After being U-Turned by the Afghanimals, Jet & Cord McCoy became the seventh team to be eliminated from The Amazing Race All-Stars. After their elimination, I caught up with the brothers to discuss what went wrong and if they were surprised that Leo and Jamal chose to use U-Turn them instead of Brendon and Rachel.
Murtz Jaffer: They say that the third time is a charm, but it obviously wasn’t for you guys. Cord, is there any part of you that takes comfort in knowing that it was a U-Turn that did you in and not anything you did wrong?
Cord McCoy: No you know you it is crazy because Jet and I did the first Amazing Race and you think oh ‘just give me one more chance, just one more chance’ but after the second time you realize that in every episode they are throwing you in a country that you know nothing about. So even as much as you try to prepare your mind and body, there are curve balls thrown at you that you didn’t expect were coming. I guess we knew that coming into the third time
MJ: Jet, what was your relationship like with the Afghanimals during the race. It seemed like a healthy competition. Were you surprised that they U-Turned you?
Jet McCoy: No. I wasn’t surprised. Our relationship was fine, I guess. I wouldn’t say that I was surprised that they had U-Turned us. I know they had their alliance thing going on and everybody had decided that they were going to U Turn the Brenchels. On the other hand, regardless of what they said, I think it was their best play to U-Turn us just for the simple reason that they would rather be racing against the Brenchels then they would be racing against us.
MJ: Cord, although it sucks to be taken out by a twist… do you think that Jamal and Leo made the right move?
CM: Well I think every racer makes the best decision they can at that particular time. Jet and I kind of ran a little bit different. We really didn’t worry about what was behind us and I think in the three Amazing Races that we have been in, we have never U-Turned anybody. I am guessing that Leo and Jamal made the best decision that they thought they could at that particular time
MJ: Jet, you said that you never trusted the Afghanimals from the beginning of the Race. What was it about them that made you not trust them?
JM: I don’t know. Just first impressions. Some people you meet and you just don’t trust them. They came into the race with that kind of reputation for being sneaky and not really playing on the up and up. I had heard that reputation to start with and then first impression you can tell that they were not a team that could be trusted. Except for saying that they were going to U-Turn the Brenchels and then U-Turning us, I don’t think they did anything sneaky but I definitely wouldn’t have trusted them with anything.
MJ: Cord, you seemed to steer clear of the Rachel & Brendon drama that everyone else seemed involved with. Did you make the active choice not to get involved or join any alliances?
CM: I don’t think that alliances are for me and Jet. Just for the simple reason that they only give one team a million dollars and you just hate to get used to leaning on a team on a leg that is going to be jerked up from underneath you later. We ran our own race, it wasn’t that we dodged Brendon and Rachel or didn’t do anything with them. I guess they were running their race and we were running our race and we just had two very different styles.
MJ: Jet, does it bother you at all that the team you gave your second express pass to (Jenn and Caroline) are still in the Race and you aren’t?
JM: No it doesn’t bother me for the simple reason that the way we played the express pass right there was definitely the best place to play it. In other words we gave it to a team and they used it at the same moment. That meant that for the next six legs, we were the only ones that had an express pass so in that moment there was no doubt that that was the best place for us to use it.
And who knew they were kind of they were going to be still in it down to the final four so you know we can look back and say ‘yeah they would be probably kind of been eliminated,’ but if that would have been case we would have given the express pass to somebody else and it may have hurt us worse than it did in the long run. So I have no regrets about that.
MJ: Cord, compared to the other seasons you have been on, how would you rate the competition on this All-Star edition?
CM: It was the toughest race that I have been on by far and I don’t know what it was. It just felt like at any point in the race if you stumble you know you are going to get outrun. One wrong turn and you can go from winning an expensive trip to getting eliminated.
MJ: Jet, I know you guys have always said that you always focus on your own Race and not on what the other teams are doing. In fact, you have never U-Turned anyone in all three seasons that you have been on the show. Do you think that this is still the best way to go? It’s clear that with the U-Turns, relationships with the other teams are increasingly becoming a factor.
JM: I think it’s the best way to go for us and the reason is… it’s kind of like Cord said, we try not to ever worry about what was behind us and I really feel like in a heads-up race against any other team, I think me and Cord have proved over and over again we can beat just about any team at any task. I think if we were to fall into that trap of trying to build an alliance around the idea of not being U-Turned, I think it would still work out the same way for us because people see us as a strong team and if they have the opportunity to U-Turn us they were going to anyway so I don’t think if we were in an alliance we had to trust somebody else not to U-Turn us, I don’t think it would matter and this season is a good example. Leo and Jamal said they were going to U-Turn somebody else and U-Turned us anyway so ultimately I think the way we run the race is what works best for us.
MJ: Cord, you guys always have a knack for being really good at the detours and roadblocks. What do you attribute this to? Are Cowboys just really good at everything?
CM: I think growing up in a ranch has a lot to do with it. We work a lot with our hands and outside and working with the items that we have everyday in front us. So yes, I think that helps but in a lot of those tasks we were doing things that we weren’t familiar with. It’s just a situation where you have to reach down and do it. We had to do it and we had to do it fast or we would get eliminated.
MJ: Jet, what’s next for you?
JM: Just back to what I was doing. I have been managing the ranch and then working with horses and cattle pretty much my whole life and it’s hard for me to imagine doing anything else so back to the same old stuff for me .
MJ: Is it the same for you Cord?
CM: About the same, yeah. It’s my favorite time of the year here on the ranch. We have lots of baby calves and baby colts. The grass is growing and there is so much life on the ranch right now and it seems like there is a new life on the ground everyday and so it’s my favorite time of the year to be on the ranch
MJ: And Jet I heard about your stolen cattle. I hope everything is works out.
JM: Yeah, no doubt. Anytime something is stolen, it’s always irritating.
MJ: Well guys I wish I would see you at the finale in Vegas but hopefully our paths will cross again soon. Thank you so much!
CM: I am sure they will. Good to hear from you again!
