I love local news. Why? It's just obviously most news is kind of gone like this. It's just toxic. And I feel like local news is still somewhat pure. Local news has not been nice to you for five years. That's OK That's OK Why do you like us? I don't. I just. I don't know. When I watch it, I just feel like I'm at least getting some some good quality news instead of just trying to incite people. Bless you Kirk Cousins, they say you were a nice guy. So when you come to Minnesota
five years ago, did you feel like the
state welcomed you? I would say there were
high expectations because the team have
been so good
in 2017, you know, and they were basicaly a quarterback away from winninge Super Bowl was the thought procs and it was why I wanted to be h. I want to be a part of
a great football team. And then when we go
basically
500 the first year and missed
the playoffs,
I mean, that was a tough start
and so I was welcomed. But then when you don't meet those expectations, you know, it kind of sets you back and you kind of find yourself trying to work back from that. People said you paid him too much. He's not worth it. He's not a top tier quarterback. He's middle of the road. Doesn't that hurt? I think they don't
say it to
my face. So I was pretty ignorant to it . I don't go looking for, I don't go reading it. So I always felt pretty insulat. And you also understand what you signed up for, you know, you understand when you
sign the contract, when you come here to a
great football team, a great organization with
a lot of history, there's going to be expectation. There's going to be, you know, people who are going to always want more from you. And as long as it doesn't catch you by surprise, I think it's it's okay. Did you ever want to do anything besides football? Absolutely. I I feel like I'm living a dream. Certainly. I mean, I football
was was so
much my dream that I thought
it was impossible. I figured, you know, yeah, I'd love to play Pro Football, but I also would love
to win the lottery. It's not going to happen. I I knew the odds. And so every day I drive into work and you look around and you realize you're still living a d. I mean, that's pretty special. But there's no doubt
I have other dreams. I I I love learning about busin. I think when I'm done playing, I'll get pretty involved
in investing and in business and see
what's out there. And I'm gonna enjoy being a dad, you know? I think when I'm retired
I'll be
a full time dad and I think
that'll be
fun too. You strike me as the dad type. , I think you picked up
on that correctly. I probably tried at times to not give off that vibe, but sometimes you can't help it. You just are what you are and you're not hiding it. Serious dad vibes. Serious dad vibes. You still drive a van, or was that all made-up? I I still own a van. It's not my daily driver. But you better believe I plan to always have a conversion van ine garage as an option in the rota. So because they're comfortable, you sit high. You can, you can be just
yourself driving, you can have, you know, your kids and all their friends. You got TV, it's just comfortab. So I don't sounds like you haven't ever been in one. I mean I mean a conversion van to somey who grew up in the
80s is like that's some highfalutin stuff. That's a rich case. Well, well, honestly, I mean when I bought
the one that's I think it's a 2022 when I bought, I thought this is this is the top of the top. I mean we it doesn't get any better than thi, right? Like I don't know who's messing with that kind of stuff. Yeah. Do you think that you are the Rodney Dangerfield of the N? I'd have to have a little
more context as to it's an older reference. While I am a dad at heart, I'm . Don't get no respect. Thank you. I now know what you're referrin. I have always been in my story, going back to high school, a little bit underrated, a little bit overlooked. And even though I got the collee scholarship and then got to plan college and then got
drafted and
then got to play in the pros and
on and on
and on, that has sort of always followe. And I don't know if
it's the dad vibes. I don't know if it's just that I'm kind of an old soul. I kind of like to keep, you know, under the radar. I don't know. I don't know what it is, But there will always
be some of that. And again, as long as you're not
surprised
by it, you kind of know that's
part of your journey. It's it's all good with me. Does it ever make you mad? You work so hard. We all got to see that in the documentary. You work maybe too hard, right? And you just have this
kind of monkey on your back of he's not really worth it. Yeah, I think winning will
always trump that. So for me, I say, hey, if we win football games, it doesn't really matter
what people say. And I think that's kind of wher, you like that catch phrase back in my days in Washington, DC started was sort of having tt same approach and having a big win and then being able to say, hey, you may not like me, you may not want to see me succ. But if you're a fan of this tea, you like that. And so there's a little bit of . You like that explain.
