In his career Coy Wire has experienced countless wins on and off the field. He was a star running back at Stanford University. In the NFL, he became a team captain for the Buffalo Bills and the Atlanta Falcons.
But it’s probably safe to say he’s never before dressed up as Tinker Bell.
For the second year in a row, the CNN sports correspondent made a March Madness bracket bet with Elizah, 4, the daughter of a family friend. Elizah picked teams based on the colors and mascots that she liked best.
The bet? If Coy’s bracket won, Bert Weiss, host of radio’s “The Bert Show” — and the boyfriend of Elizah’s mom — would post a “man crush Monday” photo of Wire every week for a month. If Elizah won, Coy agreed to dress up as her favorite Disney character.
And that’s how Wire — a man of his word — ended up wearing a green dress, a blond wig and angel wings, and holding a magic wand.
“It just further shows that anything can happen in March Madness. That even a 4-year-old toddler can make better picks than a seasoned sports pro,” Wire said in an interview. “And that’s why we all love Madness. That’s why it’s one of the greatest sporting stages in the United States.”
Wire staged a Tinker Bell photo shoot and even enlisted the help of his 11-month-old daughter, Wrenn, to act as his Peter Pan.
“Being a new dad of a precious baby girl has made this the best year of my life,” said the former NFL player, who anchors Bleacher Report segments and appears on CNN and HLN. “Someday she will look back at this and have a good laugh!”
The NCAA men’s tourney wraps Monday night when Virginia meets Texas Tech in the final.
Meanwhile, Wire predicts he and Elizah will have another rematch next year. They have each won once.
“So it almost sets up this epic trilogy,” he said. “In sports, there always has to be an equalizer, a grand finale.”
