37 facts about Kirk Cousins
A while back Kirk Cousins joined 10,000 Takes giving us a chance to learn more about a guy everyone on Twitter loves to talk about. Whether you love him as much as a fella named Joe or want him gone as much as a fella named Phil, there’s no harm in learning more about the guy. For the record, I’m team KC8 but that’s irrelevant.
Full interview here: https://linktr.ee/Itsabit
So here’s my list of the 37 facts about Kirk Cousins I learned from the interview. And if you’re big into lists, and particularly lists of 37, I have good news for you.
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1. He has thought about playing into his 40s.
The Tom Brady effect is real and has caused many athletes to reimagine what their playing career could look like. Brady may be the first quarterback to play well into his forties but I have no belief that he will be the last. Cousins says he has certainly considered playing longer but his first goal is to ensure his health. He says on one hand he’s thought about it but also mentions that one year of football really is a lot.
2. We might get a musical album from him AND a verse on a rap song.
Do we remember when we unearthed the video of Kirk singing Pretty Woman? And then another video of him singing Blink 182 songs? Obviously, Kirk can do more than throw dimes to Justin Jefferson, that boy can sing! But the problem is he’s currently retired from singing…..for now.
You see Cousins has also promised a full album release if the Minnesota Vikings win a Super Bowl.
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!!!!!
He has also agreed to do a verse on the mildly popular “Thicc Boi Summer” which has been downloaded dozens of times across all platforms. And though that may be the case now, you know for a fact you’ll be downloading any rap song that Kirk Cousins is on.
37 facts about Kirk Cousins
3. The team sometimes calls him Kirko Bangz
In reference to the rapper, the team will sometimes reference Kirk as Kirko Bangz. Seems fitting to me.
4. He’s a big fan of Jake’s Kirk Cousins impersonation.
The one thing 10K can offer Kirk Cousins that nobody else can is the chance to speak to himself. Having our own Kirk Cousins comes in handy and it has not gone unnoticed by the Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins. He was surprised it took Jake two years to start doing his Kirk Cousins bit based on how similarly he thinks they look.
Cousins talked about how Brian O’Neill saw Jake’s “I am Kirk Cousins” sign on the jumbotron and the team found it rather funny.
5. He likes to talk without saying anything.
The media jackals know this is the case and it’s an art form. Being able to talk for a long time without giving away any information is harder than you’d think. I mean, imagine just being able to ramble on without ever getting to the point? You know, somebody asks you a question and instead of giving a direct answer, you just fill it in with so many words that they forgot what they even asked. Honestly, I think it’s a great skill to have.
Think about it–he gets asked questions all the time and most of them are the same question over and over again so he’s figured out how to just keep talking until he’s out of time on the Q and A and he can bounce. It’s impressive that he’s able to do that. I guess what I’m trying to say is getting people to pay attention to you while you literally are giving them nothing to pay attention to is a good skill.
6. His wife prefers him with a beard.
And I mean, I don’t really blame her. I have some major beard envy when it comes to Kirk Cousins. I grow a beard to cover up how fat I’ve become, Kirk rocks a beard just to be more handsome. It’s just one of about 231 million reasons I’m jealous of the guy.
7. He loves the God Bless tagline.
Another tagline Jake used in all his videos has been “God Bless Kirk Cousins” and it’s caught on rather well. God Bless Kirk Cousins started out as a clapback against some random guy named Bob but has grown to a full-on bit. And if you ask me, we need t-shirts…
8. He thinks Paul Allen (PA) looks like Michael McDonald.
Does the voice of the Vikings look like the voice of the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan? I can totally see it, though Michael McDonald is gonna need to work on his eyebrow game.
9. The #LetsFrickinGo was an inside joke and yes it had to do with Tom Brady.
We all remember the tweet. Some thought it was corny, some thought it was funny–but we all knew it was on brand. Cousins has been pretty open about the fact that he doesn’t really swear. I absolutely cannot relate to this, as I grew up in a house where the F-bomb was as common as breakfast cereal but I can respect it.
Plus now it’s an actual T-shirt thanks to our friends at SotaStick and we can all get behind that.
Buy one here: https://sotastickco.com/products/lets-frickin-go-t-shirt
10. YOU LIKE THAT! also started as an inside joke.
October 25, 2015, is a day that changed Kirk Cousins’ career forever. He stormed Washington back from being down 24-0 to beat the Bucs 31-30… and while walking into the locker room post-game dropped the now infamous ‘YOU LIKE THAT? YOU LIKE THAT?’ line that has followed him ever since. But even though it was yelled from pure emotion, it was born from an inside joke.