Yeah. Oh yeah. Do you say it around the house? I do. I'll say it around
the, you know, we'll hit a play and practice. I'll say it, I'll hear
it a lot
when I get sacked that I get
hit in the game. That's kind of the trash talk I'll get as a defensive lineman, saying you like that as they run over to the sidelines. So not this house, the one you share with your family. So. So at my house, not too muc, but I'm, I'm ready for my. My kids are starting to get pre, pretty smart, pretty cunning. And I could see them using it at some point, you know, wrestling on the floor and, you know, they win. And then they'll probably say it like you make a scrambled egg and you're like, you like that. Yeah. I haven't used it in that setting and my wife hasn't really used it in that setting. But it's always there. It's nice to know it'll
always be there. You put on your dad's shirt andu say to Julie, you like that, Put on the button up. Yeah. Tuck it in with a braided belt and a phone clip. Socks and sandals. The whole 9 yards. Yeah, I thought about this. Oh, yeah. That's really gone quite that far yet. That's your dream outfit. Yeah, right. That's what. The mountaintop. Yeah. I hope you get
there. Super Bowl, Super Bowl and then maybe
post Super Bowl press conference, that
outfit win. Win. Does she really pick out your clothes or was that? She absolutely does. I mean, what wife doesn't help their husbands with their appearance? I don't know. I have a wife. There's an occasional husband who probably
has an eye
for it. But I know for me, you know, I just assumed that most spouses would be like, hey, you know, don't leave the house with that on or wear this. And she's almost batting 1000. But that one game, that one out, she'll never live it down. How'd you get her to
go out with you? It's a great question. We were set up. So
it's a long story. I don't know how much time we h, but I would just say
it at a high level. We had a family friend who knew both of our families, but our families didn't
know each other. And this mutual friend
said they got
to meet, got to set him up, and that's the rest is history. How old were you? I was 23 and my wife was 22. So we started dating long distae because I was in Washington, DC She was in Atlanta,
where she
grew up. And then we dated for
a year and
a half, got engaged on the Capitol in D, and then got married about two years after we met. Nice. One of my coworkers said, hey, before you go, Kirk Cousins
is too clean. He's got to have a freak
flag somewhere. What is it? Do you have
an Is there anything weird about you or
weird that
you do? Do you have? Is there
any part
of you that's weird or is
it all just basic? Well, going back with the dad t, I am an old soul, and my mom wod tell me this when I
was 12 years old. Kirk, you're 12. Going on 75. I kind of wonder if it's
gonna be a Benjamin Button thing where I
like reverse age. And when I'm 75, you'll see me at the
clubs in the city. Maybe. I don't know. We'll see. But you know, I I love history. I love you know, I'll turn on P. I'll watch local news like that's just who I am. That's the way I I go
about my business. And that is not normal for an NFL locker room. But as I get older, I'm starting to fit in
with that demographic. More like it. It was really weird when I was . Now at 35, it's fitting in more. But at like 70, I think I'll really, really have reached the
the mountaintop, if you will. You're going to peak at 70. Exactly. This isn't it. No, this is not it. This is a stepping stone to whee I want to be as an old soul. I can't wait. Is that from? I wano ask you about the Extreme
Tenors. Yes, please do. That's also something pretty unique about me. Yeah, so I grew up enjoying mus. Most people do, but my mom put us in musicals. So when I was 5678, I would in the summer,
like the local town musical that came to town. We would be like the
backup kid singers in it with my brother and my si. Like it was just the thing we d. And you don't know any
different as
a kid, right? So I just had an apprecin for Broadway music for, you kno, more of the stuff that
isn't mainstream. And so I was in high school cho, loved it was tried out for the little swing choir that in mosth schools is not very cool to do. But I did it and had a blast. And so yeah, our tenor section in
the choir,
you know, we our voices hadn't dropped ye. We we weren't the big strong guys in the in the school. So we were the tenors and we kid of tried to lean into that and e call ourselves the Extreme Teno. Like every time you do that, it's all coming together for you. The picture is really
clarifying. Now I get it. I get why, like all te people that I've talked
to were like, that guy drives me nuts. I don't like him. And then they watched this documentary and they're like ok. I kind of like him in
this strange
way. But he's still who he is. Yeah, you sing. Still I. So here's what's funny. My voice is getting worse every year because of playing footbal. I'm constantly screaming at the line of scrimmage. I'm Mike's 55, Ringo Lucky, you know, yelling at guys callig to play in the huddle on the ro. So every year I'll get in the c, you know, in the offseason and e singing a tune and
I'll be like can't quite reach those notes anymore. So. But I'm getting older, righ. That's part of the deal. What's your singing?
