Nothing to fear but fear itself (and maybe snakes)

Sandy High School grad appears on Fear Factor

By Garth Guibord and Shannon Proulx

The Sandy Post, Aug 23, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Imagine being launched through the air onto a cargo net that hangs from a helicopter 100 feet above the ocean.

But you can’t just hang there – you have to grab 10 flags on the net as quickly as possible before jumping off the net into the waters below. Oh, and you have to do it at the same time as a partner.

That’s exactly the situation in which Marine Sgt. Sara McTeigue found herself. The 1995 Sandy High School graduate was one of eight contestants to appear on the military edition of the NBC hit television show “Fear Factor.”

McTeigue and her longtime friend, Staff Sgt. Jeremy Scott, represented the Marines against duos from the Navy, Air Force and Army. All of the show’s contestants had served in Iraq and competed in spine-tingling stunts aboard the U.S.S. Hornet aircraft carrier for the chance to win $50,000.

It wasn’t long, unfortunately, before the Sandy native and her partner bowed out of the competition. In the first stunt, Scott got tangled in the cargo net and grabbed the least number of flags – an offense that ended the team’s run on “Fear Factor.”

“It was just a stroke of bad luck,” Scott said. The eventual winners of the episode, the Navy team, received $50,000 and one year of mortgage payments, while McTeigue and Scott walked away empty-handed.

Regardless of the competition’s outcome, McTeigue said the experience was one she won’t soon forget.

“The adrenaline rush was so high, and the anticipation was unbelievable,” she said.

McTeigue said she knew that if the two of them didn’t place first, the other teams would try to eliminate them because of the Marines’ reputation for being strong, tough and the best.

“Even though they didn't win, they represented their branch well,” said “Fear Factor” executive producer Matt Kunitz.

McTeigue’s “Fear Factor” journey started when she found an online classified ad that said NBC was looking for Iraq veterans to audition for the show. She filled out an application, and in April 2005, McTeigue traveled to Hollywood for the tryouts.

More than 40,000 veterans auditioned for the show, but in September 2005, McTeigue was chosen to represent the Marines. Scott, as it turned out, was the only one of her friends interested in appearing on the show with her.

“I was excited to be on the show because I have always watched it and wanted to see how I would do,” Scott said.

The pair filmed the episode in December 2005 and spent the following six months silently waiting for the show to air. McTeigue didn’t even tell her own mother, Mary, how she did before it was on television.

“Sara hadn’t told me anything about the show beforehand, except that they didn’t win,” Mary said. “It was exciting to see her on TV; I just wish they would have done better.”

If McTeigue and Scott had advanced, the challenges they would have faced would have been even more daunting. The second round featured cargo boxes – surrounded by snakes – with canteens filled with rotten, bug-filled food that the contestants would have to eat.

“It would have made me sick to watch her eat all that disgusting stuff,” Mary said.

The final challenge had each team fly in on a helicopter, then run to a truck rolling on the deck of the aircraft carrier, climb on top and remove grenades before the truck rolled off the edge.

McTeigue was disappointed she and Scott weren’t able to compete further, but her experience didn’t dampen her enthusiasm to try it again.

“I would do it all over again in a heartbeat,” McTeigue told producers after the show.

If there is a next time, McTeigue will tackle the snakes and the bug-filled food, or whatever disgusting concoction, without hesitation. That’s just the way she was raised.

“My father has always encouraged us to try different foods,” she said. “I would have tried anything if I was able to keep going. I would have eaten a pig uterus or slugs or anything."