Eddie McGuire reflects on son Joe's national championship title for Ohio State

Ohio State punter Joe McGuire has become the third Australian to win a College Football Championship title following the Buckeyes’ 34-23 over Notre Dame on Tuesday.

McGuire was only required to punt the ball once as Ohio State claimed their ninth national title and their first since 2014 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Joe, 24, is the son of former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire who told SEN it is one of the proudest moments for the family.

“The less I saw of Joe on the field meant that he was going to get closer to being a champion,” McGuire said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“The week before, he had to kick six times in what was a really tight game and he did it really well.

“I said all during the lead-up, if his only job was to hold the ball to kick conversions then that's fine by me.

“There’s no ‘i’ in team but there is an ‘i’ in champion and he’s in (the history books) now.

“No one will ever talk about how many punts he had but when he did get his chance, Joe absolutely kicked the cover off it which is great.

“He’s got an Ohio State national championship ring on its way which will be on his finger for the rest of his life.

“It’s just amazing. You can learn this new skill and the world will open up for you.”

77,660 fans attended the event including notable celebrities such as LeBron James, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith and rapper Travis Scott who performed at half-time.

Eddie McGuire said Australian sporting leagues could learn from the College Football model of how to bring back fierce rivalries and incite more passion amongst supporters.

“What I took from the game is that in all of our sports in Australia, we have to get that tribalism back into the game,” McGuire added.

“We’ve got to let the tribalism and individuality of all our clubs shine through.

“You had the fighting Irish of Notre Dame whose band were sensational. Their songs and chants were really great.

“There was no lull in the crowd. They were up and going all the time.

“There were many Notre Dame fans scattered in our area as were Ohio State fans on the other side of the ground.

“It was all fun. There was great passion and it was a great result for us.”