After finishing among the Top 3 teams in eight of The Amazing Race's first 11 legs and no lower than sixth in the other three legs, the "Cowboys" team of Jet McCoy and his brother Cord McCoy seemed to enter the sixteenth season's final leg as the favorites.

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However an earlier exit from the flight all three remaining teams took to the final leg's San Francisco location ended up giving "Brothers" Dan Pious and Jordan Pious a lead they never relinquished, resulting in Jet, a 30-year-old cowboy from Ada, OK. and Cord, a 29-year-old professional bull rider from Tupelo, OK, finishing in second place during Sunday night's finale broadcast of the CBS reality competition.

On Monday, Jet and Cord talked to Reality TV World about their The Amazing Race experience -- including when they realized that weren't going to be the Race's winners, why they weren't more aggressive at the Lucasfilm task that seemed to seal their second-place fate, and what their closing "character" and "integrity" comments were all about.

[EDITOR'S NOTE:  Despite its later publication, this interview was conducted before our Monday interviews with Dan and Jordan and Caite Upton and Brent Horne.]

Reality TV World: First off, congratulations on finishing second.

Cord McCoy: Thank you, I appreciate that.

Jet McCoy: Thank you.  There were nine worse positions.

Reality TV World: The Race seemed pretty close at the end, do you have any idea about how far behind Dan and Jordan you guys arrived at the finish line?

Jet McCoy: They were there when we got there.

Cord McCoy: Yep, they beat us to the line.

Reality TV World: That's all you know?

Jet McCoy: No, we don't have any idea.

Cord McCoy: I think some of the people who were at the finish line might now.

Reality TV World: When you guys were leaving the Music Hall, Jet made a comment that you guys thought you might be in first place because you didn't see another trunk there.  Did you guys run into Candlestick Park thinking you were first or had you figured out you were second by then?

Jet McCoy: We didn't know, we thought there was a chance.

Reality TV World: So until you walked in and saw them up there on stage, you thought you still had a chance?

Jet McCoy: Right.

Reality TV World: Dan and Jordan had clearly been anticipating there was going to be a memory task at the end of the Race, had you guys also been expecting it?

Jet McCoy: I think so.

Cord McCoy: Yeah, we had some idea.

Reality TV World: Were you guys surprised how easy it ended up being -- just having to know the team's [elimination order] and no details about where you went or what you did or anything like that?

Cord McCoy: Several of the shows that we had watched before, that we had I guess pretty much studied before we went on the Race [had featured that] so we'd expected some huge puzzle or 50 flags or something really tough coming up.  I mean I think for me, I was expecting the last challenge to be tougher.

Reality TV World: What about you Jet?

Jet McCoy: Yeah, I think so.  I mean it seems like usually the last leg of the Race is like more difficult than all of the previous legs.  That leg wasn't easy, but it seemed like it was about like all the rest of them. 

Either way, it doesn't matter [though], we were all on the same [leg] -- we all had the same tasks.  So whether it was easy or not, it was easy for everybody or it was hard for everybody.

Reality TV World: Given they never fell out of first place after that, how big of a role do you think the fact that Dan and Jordan were able to move up to first class and be the first ones off the plane played in their victory?

Jet McCoy: Pivotal.

Cord McCoy: Yeah, we never caught them.

Reality TV World: So you guys had no idea they were doing that?  Were you guys napping [on the plane] at the time or what was going on?

Jet McCoy: Sleep.

Reality TV World: You were still literally sleeping?

Jet McCoy:  Yeah.  It had been a long month.  (laughs)

Reality TV World: Sure.  I guess the anxiety of the final leg wasn't keeping you awake then, huh?

Jet McCoy: Well, the anxiety was there but we knew we was better off to show up well rested than to stay up all night worrying about it.

Reality TV World:  Before the finale aired, you guys seemed to be the clear viewers' favorite.  Did that surprise you guys and how did that make you feel?

Jet McCoy: We're excited about that, we really appreciate all the fans.

Cord McCoy: There are some good people out here these days, you know?

Reality TV World: What happened during the backpack incident with Dan and Jordan -- I mean why didn't you guys just move his bag right away when you first saw him drop it there, did you just think it was an accident or something?

Jet McCoy: I didn't know it was an accident, but I know there's a rule in The Amazing Race that you can't like touch another racer so when he stepped in the way, unless the TSA moved him we couldn't.

Reality TV World: But when he put his bag there, you just left the bag there, you didn't just move the bag off to the side behind you or anything?

Cord McCoy: Who knew that's what he had on his mind?

Jet McCoy: Yeah, I didn't know the bag...

Cord McCoy: ...I mean he walked up there and dropped his bag, so I mean, who knew?  Which now we know, but, anyway.  That's the way it goes I guess.

Jet McCoy: That's the way the cookie crumbles!

