Two Friends, One Kick, $1 Million and Hotty Toddy

Three months ago, freshmen James Whitehead, of Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and Christopher Diemidio, of Newark, Delaware, did not know each other.

It was when Whitehead wore an Ole Miss shirt in the Philadelphia International Airport on his way to orientation that he and Diemidio, also on his way to Oxford, met.

"His mom came up to me because of my shirt and asked if I was going to orientation and introduced us," said Whitehead, a finance major. "And I'm so glad, because after orientation, we were on the same flight home and our flight got canceled."

The two stayed in the same hotel waiting for their new flight.

"That's where we really got close, and we've just been hanging out every day since we got here back here for school," said Diemidio, a business management major.

The new friendship led to an unforgettable ESPN "College GameDay" experience that almost did not happen. Diemidio was not sure about going to the Grove at 2 a.m. to camp out for a spot in the audience.

"I told him, 'You got to go. It's once in a lifetime we get to go watch this, so let's go,'" Whitehead said.

They managed to be among the first 300 people there and get tickets for a chance to kick a 33-yard field goal for prize money.

While waiting for the winning ticket number to be drawn, Diemidio shared with someone nearby that he did not feel he would be successful if selected. That person suggested Diemidio give him his ticket, and they would split the winnings if successful.

"I didn't really know him that well," Diemidio said. "So, I looked over and I saw James because we're best friends here.

"I just got a feeling – it might have been God or something – telling me to give my ticket to him."

Seconds before the winner was announced, Diemidio handed his ticket to Whitehead.

"Dude, I trust you," he told his friend. "I'm going to give you my ticket, and if you hit it, we split it 50-50."

Whitehead agreed. The two shook hands. Numbers were called.

"I knew what my number was in my head," Whitehead said. "My first number was different than his, and they said, 'one,' and mine was a zero.

"And then I looked down at the card Chris gave me as they kept calling numbers: one, one, nine, eight. I went crazy. I couldn't believe it."

Whitehead, who played soccer in high school, called a friend who kicked for their football team for tips.

"He told me to take three steps back, two steps over and just go for it," he said. "I know how to kick a soccer ball, so I swung the same just to get under it, so it'd go straight, hoping it would go straight. And it did."

The $1 million field goal was good. The crowd on the Student Union plaza roared. McAfee called it the "best kick yet." Whitehead kissed his grandfather's U.S. Air Force ring on a chain around his neck.

The two friends were ecstatic.

"I was in so much shock, so much adrenaline," Whitehead said. "My celebration afterwards, me knowing I did that was the first time I watched the clip back."

Diemidio, who stood behind the goalpost, was just as shocked.

"I kind of blacked out," he said. "I had to ask these kids next to me what happened. I was shaking a lot because I was so excited."

Each have plans for their share of the winnings, besides investing some and sharing with family.

"I definitely want to put a big chunk of it towards brain cancer research because my grandfather passed away from that," Whitehead said. "So that's really important to me."

Diemidio also plans to make a similar donation.

"I want to give to brain cancer treatment and research because I know that means a lot to James and without him, none of this would have happened," he said.

Although they have only just begun their journey at Ole Miss, the friends have experienced a lot of Hotty Toddy.

"I feel like you can go around the whole world and people will see you in an Ole Miss shirt and say 'Hotty Toddy,' Diemidio said. "It shows that there's so many people around the world that are connected to you somehow; you always have someone you can find somewhere that's going to be part of your family."

Whitehead agreed.

"It just means we're a family, and 'Hotty Toddy' is like saying 'I love you,'" he said.

Top: Freshman Pat Pfister (left) congratulates James Whitehead (center) and Christopher Diemidio for winning $1 million in Pat McAfee's 'Kicking is Easy' contest on ESPN's 'College GameDay.' Whitehead kicked a 33-yard field goal after Diemidio gave him his ticket seconds before ESPN personnel drew the winning number. Whitehead and Diemidio met by chance in the Philadelphia airport on their way to Ole Miss orientation this summer and have become close friends. Submitted photo