Monty Brinton/CBSOh my gravy! This morning we had the genuine pleasure of chatting with The Amazing Race favorites Jet and Cord McCoy, who are now—quite literally—"back at the ranch." Even though the runners-up didn't score the million bucks, the gentlemen cowboys are considered the winners by fans everywhere.
Read on for more from the down-home duo—including the other racers' "shocking" behavior and whether they'll return to reality TV...
How were you cast in The Amazing Race?
Cord: Jet and I have been on TV a lot, especially the last couple years with the PBRs [Professional Bull Riders competitions] all televised on Versus.
Jet: Just like that, a lady called and said, "Hey, would you like to be on The Amazing Race?" I called Cord and explained to him what it was. [He'd never seen it.] He said, "It sounds good to me." From there we sent in our application and video, and the rest is history.
Cord: Jet's a pretty good salesman. He called me and said, "I've got an idea. They've got a race around the world, and you know what? It pays a million dollars." By the time I got off the phone with Jet I would've ate anything and jumped off a cliff. I was ready to go.
Looking back, do you think Dan and Jordan's line-jumping at the Shanghai airport cost you the race?
Jet: I don't know if it was that one single act that cost us the race. It was more about the principle than it was anything. We were standing in a marked line of three people, and [Jordan] thinks that's where he wants to play his ace or whatever. Me and Cord were just kinda blown away. My goodness.
Cord: You can hash it over and over again [but] I don't think anyone has to look very far to know how blessed we are—where we live, the things we get to do. I feel very blessed to go on the race.
Did it ever occur to you to try to talk your way into first class like Dan and Jordan did? Did you know it was allowed in The Amazing Race?
Jet: No, actually we didn't [know it was allowed]. Here's the thing, though: When you saw Cord and I getting off the plane, we really weren't very concerned at that point with whether they had moved to first class or not, because we really felt like any challenge we faced in heads-up play, we could beat 'em at whatever.
How far were you actually behind Dan and Jordan at the finish?
Jet: We were a matter of minutes behind 'em. That was the thing, when they got off the plane before us, that gap right there—we never did overcome that gap. Both teams pretty much ran a flawless last leg—we hit every clue box, nobody got lost, nobody made any mistakes.
Why did Phil [Keoghan] make a point of calling on Brandy and Carol at the finish? What was your reaction to their behavior?
Jet: They didn't show it—obviously Brent and Caite's was the only one worth showing—but Phil would say to every team as they come in, "Is there anything you'd like to say to the group?" I wasn't shocked at the way Brandy and Carol behaved—that had been kind of their M.O. the entire race—but I was shocked that they did it in the first place. I really didn't think that on national television on the finish line, [with] every opportunity to just not say anything, that they would bring that up. I was like, "OK, maybe you should let it go."
You didn't take home a million dollars, but you did win a bunch of prizes—including vacation packages to Maui and Alaska—throughout the race. Do you have any trips planned?
Jet: Cord and his fiancée are going to take the Maui trip for their honeymoon. He's getting married Nov. 13.
That is going to make a lot of women very sad.
Jet: There will be hearts breaking all over the country, won't there?
Cord: I got engaged two weeks before I left her for 30 days to go on a trip around the world.
Did you have a favorite place or experience from the race?
Cord: Each country has something special to offer. It's hard to narrow it down to just one location. Each leg of the race we'd open another envelope, it was like opening up another chapter of your life. "Man, what am I gonna see this time? Or what am I going to get to do?" That moment is pretty exciting too.
We were all really moved by your account of Cord's hospitalization after a rodeo accident. Can you tell us more about that ordeal and how it impacted your relationship?
Jet: It was a hard time not just for me but for our entire family. Especially right there at the first. Cord was in a coma for a week...a period of touch and go for us. Once they moved him to a rehab hospital, they never knew how much he'd recover—if he'd be able to talk the same and still be able to function normally—because at that point he wasn't functioning normally. We were going to have to wait and see what he can do. But one morning Cord called me from the rehab hospital, and he said, "Jet, I need you to bring me my hat and my boots." Say what? What's going on? He said, "They told me if I could put my hat and my boots on I could get out of here." He got released from the hospital three days before my wedding. He was there just in time to get in the pictures.
Cord: Jet took care of me. He got me dressed up, [but] I never came out until the wedding started. I went out there, stood beside my brother [and] went back out to a private room. [You can see pics of Cord during his recovery and at Jet's wedding here.] I think every experience that Jet and I have had together has made us stronger. We've always been close. We're brothers. Growing up, we fought like cats and dogs. Me and Jet can fight, but nobody else can mess with Jet.
Will we see y'all on TV again?
Jet: I sure would be interested. That'd be great.
Cord: I think so. I'd like to sit here and tell you I wouldn't, but my fiancée wants me to do Dancing With the Stars. I betcha we could learn whatever dances they got.
What do you think? Is it time to start a Dancing With the Stars Cowboy Campaign? Get it started in the comments!
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