Nelly halftime show at Big 12 championship delayed by Dr. Pepper contest that goes overtime

David Suggs

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Nelly halftime show at Big 12 championship delayed by Dr. Pepper contest that goes overtime image

The Big 12 Championship brought with it many fireworks on the field. But its most eye-catching event may have taken place during its halftime intermission.

You see, the Big 12 Championship halftime break was spotlighted by a clash of the titans between Gavin and Ryan, a pair of college students hoping to get a healthy chunk of their tuition paid off by Dr. Pepper. They were pitted against one another in a contest to see who could throw more footballs into an oversized Dr. Pepper can before time expired.

Both players showcased their hurling excellence, mimicking Bob Cousy with their form. Gavin and Ryan chose to employ the chest-pass technique, firing off efforts with the sort of fundamentals one would expect out of a fifth-year senior.

Their method worked. Gavin and Ryan shot arrows through the wind, hitting their spots with relative precision. As such, the two ended the first round of competition tied up at 10.

There was a glitch in the matrix. This wasn't supposed to happen. If you needed any evidence of that, understand this: Nelly was supposed to return to the stage and provide a few additional moments of singing bliss before the start of the second half.

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That didn't happen, as it turned out. Rather, Gavin and Ryan returned to the stage. And they continued to spill their blood, sweat and tears, delivering a host of slick throws in Round 2 en route to...another draw.

What to do now? Could Dr. Pepper — owned by a company worth an estimated $232 billion — afford to give both students a measly $100,000?

If your answer was no, you are correct. Rather, Dr. Pepper persisted with the challenge, creating a sudden death Round 3. Gavin and Ryan finished off their trilogy with vigor, with Ryan taking the bragging rights — and the dough.

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There was plenty of controversy surrounding the event, not only for its impressive ability to upstage a globally-recognized artist like Nelly, but also because of its spotty scoring. Internet sleuths found that Ryan, in all his glory, incorrectly had a point added onto his score. Meanwhile, Gavin was denied a successful try that due to scoring error, indicating that if all things were fair, Gavin should have been declared winner. I think...

The missed calls will live on in infamy. Dr. Pepper did right by Gavin in the end, however, eventually agreeing to pay off his student debt as well.

Suffice to say, social media was abuzz. Here are some of the best reactions from the carousel of emotions that descended on AT&T Stadium during championship day.

We live in a dystopian society here in the United States. But hey, at least it's teeming with sugary flavor!

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.