{alltv} Burnett a sports fan

Within every reality-TV guru lies the heart of a sports geek.

Or at least, that's what we always wondered about Mark Burnett.

As the creator of shows such as the currently airing Expedition Impossible (Thursdays on ABC and CTV) - adding to a resume that includes Survivor, The Voice, The Apprentice and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? - Burnett must be a sports guy, right?

Think about the thematic elements that run through his shows. Competition. Teamwork. Confrontation. Elimination.

Sounds like an NHL or CFL or NBA or Major League Baseball season.

So we asked Burnett if he actually is a big sports fan, or was he always too busy as a kid climbing the biggest rock in the neighbourhood to ever bother watching two teams play soccer or something.

"That's a great question - I played tons of soccer and watched soccer incessantly," Burnett said. "I never even thought of that before about myself.

"Maybe there is an element of that in the things I do. I do like competitions. And I like games. So yeah, you're right, it probably comes a lot from playing so much soccer as a kid, and the neighbourhood kids organizing their own leagues, and this kind of stuff."

Burnett was born and raised in England. In his late teens he enlisted in the British Army and joined the Parachute Regiment, ultimately serving in the Falklands War.

"As well as playing (soccer) for my school, I played for the Parachute Regiment," recalled Burnett, who will turn 51 in a few days. "So yeah, it's interesting. That's probably where it comes from."

Sports foundation notwithstanding, certainly there are vast ranges in terms of the physicality involved in Burnett's shows.

The Voice is, well, voice work. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is brain work. Survivor is, we'd have to say, one-third physical toughness, one-third mental toughness and one-third strategy.

But as a straight physical race, Expedition Impossible might be Burnett's most athletic show since his first one, Eco-Challenge.

"In the end, (Expedition Impossible) was a big Indiana Jones experience," Burnett said. "It was like producing Ben Hur. It was massive.

"And just so you know, I love this kind of stuff. It's really joyful for me. If I was born 100 years ago, I would like to have been doing nothing but this kind of exploring."

Looking ahead to the future of reality TV, though, will competition shows need to be increasingly extreme to keep viewers engaged?

"For me, I've already done far, far more extreme than (Expedition Impossible), you've seen that," Burnett said. "In my life, I like doing this stuff. That's the sort of thing I would do on vacation. You know me, for sure, I would do that on vacation.

"I guess to some people it might seem a little out there. But it was really more about having people find their character, and the element of, if one person quits, they're all disqualified. I love that dynamic that you need to put others above yourself."

Doesn't that sound like every speech ever given by a coach or manager to his or her team?

Mark Burnett, frustrated athlete.

If it really is that simple, he sure has found a way to channel it.