in, what turned out to be, the last matchup of the only AYTO season that's seen its cast win in less than ten tries.

   She moved out from Ohio to L.A. after that season to pursue her lifelong ambitions of acting and modeling, but she kept true to her roots in following the Cavs during this improbable title run. Her reactions from social media went something like this...
- @AshleighMorghan - IG: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW! CONGRATS @cavs you beat GS on their home court!!!!!"
- @AshleighMorghan - TW: "I'm emotional. You gotta be from Ohio to understand man, whaaaaaatttttt! I'm sitting in my apartment, crying, WE did it."

And it's as if this was her destiny for her Cavs to finally have this championship moment: she also appeared in a TV commercial for the team as well during last year's playoffs.

Erika (2nd from left) with co-hosts
Bill Squire, Alan Cox & Cody Brown
at WMMS (credit: @BillSquire)

● Second: Last week, we discussed Real World alums now entertaining people through the intimacy and power of local radio, and one of them was Erika of Real World D.C. As her station, Cleveland's WMMS, serves as co-flagship station of the Cavaliers Radio Network (alongside sister station and AM giant WTAM), it's no surprise that Erika, one of the co-hosts of The Alan Cox Show on the rock station, has done her part in the station's role as FM home of the team. Erika offered her live tweeting of the series on her twitter hub @ErikaLauren and also on the station's twitter account too. A viewer in the Cleveland area even spotted Erika and her boyfriend on the local postgame show on ABC affiliate WEWS at one of the many viewing parties around town when they celebrated their title last Sunday.
   When the team arrived back in Ohio on Monday, Erika was at the airport to welcome the team back, and she had a moment with the hometown man once reviled for his decision but is now a hero for reversing the 52-year championship curse - all of that you can check out on the WMMS site here. And while the victory parade took place outside their studios on Wednesday, Erika unfortunately had to go to work but did get to talk to the city's other world champion - UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic on the Cox show that same day.

● And third, there is the most famous Clevelander in the Trifecta family and, of course, we had to save him for last. Fifteen years ago this summer, we were introduced to Mike The Miz on Real World Back to New York, and so began a ride that's taken him from doing that season with Coral and then do five Challenges to get to where he is now. With that persona that made him famous, The Miz made the jump into the world of wrestling after that RW: from Tough Enough runner-up and the regional scene, to the WWE in becoming one of its most well-known personalities. The Miz has won several WWE titles as world heavyweight, tag-team and intercontinental champion since he entered the promotion, and is the reigning secondary champion. And he's now added movie star to his resume with being part of WWE Studios' The Marine franchise.
   It was no surprise that given his Cleveland roots, Mike was rooting for his hometown Cavs to take the title and like so many was overwhelmed at that moment the final buzzer sounded in Oakland. His reaction video from Instagram is embedded below, while his accompanying montage pic reads, "I can't tell u how many times I've said "next year." Something about CLE makes u believe that no matter how many people say ur team will not win u just still believe they can. Probably why we call it Believeland. We believe anything can happen at any given moment. And the wait is finally over. The Moment was last night. Thank you @kingjames @cavs we are #Champions #AllInCLE"

My reaction to the @cavs winning the NBA Finals. We won! The Miz, The Monsters and now....THE CAVALIERS! I deem this moment #Awesome

A video posted by @mikethemiz on Jun 19, 2016 at 7:53pm PDT

This is the Crème de la crème of a run of sports fortune for Cleveland after all these years of futility, with Miocic lifting the title in KO fashion over Fabricio Werdum on the same night an ESPN 30 for 30 film on Cleveland - Believeland aired (cameras were at the parade for an updated ending to the film that will air next month); while the Lake Erie Monsters returned the Calder Cup - the title of the American Hockey League - to Cleveland just a week before the Cavs' shining moment.
   Last year, the 37-year drought of a horse racing Triple Crown winner was broken by American Pharoah, and both Boston and Philadelphia snapped long city title droughts earlier this decade, most notably the Red Sox reversing the curse twelve years ago also in comeback fashion. Who knows, another title drought could come to an end this year. Cubs or Indians next, perhaps?

- I AM DC