It’s a no-brainer: cowboys Jet and Cord are probably the biggest fan favorites on The Amazing Race by far. They’re fun to watch, they’re quite good at the race, and they remain down to earth in spite of being in the front of the pack for most of the race. No wonder most of us were rooting for them to win. Even if they ended up in second place, we all feel they’re winners.
I caught up with the cowboys early this week, and despite the interview’s short length, you can feel how close they are as brothers. We talked about their almost-elimination, their take on Dan and Jordan’s game-changing move, and their hometown with one yellow light.
Let me begin by asking about your hometown. You did mention it a couple of times during the race. What was it like?
Jet: It’s a typical small Midwestern town. Everybody knows everybody.
Cord: It’s home to me. The county that I live in has only one light and it is flashing yellow. The town of Tupelo [in Oklahoma] has one store and it’s called the Kountry store.
Did some of the destinations on the race ever intimidate you? It sometimes felt that way to me.
Jet: No. Language barriers and transportation–Cord and I saw it as just another challenge. Every other team had to navigate the same cities as we did.
Cord: Some of the places were so different, I think it made you kinda perk up and look around.
Did you really think you were going home in the Seychelles?
Jet: Absolutely.
Cord: I think [we] both knew when we took off swimming back to the boat that we were gonna get beat, but we were not gonna give up.
Still, you were the first team to arrive last at a non-elimination leg and finish first in the following leg. What do you think contributed to that?
Jet: A positive attitude, determination–and we were well-motivated by a last-place finish.
Cord: Jet and I just got up and dusted ourselves off and raced again.
What surprised me was how calm you were in every leg. Have you always been like that, or did you start the race thinking, “Right, let’s not get too stressed about this one”?
Cord: (laughs) I don’t think Jet and I did that much planning. We just did our best all the time.
Jet: At our house, rule number one is not to panic! We knew at each point in the race we were doing the best we could do, and that panic and stress would only slow us down.
It felt like you were going to lose your cool when Dan and Jordan cut the line in Shanghai. Have you since talked about it?
Jet: Cord and I have talked about it quite a bit.
Was your line about finishing the race with your honesty and integrity intact a stab at the brothers, or was it just something you always set out to do?
Jet: I think that was our goal at the beginning.
Cord: You know what, when y’all kick dirt on my face six feet under I still want those things. Honesty and integrity are something you wanna keep your whole life, not just [in] one race.
Which part of the race would you want to do again?
Cord: The whole thing!
Jet: I think Cord and I left it all on the table. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
What have you been up to after the race?
Jet: Back to the ranch. Back to doing what I love: training horses.
Cord: “Oh My Gravy, It’s A Pink Tie Affair!” [It’s] at the Cord McCoy Invitational. We are having a fundraiser for the Relay of Life, raising money for the American Cancer Society.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
