Here’s a guide to watching the show fantasy sports-style. Plus: who has the best odds of winning Desiree Hartstock’s heart.
Bachelorette Desiree Hartstock.
The first episode of The Bachelorette premiered on Monday night, potentially spawning a new crop of future Dancing With The Stars and Bachelor Pad contestants and at least one potential fiancé for Desiree Hartsock.
But the odds are, unfortunately, against her (even though The Bachelorette has the best record for producing marriages when compared against just about every matchmaking show out there). Seventeen of the initial 25 suitors really should just be given walking papers on the awkwardness of their entrances alone.
Still, that doesn't mean there's nothing for viewers to bet on as the season progresses: I'm involved in a Bachelorette fantasy sports-style pool with several friends. Here's how it works: the remaining 19 suitors are divided into teams, and over the season each team is awarded points based on their member's performance in each episode.
If a member of your team:
Gets a rose: 1 point
Makes out with the Bachelorette: 2 points
Is involved with a fistfight with another contestant: 2 points
Ex-girlfriend shows up: 2 points
Has a heart-to-heart with host Chris Harrison: 2 points
Cries: 3 point
Tells the Bachelorette "I love you": 3 points
And in the meantime, here are the top draft picks coming out of the first episode:
Brooks
Chances he'll win: Very high, based both on the amount of screen time Brooks gets in the "This season on The Bachelorette…" montages that bookend the episode, and the way Hartsock squirmed when Jimmy Kimmel interrogated her about the suitor's chances. Another good sign? He is not over-exposed in the first episode — no personal video bio, no early rose — a sign that either means he's either in it for the long haul, or he'll be in the next crop of suitors out the door. My money is on the former.
