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At the end of the day, we in the firearms community need to accept that Top Shot is not designed to entertain us (it may do so as an after affect, but thats not the intention). It's meant to appeal to as wide of a variety of viewers as possible, and the producers and challenge designers "guide" the outcome as best they can to reflect that while still keeping an eye on the bottom line. After all, the higher the number of viewers, the better the time slot the show will get. And the better time slot commands a higher $$$ figure from potential advertisers. It's in their best interest for someone to win who a) will not cast the show in a bad light and b) be as universally accepted as possible.
The show starts out with a mishmash of people who are one of two things; interesting or winner material. They need people who are interesting to keep audience attention, while they need a variety of people who will be good universally accepted winners so that viewers will tune in season after season. This becomes apparent in the elimination challenges when certain competitors have a clear advantage. Jay won the .22 challenge because it was arranged to maintain the same point of aim throughout, favoring an olympic style shooter (who is used to hitting one single target over and over) over an action shooter (who is better at transitioning between many targets). Jaime beat Jay, because they gave him a rifle that he was intimately familiar with, while being too heavy for Jay to operate efficiently (Jay aint exactly a big ol boy). Finally, they gave Chris (a shotgun champion) a 12 gauge shotgun in order to knock out Jaime, who makes it clear throughout the show that he is primarily a rifle shooter.
At the end of the day, the other three of the four had no real impact on the outcome. They cant let George win because of the attitude and ego issues, plus the fact that if he wins the money it becomes a conflict of interest and he will likely be seperated from active duty in short order. In addition, the word 'sniper' has been so twisted by mainstream media, theres no way they can advertise that aspect of his persona without driving away less gun savvy viewrs. Joe can't win because they need someone with a more dynamic personality that they can bring back season after season as an expert (plus the fact that he does'nt have the same appeal as Chris, who has a family). Gunny can't win because he is an NRA champion. This makes him scary and controversial on the east and west coast where gun control is a hot topic, and threatens to drive away less informed viewers from those demographics.
End of the day, Chris is the perfect winner. He's a small business owner, has a family and deals with everyday stuff. He's quiet and reserved, so he comes across as your average guy who just so happens to be really good with projectile weapons. Plus its just a great story during a economic recession; average guy works his butt off, minds his Ps and Qs, overcomes adversity, and is rewarded with a buttload of money. Everyone loves happy endings. Plus he is a responsible and knowledgable person who they think won't pull a Richard Hatch when tax season comes a-knockin' and cost them points in the cable tv ratings.
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