Reality TV World: It seemed to be a strange move given that it seemed all but certain you guys were all going to end up on the same flight anyways.

Cord McCoy: Right.

Reality TV World: Do you think they thought there might only be a couple of sets of seats on that flight -- what was the upside of that move?

Jet McCoy: I don't know, I don't know what their gameplan was, I don't know what they were thinking.

Cord McCoy: You can call and ask them.

Reality TV World: I plan to, I'm talking to them next.   I was just wondering if you thought they were trying to rattle you and get under your skin intentionally or what you thought the reasoning might be.

Cord McCoy: I think they're under each other's skin enough, they don't need help.

Reality TV World: Do you feel that kind of gameplay taints their victory a little bit at all?  You guys seemed to maybe be taking a little bit of a shot at their behavior in your post-Race comments where you talked about...

Cord McCoy: ...oh no, look, they won a million dollars and they earned it.  I'm definitely not trying to take anything away from them, but, you know, there are some things that it's like me and Jet talked about. 

We could get on that flight from San Francisco back to the house and be proud of each other and ourselves and show our family and friends, and I got 13 nieces and nephews that I don't have to be ashamed of them watching it. So I'm proud, I guess, about our character.

Reality TV World: So that [finale] comment about your character -- playing the game with your character and integrity intact -- you were just referring to yourselves and not making any statement about [Dan and Jordan] then?

Cord McCoy: No, it's not making a statement about them.

Jet McCoy: That was about us.  No, we knew when we got home it's not like when we got all done with the Race we were going to be watching it with a bunch of strangers.  We were going to be watching it with our friends and family, the people we go to church with, and you know we wanted to make Oklahoma proud.  And I think we accomplished that.

Cord McCoy: I hope so.

Reality TV World: How are things between you and the brothers now?  Were there any hard feelings there at the end, and have you patched things up if there were?

Cord McCoy: Ah, there wasn't anything broken.  We didn't have to patch anything up.

Reality TV World: What was your take on Brandy's finish line confrontation with Caite?

Jet McCoy: Wow, how about that, huh?

Cord McCoy: Worth the piece of admission.

Reality TV World: Was there more to it than they showed or was that it?

Jet McCoy: No, they showed it just like it was.  But I mean weren't they eliminated like four days before that?

Cord McCoy: They hadn't forgotten, I think though.

Jet McCoy: I think they're still holding on to that, matter fact.

Cord McCoy: They got to let go!

Jet McCoy: Just let go!

Cord McCoy: Let go!

Reality TV World: Yeah, when I talked to them a few weeks ago they definitely still had some harsh feelings about it.

Cord McCoy: Did you talk to them together?

Reality TV World: Brandy and Carol?  Yes -- is that what you mean?

Cord McCoy: Yeah, they broke up, didn't they?

Reality TV World: They didn't mention that when I spoke to them.

Cord McCoy: Oh!  Maybe they're back together.

Jet McCoy: Who knows.

Reality TV World: When I did talk to them, they said that the reason they felt the producers just kept showing Jordan telling Caite about the "tiara" comment [every time she talked about them saying "mean things"] is because they never really said any other significant mean things to her and that's all they basically had to show.  What's your take on that -- what did you see going on between the two teams?

Jet McCoy: Hmm, that's interesting.

Cord McCoy: Yeah, if Jet said one mean thing about me they would have showed it.

Jet McCoy: Yeah.

Cord McCoy: I think you can punch...

Jet McCoy: ...honestly, that was one of the things that I was impressed with about the Race as much as anything. 

They didn't try to make anybody or any situation look any different than exactly the way it was, and that was so cool to me.  I mean nobody could complain about the editing, if you did something or said something or you started something then they were going to show it.  If you didn't they weren't going to try and make something look like it was something that it wasn't. 

And they really take pride in the fact that they run an honest race.

Cord McCoy: They show reality...

Jet McCoy: They really do show reality..

Cord McCoy: They didn't try and twist it around make it into anything it wasn't.

Reality TV World: So did you guys see Brandy and Carol being directly mean to Caite?  Because the viewers didn't really see much of that on the show.

Cord McCoy: Did they what now?

Reality TV World: Did you guys then see Brandy and Carol...

Cord McCoy: We didn't spend a lot of time with Brandy and Carol.

Reality TV World: So you didn't see much of anything, but you're saying you weren't with them a lot [to have even seen it]?

Jet McCoy: Right.

Reality TV World: Cord, what made you decide to start shouting commands to disrupt Dan when you guys were at Lucasfilm -- were you trying to get revenge for the backpack incident at the airport or did you just...

Cord McCoy: ...oh, it wasn't about revenge!  It was a just a race.

Reality TV World: It was just gameplay?

Cord McCoy: You know waiting for Jet to get his tights on (laughs)

Jet McCoy: Yeah (laughs)

Cord McCoy: I just wanted to do something, at least feel like I was useful in the Race.

