Akron 'OC For A Day' contest winner sees drive end in fumble - ESPN

AKRON, Ohio — Akron season ticket holder Marty Whims has a bit of insight for all those armchair coaches out there: It isn't as easy as it looks on TV.

Whims won Akron's viral contest that awarded one season ticket holder a chance to call the Zips' first offensive drive of the season, and after huddling with head coach Joe Moorhead on Friday night, he followed his script with precision.

The Zips picked up a first down and appeared to have a second, deep into Robert Morris territory, before receiver Marcel Williams coughed up the ball, ending the drive with a fumble.

«It went pretty well,» Whims said. «They moved the ball on pretty much every play.»

But, of course, calling the right play is just Step 1. Executing the play is a whole other thing.

«I have a lot more appreciation for what goes into it and the complexity of what goes into it,» Whims said.

Akron's first drive — called by fan Marty Whims — was chugging along but ends with a fumble after converting a third-and-6. Coaching ain't easy, kids. pic.twitter.com/MreeFNb1oy

Akron's «Offensive Coordinator For A Day» contest quickly went viral after the school posted it on social media, garnering more than a billion impressions, according to deputy athletics director Matt Pottorff. The school sold more than half its total season tickets in the two weeks following the announcement, and inked Arby's as a sponsor of the event.

Whims wasn't expecting to win — since he owned just one ticket, he figured is odds were long. He's a longtime season ticket holder, attending games with a pair of friends he's known since grade school.

Then, on Aug. 19 — his 46th birthday — he got a call from athletics director Andrew Goodrich to inform him he'd been selected among the 10 finalists. A