Living (and Re-Living) Last-Second Win 'Dream Come True' For Kyle McCord

When I look at the television, I wanna see me
Staring right back at me
We all wanna be big stars
But we don’t know why, and we don’t know how
But when everybody loves me
I wanna be just about as happy as I can be
— “Mr. Jones” — Counting Crows

It’s a funny thing about experiencing a game live and in person. It is a unique vantage point which only a tiny fraction of people get to live through. The bigger and tighter the game, the more special the moment and the experience becomes. It emerges as a shared event by anyone who was there, which can then be hearkened back to by just catching somebody’s eyes, stifling a chuckle, and shaking your head.

And yet, despite having the rarest of collective experiences, one of the most common refrains that can come from those in attendance is, “I can’t wait to see how this looked on television.”

That includes the players who experienced the event from the only perspective that truly mattered.

Television gives a secondary view of a very singular event. There is a commentary track that isn’t just clenched teeth and shouts of frustration or exaltation.

Last Saturday night in South Bend, Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord led the Buckeyes on a final drive for the ages. Trailing 14-10 with 1:26 left in the game, the Buckeyes went on a 15-play, 65-yard drive that ended in a touchdown with one second remaining in the game.

Ohio State won the game. The Buckeyes celebrated. But it wasn’t too long before McCord was like everybody else, wanting to see how this entire thing unfolded on television.

“It was surreal,” McCord said on Wednesday. “I went back and watched the TV copy of the game. I’m sitting there and watching that last drive and my heart’s pounding. You know, like I don’t know what’s about to happen. But, man, you know, that’s about as tough a win as you can get. I’m just proud that we were able to pull it out and I’m excited to keep building off of it.”

That’s the kind of game it was.

Even watching it back, Kyle McCord was on the edge of his seat. A crowning moment in just his fifth career start.

And leave it to somebody from the media (it was me, I was the somebody) to bring things down by asking McCord about his thoughts as he was re-watching a near-interception go through the hands of Notre Dame safety DJ Brown.

“I mean, I can tell you what I said on the field,” McCord said with a smile. “I’d probably get in trouble by [OSU Sports Information Director] Jerry [Emig] for repeating it.”

Experiencing a game and watching a game are two different things. Watching your experience is on an entirely different level.

McCord’s retelling of his “surreal” experience reminded me of a conversation that I had with former Ohio State linebacker Brian Rolle about his game-sealing two-point interception return against Navy in 2009. The Buckeyes opened that season against the Midshipmen, and in typical Jim Tressel fashion it came down to the wire.

Navy scored a touchdown with just 2:23 left in the game, cutting OSU’s lead to 29-27. They went for the tying two-point conversion, but quarterback Ricky Dobbs’ pass was intercepted by Rolle and he returned it 100 or so yards to ice the game 31-27.

Rolle also had a very unique perspective.

“As I was running down the sideline, it felt like I was running next to myself. It was like an out-of-body experience,” Rolle said. “I couldn’t hear the crowd, I couldn’t hear anything. It was just a blur. It seemed like I wasn’t even in my body when it happened. It seemed like it was just kind of a break, but I remember the pick and I remember running, but it was a blur.”

For McCord, however, his experience was a bit different. Watching that last drive on television was more of a blur than what was going on in his mind on the field in real time.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s funny watching it from that point of view and then comparing it to what I saw on the field,” McCord said. “You know, it seems like it’s happening so fast on TV, and it’s a crazy environment, but when you’re on the field it seems like everything’s moving in slow motion. You can hear yourself breathe. Just a completely different perspective.”

Only the people on the field will truly understand what those late moments were like. Those memories will be theirs alone. But there is always the draw of seeing how it looked on television and being part of that collective experience as well.

Especially when it’s been something you’ve wanted to take part in for a very long time.

“It’s cool just comparing the two,” McCord said. “It’s kind of a dream come true, growing up being a little kid watching those type of games, and then seeing it on TV and seeing yourself.”

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