Reality TV World: It seemed like you guys had a good chance to catch-up and maybe pass Dan and Jordan at Lucasfilm but Jet, you seemed pretty adamant that you had to stop moving and wait until Jordan was done when you guys were walking around there.

Cord McCoy: Yeah, I told him to give him a wedgie.

Reality TV World: Why was that -- was that again, going back to some rule that you couldn't touch or bump each other during that task, or why were you so hesitant to try and move?

Jet McCoy: Because he was standing in the [virtual] hallway.  I mean I didn't know what Cord was seeing but Cord said I had to go straight ahead and he was in front of me.  So I mean I can't push him, so what do you do?

Reality TV World: So what would have happened if you tried to step around him, the game would have reset or something?

Cord McCoy: You'd have to start over at the front again.  Yeah, if you go inside of the walls it just sends you out into space and you have to start all over again.

Reality TV World: Jet, do you know about how long you were stuck there waiting for Jordan to move before you were finally able to make those couple of steps?

Jet McCoy: It felt like an eternity.

Reality TV World: Any idea how long it actually was?

Cord McCoy: I didn't start my timer, I don't know for sure.

Reality TV World: Cord, what was going through your mind at the time?  You seemed to be having a hard time understanding why Jet wasn't moving.

Cord McCoy: Well I mean I can't see Jet.  I can see where he's looking, but I can't see Jordan in front of him.  So of course I'm like, "Hey, there it is, go get it!"  And Jet tells me on the radio that Jordan's right there in front of him and he was physically as close to Jordan as he could get.

Reality TV World: Jet, so what was it that finally made you decide to try and move?  Did Jordan just get out of the way a little bit, or did you decide to take a chance, or what was it?

Cord McCoy: I was trying to get Jet to make a move on him the whole time, but...

Jet McCoy: I mean we finally ended up inching around him and going on with the rest of it.  But we'd already been sent into outer space like twice, so I wasn't going to make any moves that I didn't have to.

Have you ever been out into outer space?

Reality TV World: Not virtually.  Or actually, for that matter.  No, neither. (laughs)

After you guys completed that level and the word puzzle started spinning around, you guys didn't seem to make the connection that [the word puzzle] had been why Jordan had been spinning around.  Was that actually the case?

Cord McCoy: Yeah, it took us a minute to figure that out.  I don't really know why, but it took us a minute.  But as soon as we picked it up we got it down and went on.

Reality TV World: Brent and Caite were there while you were getting it down.  Do you think that was the type of challenge where there was a benefit to showing up later?  Brent seemed to overhear you and tell Caite [to spin] right away.

Jet McCoy: I don't know, we weren't really paying that much attention to know.  We were kind of focusing on our own race, I dunno.

Cord McCoy: Through the whole race we never really followed anybody or did what anybody else did.  We ran our own race.

Reality TV World: Was there a Detour that got edited out there or was there actually no Detour in that final leg?

Cord McCoy: I wasn't there for editing.

Reality TV World: Well did you participate in a Detour?

Jet McCoy: In a Detour?

Reality TV World: A Detour in San Francisco, yeah.

Cord McCoy: Unless the other teams took one that we didn't.

Jet McCoy: Which really would suck if we didn't win, if everyone took a Detour and we didn't.

Reality TV World: What was your favorite moment on the Race?

Cord McCoy: When Phil said, "On your mark, get set, go!"

Reality TV World: So the start?

Cord McCoy: That's a good place to start.

Reality TV World: What about your least favorite moment, did you have one of those?

Cord McCoy: I think it was really disappointing when we were in the Seychelles and Jet and I had to swim all the way back out there and come back.  And I think coming to the reality of Phil fixing to tell you to go home.  I mean I think that moment I was like, "You know this is it, we're not going to get to finish The Amazing Race."

Reality TV World: Jet, what about you, was it the same thing?

Jet McCoy: Oh yeah, for sure.  I mean that was probably the lowest point of the entire race.  We had a lot of other good legs, I think except for that leg we were in the Top 5 of every other one.  I mean every leg except for that one we had good, strong finishes and that was definitely a low point.

Reality TV World: Have you guys used any of your prizes yet?

Jet McCoy: Hmm.  No, not yet.

Reality TV World: You're not taking each other on the trips?

Jet McCoy: I got a sailboat for sale if you're interested.

Reality TV World: How were you guys cast on The Amazing Race?  Had this been the first time you applied and how did it all come about?

Jet McCoy: Yeah, this was our first time.  I mean I dunno, it sounded like fun and we sent an application.

Cord McCoy: Yeah, Jet called me when I was leaving Cheyenne, Wyoming last year.  He said like, "Hey man, I got a great idea," and then in 10 minutes Jet had me so pumped about eating crazy food and jumping off cliffs and skydiving -- I was like, "Where am I signing up!"
About The Author: Steven Rogers

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