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The NFL Player That You Can NOT Hate
We’ve all been there. The person that you never thought would make a good point just did something so incredible, you’re questioning if YOU are the bad guy.
It all started in 2012.
A player drafted to a team that had no business drafting him.
By an owner that everyone hated.
Honestly, he was an afterthought. Maybe just a joke or a trivia answer in the future.
He’d probably fizzle out of the league in no time.
But then… the Shanahan’s ruined RGIII’s career and here he comes.
He got that first win and that’s when it happened.
A man that looked like mayo was too spicy for him entered the tunnel and said THAT phrase.
You know which one I’m talking about. Don’t make me say it.
“YOU LIKE THAT?!”
Unbelievable. I really said it….
To be honest, Kirk Cousins felt like that player that didn’t deserve to be a starting QB in my eyes. He’d have positive moments in the league, but whenever he threw a late-game interception I smiled from validation.
But why? Like most NFL fans, I viewed Kirk Cousins’ success as a constant reminder of what the Shanahans took from us: Robert Griffin III’s career.
Something changed, but it wasn’t Kirk.
It’s 2023 and I’m catching a flight to Los Angeles.
I’m scanning my Netflix queue and Quarterback by Netflix shows up.
Patrick Mahomes? BIG fan.
Marcus Mariota? LOVED watching him play at Oregon.
I wonder who the last QB is?
Kirk….. Cousins? WHY?!
Despite Netflix’s clear inability to make a decision, I pressed play on the show before my flight took off. By the time we hit 30,000 feet in the sky… I was questioning everything.
Every time they’d show a sequence featuring Cousins, I realized I was smiling.
Not only that, I realized that I was CHEERING for this man.
Okay, so he’s a great teammate. He can’t be that great off the field, right?
…. right?
RIGHT?!?
As a father of two, I realized that Kirk Cousins has the same parental values that I try and focus on. Here’s a man that just threw an interception in a critical moment of a game, has to talk about it to reporters & has fans screaming at him, and yet he’s able to go home and just…. be a great dad? How dare he!
As the series goes on, the sense of Kirk Cousins’ values, honesty and ability to be a great teammate really shined. You’re seeing a man go through issues throughout the season, plenty of which he caused, but taking accountability and pushing through pain non-stop.
The car road home with Cousins and his wife is so unbelievably relatable that I found myself saying something that I never thought I’d say….
“I hope Kirk Cousins wins a Super Bowl.”
Who am I?
How did I get here?
Is this part of the Kirk Cousins media agenda to convert me to a fan?
I’m here to tell you to let the hate go.
Kirk didn’t rob NFL fans of Robert Griffin III.
Mike Shanahan did. Daniel Snyder did. The field in FedEx field did.
But Kirk Cousins? He’s been absolved of his perceived football sins.
“YOU LIKE THAT?!”
Yeah, Kirk, we do.
That’s a wrap
Thank you for reading this edition of Maybe Next Year. We hope you enjoyed this story about Kirk Cousins.
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