| | American Idol | The Real World |
| NAME |
MATT ROGERS, 26 |
M.J. GARRETT, 24 |
| TUBE CRED |
Teddy-bear-ish old dude on third season of American Idol |
Frat-bro-ish (and straight) white guy on The Real World: Philadelphia |
| SCHOOL CRED |
Vanderbilt receiver (1999-2003), class of '03, human and organizational development major |
Iowa (1998) and Washington (2000) offensive lineman; class of '01, sociology major |
| SPORTSCENTER MOMENT |
Co-MVP (with the other linemen) in an '00 game against UCLA. "We rushed for 349 yards on 'em. They'd been giving up something like 159 yards per game at that point." |
Had 219 yards and a touchdown in '01 against Middle Tennessee State. "Funny thing is, I hurt my shoulder [a separation] in the third quarter. But they took care of that, if you know what I mean." |
KNEW HE WAS DONE
PLAYING FOOTBALL WHEN.... |
After he went undrafted in '01, the Cincinnati Bengals expressed interest in signing him as a free agent. "I called everyone in my huge family to tell them the news. Two hours later my agent says, 'Cincinnati saw an old physical. They dropped you.'" (He missed two games with a bad back at Iowa.) |
He attended a pro day at Vanderbilt in '03 and worked out for more than 20 scouts. Only the Indianapolis Colts showed interest. But then "they called the equipment managers at Vanderbilt and asked them to wish me best of luck. The equipment managers!" |
| WORST JOB |
In '98 he spent a summer as a roofer. "It was physical hell, sweating my ass off on a roof every day. When I got to Iowa, I was in the best shape of any lineman there." |
His junior year in high school he worked on a golf course maintenance crew. "You'd be mowing greens and guys would be trying to pick you off with golf balls. That sucked." |
| CAREER CHANGE |
At a fancy business lunch in '03 with his boss, a mortgage banker, word spread around the table: Matt can sing opera. "So my boss offers me $500 to sing in front of everyone. I stood up, belted it out and collected $500." Turns out a member of his audience was a producer for American Idol. |
M.J. left Nashville last year to pursue modeling work in L.A. A friend from Vandy introduced him to a television scout, but, not thinking anything of it, M.J. went home for the holidays. "I was Christmas shopping one day, and my friend called. She asked, 'Have you ever heard of The Real World?' 'Yeah.' 'Would you be interested in being on it? Because they want you.' Two or three interviews later I'm moving to Philadelphia." |
| EMBARRASSING REALITY-TV MOMENT |
The Idol makeup people quickly remedied Rogers's thinning hair by blow-drying it out. "Then Globe and Star started running pictures of me with thin hair, claiming I was wearing a wig." He was voted off the next week after reaching the final 11. |
In the season's third episode, M.J. smooches with a blonde club-goer. No big deal -- if he'd warned his mom. "Usually MTV sends you a tape the Monday before a new episode so you can warn your family about anything embarrassing. I think they got my address wrong; I haven't seen one yet." |
| POST-TV SEX LIFE |
"I'm engaged, man" |
"Amplified. Turned up a few notches." |
| UP NEXT.... |
He recently shot a scene for the remake of The Longest Yard as a racist prison guard. ("Me, the nondrinking, churchgoing good guy!") "Last week I sat down with this cat at Fox who works on The O.C. People are usually in and out of his office in five minutes. I had a 45-minute meeting." |
Ideally, a hosting gig for ESPN or MTV. "I've always dreamed of that. I think that would be the coolest thing ever. After this, of course." |
