'Peach Bowl Girl' speaks with Fox News Digital about her viral fame
Catherine Gurd, known to millions of ESPN viewers as "Peach Bowl Girl," spoke with Fox News Digital about what she plans to do with her newfound viral fame.
When 19-year-old Catherine Gurd attended the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on New Year's Eve, she was simply supporting her brother, who was playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Little did she know that by the end of the game, she would be known to millions as "Peach Bowl Girl."
"I was like, ‘Wow, what is happening?’" Gurd said of her the newfound viral fame in an interview with Fox News Digital on Friday.
Gurd, a freshman at Xavier University studying biomedical sciences, first found out she had gone viral after she was tagged by her friends on TikTok who had spotted a post of her being circulated.
"Someone find me this girl from Ohio State," the TikTok post read.
Catherine Gurd, better known as "Peach Bowl Girl," went viral during ESPN's broadcast of the Chik-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31, 2022. (Screenshot/ESPN)
The TikTok video, which has garnered nearly 4 million views, was flooded with flattering comments, many like "Those are them heartbreaker blue Eyes" and "Look at those eyes! She is a doll."
In the last moments of the game, which resulted in 42-41 victory by the Georgia Bulldogs, ESPN cut away to Gurd's face in the stands. Over 22 million viewers tuned in for the nail-biting game.
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"That night at the bowl game when we lost, I got so many texts saying I was on TV like, ‘This is awesome' and I had no idea. And the next morning like, this TikTok video blew up about me, and I was just so confused as to why," Gurd said. "I didn't think that being on TV for a quick three seconds would put me in this position."
Gurd found her "Peach Bowl Girl" nickname to be "pretty funny" and that her newfound viral fame has been a "complete shock." She told Fox News her family at first "didn't know how to react to it" but now they're "enjoying" the moment, saying it could be a "good opportunity for me."
Catherine Gurd, also known as "Peach Bowl Girl," cheers with her family for her brother Patrick Gurd, a tight end for the Ohio State Buckeyes. (Photo courtesy of the Gurd family)
The TikTok sensation alluded to "opportunities" she may pursue given her new status in the digital world "hoping to do some good out of this" including "promoting brands that align with what I like" and as a college athlete, she can promote women's sports.
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"Being a STEM major, I just believe that promoting women in sports and telling others you can do any major you want, and it is possible. And showing them what a day in my life is as a college athlete or like what we go through and stuff like that. I think that would be a really good platform for younger women or younger girls to see that," Gurd said as a player of Xavier University's inaugural women's lacrosse team.
Catherine Gurd is a college athlete playing for Xavier University's women's lacrosse team. (Photo courtesy of the Gurd family)
Recalling how she felt during that brief ESPN cutaway, Gurd described herself as being "very anxious" since it took place in the final seconds of the Peach Bowl game as she watched her brother, Ohio State junior and Buckeyes tight end Patrick Gurd.
"I was just praying to God that we would make the kick in that moment," Gurd said of the final seconds before the Buckeyes' defeat. "It's just heartbreaking to see your sibling go through that and how much they worked for it."
Catherine Gurd with her sister and brother Patrick Gurd, a tight end for the Ohio State Buckeyes. (Photo courtesy of the Gurd family)
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Before she became "Peach Bowl Girl," Gurd estimated that she had "maybe 300" TikTok followers and "around 2,000" Instagram followers. Now, she has over 170,000 followers on TikTok and over 50,000 followers on Instagram.
Her message to her new fans: "Thank you all for all of your support and for liking my content."
Gurd told Fox News Digital her plan after finishing school is to become a veterinarian.
Fox News' Christopher Lopez and Andrew Kugle contributed to this report.
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