During his first two years in the NFL, Cousins was roommates with Tom Compton and one of the bits they would do is pointing at things and expressing how much the other person loves or likes that item. He used pizza as his example, saying Compton would walk in with a pizza and he would say “you LOVE pizza…!”
It eventually became a habit and started to bleed out into practice and playing. When he did it in the tunnel after the Bucs game, it came from pure emotion.
11. He thinks Dalvin Cook is the funniest Minnesota Viking.
Though many people on the team are funny and have their own quirks, he says Dalvin is an elite-level trash talker and it’s hysterical.
12. Sooooooometimes Adam Thielen goofs around a little too much (but not really).
Thielen likes to joke during walkthroughs and chat with the DBs a little bit more than Kirk always enjoys. Though it’s lighthearted, Cousins explains that he can be a little bit OCD on wanting to get some plays run and Thielen is just trying to have a good time.
13. The nickname The Big KOC makes him laugh.
Kevin O’Connell’s nickname is The Big KOC and Cousins has shown his appreciation for the nickname but is also very excited for him as a head coach. He’s excited about the staff that O’Connell has brought in and feels good about what’s to come.
14. Much like everyone else, he’s currently jamming out to the Encanto soundtrack.
We don’t talk about Bruno Green Bay. Cousins spends a lot of time listening to Disney music in his truck with his kiddos. He says his kids know all the songs and is excited to keep showing his kids the Disney movies and songs he grew up with.
15. Lord of the Rings is his jam.
He likes Star Wars as well but will pick Lord of the Rings every time. The extended edition AND director’s cut he’s watched many times. Knowing how much Cousins likes Lord of the Rings, I wonder how he feels about the groomsman gifts I bought for my wedding…
16. We might see Jake fill in for Kirk when Kirk is busy.
Based on the fact that even Kirk Cousins thinks Jake looks like him, he proposed that maybe when he’s in Florida with his kids or Kirk just isn’t feeling like dealing with the media that day, Jake just fills in. KFAN has actually done this already using Jake as Kirk so who knows, maybe we’ll see more of it.
37 facts about Kirk Cousins
17. He loves his Minnesota nice neighbors.
Cousins says his neighbors are unbelievable. They help shovel his driveway, their kids play together, and they’ll make meals for him when his wife leaves town. I’m glad his neighbors are nice to him and I hope that offsets how mean people on Twitter can be are.
18. We might get to see a new touchdown dance this year.
We’ve seen Cousins do his dead arm dance which was an inside joke was Adam Thielen. Then we saw Cousins do the Griddy, which we know is Justin Jefferson’s jam. Apparently Irv Smith also has a dance for Cousins to check out and his injury last year robbed us from getting to see it.
With Irv back on the field, more Cousins dance moves are on the way and for that, we should all celebrate.
19. He’s maaaaaybe not the first person you should take on your Vegas trip.
There’s nobody in the world I would rather crush a Pizza Ranch buffet with, and I love watching him play quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings–but he may not be your best choice for travel partners if heading to Sin City.
He talks about how enjoyable Flyover Las Vegas is and eating at the Capital Grille. And listen, there’s nothing wrong with either of those places but this is Las Vegas. You’re talking about one of the premier food destinations in the world and our guy is eating at a chain restaurant, where there’s also a location IN MINNESOTA, and going to do Flyover experience that is also available IN MINNESOTA. (okay, technically flyover Vegas isn’t available at the MOA location yet so he has a point there. And the Flyover America experience at MOA is really pretty frickin’ cool).
But if Kirk Cousins is anything, it’s true to his brand and that’s very much on brand. God Bless Kirk Cousins.
37 facts about Kirk Cousins
20. Winning the playoff game in New Orleans is his favorite moment in the NFL… SO FAR.
Cousins talks about how nobody gave the Vikings a chance to win that game against the Saints and how the Super Dome on that day was the loudest stadium he had ever played in. He’s excited for future opportunities to make better memories but holds that game close.
37 facts about Kirk Cousins
21. Crowd noise can in fact be confusing at times.
The thing to realize here is oftentimes Kirk is probably reviewing film, talking with coaches, or working with his offense when the defense is on the field so crowd noise can be a pretty big indicator of what’s happening. But when you’re on the road–or at home during Packers games, the crowd noise can be a bit confusing.
22. He’s always impressed by how well Vikings fans travel.
Cousins says one of the great things about playing for the Vikings is just how well the fanbase travels. He says he knows from playing at US Bank Stadium and how little other fan bases travel so when they arrive at places like Arizona, Los Angeles, and even Florida to play Tampa he’s shocked that 25% of the stadium is Vikings fans.
23. Pizza Ranch REALLY IS his favorite pizza spot.
This seems like it’s a joke but Kirk Cousins is fully sincere with his love for Pizza Ranch. He was very sad during COVID when it was shut down for a while but really explains that Pizza Ranch is deeply rooted in his upbringing. When he would visit his grandparents in Iowa they would hit up Pizza Ranch, after high school games he would get Pizza Ranch, and he was very excited when he signed in Minnesota they had Pizza Ranch.
24. And the dessert pizza at Pizza Ranch is his favorite option.
The cactus bread is the correct answer here. Cousins says the fried chicken is great and he’s been known to dip in the soup and salad as well–but the dessert pizza is #1.
25. Cherry Cola is his drink of choice.
In Jake’s videos pretending to be Cousins, he often says he’s going to drink some milk. But the truth is Cherry Cola is the choice drink for Kirk Cousins.
37 facts about Kirk Cousins
26. If he’s at a bar, he’s ordering a Roy Rodgers.
Now this part of the interview was a little unclear because a true Roy Rodgers doesn’t have any alcohol in it. So whether Kirk does throwback some boozy drinks is absolutely his choice, but if you’re unfamiliar with the beverage it’s still a cherry cola but made the old-fashioned way. Cola and grenadine with a cherry. Cherry Coke is already great but made this way and it really a tasty beverage. That being said, I’m not sure how much I like Cousins liking anything called Rodgers.
37 facts about Kirk Cousins
27. He was a three-sport athlete in high school.
Cousins attended Holland Christian High School and he covered all the bases. A third basemen and pitcher for their baseball team, a basketball star, and most notably the starting QB for the Holland Christian High School Maroons. Frick.
28. He’s picking St. Paul over Minneapolis.
He lives in Inver Grove and calls himself an east-sider, so he’s riding with the eastside. Don’t worry, he still has plenty of love for Minneapolis.
29. Remember the Titans is his favorite sports movie.
Cousins talks about Miracle and Rudy also being great but the quotability of Remember the Titans is unmatched. Cousins says he routinely quotes that movie.
30. He wouldn’t take a trip to Cleveland even if it were FREE.
It seemed like Cousins thought about being polite in his answer because he just dropped a hard “no.” And he’s correct.
He references the Cleveland Tourism Video as just another reason why Cleveland isn’t worth going to, even for free. Cousins’ rookie symposium just happened to be in Cleveland during his year and though he was happy to see the Pro Football Hall of Fame (which, to be clear, is located in Canton, one hour south), he didn’t seem excited about much else.
31. He’s willing to accept pineapple on his pizza but it isn’t his favorite.
Fair. There’s not much more to add to this. I mean, pineapple does not belong on pizza at all but I’m also not in commercials for a pizza place so my opinion doesn’t much matter.
32. He believes in ghosts over aliens (if he had to pick just one).
Maybe these are the ghosts that haunt all Minnesota Vikings fans and have cursed all of Minnesota sports. It’s either that or the fact that, allegedly, the alleged Zodiac Killer was allegedly a Vikings fan. Who knows.
33. He thought Paul Walker would have made a good choice to play him in a movie. Now maybe Tom Holland… or, y’know, Jake.
Unfortunately, Paul Walker can’t play Kirk Cousins in the upcoming movie about how Cousins led the Minnesota Vikings to multiple Super Bowl victories but he’s fine with either Tom Holland or Jake taking that role instead.
34. The close games drove him crazy last season but he’s optimistic because of it.
Cousins felt the pain of the Minnesota Vikings fanbase last season with how many games were lost right at the end. But he also took it as a reason to be optimistic. He did not go as far as Christian Ponder to say things are easily correctable, but he did imply that you can build off of them. The Vikings were able to compete with anyone, it’s just finishing the job that didn’t always go as planned. Let’s hope they can right that ship.
35. His 8 Iron is the best club in his golf bag.
He said his driver is getting pretty good and would pick it second but I’m pretty sure he just picked his 8 iron because he’s #8.
36. He wants to do more stuff with 10K.
Maybe we’ll see more 10K and Kirk Cousins during training camp or other chances throughout the season. Cousins specifically requested that we do a mid-game sideline interview piece where we absolutely destroy him. Challenge accepted.
37. Honestly Kirk Cousins seems like a good dude.
Few topics in Minnesota are more heated than the topic of one Kirk Cousins. It really boils down to Vikings fans wanting to win and their take on how that can happen–but we tend to forget that athletes are also people.
Throughout Cousins’ time in Minnesota, we’ve only been shown glimpses of his personality but never all of it. It feels like the guard is starting to come down a bit and we’re seeing more of who Kirk Cousins is.
He can take a joke, he seems genuine, and he cares deeply about his family. Cousins seems down to earth, which is often not the case with people who make literally hundreds of millions of dollars. I am a fan of Kirk Cousins the quarterback but I’m also a fan of Kirk Cousins the person.
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