The shower
song. So some of my favorite artists would be Switchfoot, Matt Carne, Ben Rector, One Republic. I don't know what that genre is, but it's. It's my favorite. Proy don't. I don't know what any of those people are. So you can look them up, but those would be probably my o And then obviously Broadway tun. Yeah, yeah. Give it to me. Like, I'm retired from singing
now. I mean, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like, what are your tunes? Oh, so favorite musicals
would be like Joseph and the Amazing Technicor Dreamcoat Lion King's Good Man. There's so many. I'm trying to k I love Jersey Boys love Wicked. I can go on and on. Are you gonna put your kids in musicals? Like, what a great question. So when I'm retired, I joke that I'll be back in the musicals in town as a backgroun, doing a box step and people in e crowd be like, I think
that's cousins, but I'm not like, you
shouldn't
be here. You're gonna be at the Chan Hapnan Music Theater. Yep. So. But not in the not in the
seats watching, No. Yeah, I'll be doing the box steps in the background anyways. I probably will try to expose hm to a lot of kinds of music and then kind of see what they like, what they gravitate towards, and if they have interest you. Absolutely, absolutely. I'll put them in some musicals. So my stepdad used to say about, I'm a Virgo and like a triple V. So I'm about 20 minutes early to everything I demand. I'm very demanding. I think my coworkers would say. I work hard. I like work a lot. My stepdad used to say to me, J, you're wound tighter than banjo. When I watch you in
this documentary, especially drawing the plays, K, you are wound tighter than a ba. Well, we're kindred spirits. I don't know any other way to b, and if I were to get
done with my career, I feel peace knowing I gave it everything I had. But if I get done and I felt like I left something out there, it's hard for me to be at peace. It's hard for me to move
forward knowing that I knew there was more to dd for whatever reason I didn't do. It's hard for me to
live with
that. So do you feel like you're
wound a little too tight that you need to
let some things go? I will always. I think there's a double edged sword right or or it's a it's a balance right. So many times your greatest strength is your weakness. And so you just have to always keep that in balance. Understand what's gotten me hers having those traits and and alws trying to find the inches
and 1% better that can come with being wound o tight or pushing yourself too h. And so that's where I take Tuesy off every week because I say this is a great way to reset and recognize that I'm going to puso hard if I don't take Tuesday of. So having that self-awareness, that's where a spouse can be a great check and balance, you kn, to say hey, let's let's
course correct. And so that's been a big help. Speaking of your spouse, I have one too and I have a kid. The things that people, some people say about
me on the Internet hurt them more than it hurts me. Is it hard when people
say things about you to think that your
wife hears that or your kids are going to hear ? Sure. It actually started
in preschool last year because the
Packers Vikings rivalry and we'll put drop our s off at school and a kid who's a Packers fan at the preschool say something to my boys
and I don't know I think it's part of the territ. You kind of understand it and ad you take the good with the bad and it doesn't bother me too mu. I think first of all don't
go looking
for it. It's not going to brighten my day to go looking for it. So, but inevitably it's
it's going
to come. Whether it's preschool or you k, whatever it's going to, it's going to come your way. And I think you just give people grace and you understand they're entitled to their opinion. And you know, it's my job to go out and
do the best
I can. And again, then I can be a piece if I give everything I had. If the result wasn't what I wan, I can at least be at peace
with my effort. But it'll be a great, it'll be a great opportunity for boys to grow and to be stretche. If that were to be a
challenge they face, I'd say bring it on in a way, because I think it's it'll be gd for them to have some adversity. Do you want them to play footba? I do and I don't. I think if they enjoy football I I want them to be around the ga. I want them to enjoy the game, but I I definitely want to place them or encourage them to go towards what they have a passion for and if that's football, gre. I think that will bring
some added pressures. If it's tennis, if it's musical, I would say let's do that too ad you better believe me as dad, I'm going to throw myself wholeheartedly into their tennis career or their musical career. I think that's my job is to tran them up in the way they should , not the way Dad wants them to g. So whatever that may be, I'm going to throw my full way to support behind them. My last question is you worked really hard to get here. That's very evident. But no matter how hard
a person works, there were people along the way that helped them. If you could say thank you to one person in the world that helped you become who you've become today, who is that? My parents is where
it starts and ends. And certainly my wife
and I can go
on and on my siblings and coaches
and you know, the list goes on and on becauset does take a village to get somee to to this level of football. But it starts sends to my parens and so much of my football joury is long before I even met my wi. You know, the the youth sports, the high school, the college. I mean those are the steps that get you to where you are now. And there were a lot of phone cs to my parents after tough pract, tough games, you know, days where I didn't think
I could keep going. And they kind of help
get you back up on the horse and and
get you, you know, going to the next step
in the journey. So did you ever cry? Oh yeah. Cried After I remember my last high school game, we were on the bus to the game and I said to a, a junior who it wasn't going to be his last game. I said, hey, if people cry, you know, be okay with that. And if we were to lose this gam, don't be, don't don't
make fun
of us. But I said I won't cry. But if people cry, sure enough, after the game ended, just tears like crazy. It just reminded me how much football meant to me, and not so much because of the game of football, because of the vehicle it was f, the relationships, the memories and those experiens that are that are priceless. And thankfully I'm still playing and enjoying this game. But I wouldn't be surprised
if my last game as a Pro is also
a lot of tears. Any movies make you cry? Yeah, yeah, good sports movie can get me. Rudy's one of my all time favor. And you know that just
that hits right here, his journey and his story. So yeah, absolutely. Movies can give me a cry. Breaking the news comes on every night at 6:30 on Care 11. Do you watch that show? I don't watch Breaking the News unless I happen to be turning i. But I don't have a set
routine to
watch TV. But you want to. Oh,
yeah, you wanna. I love. I love local news. So whether it's five, 530-6630. If it's on and I'm available, I'm in. My lazy boy right there. I just think 630 is a good stock for you. 630. Yeah. And because I'm wound so tight, I'll pencil you in. We'll make sure you see that. Have you ever said a curse word? Oh, yeah, you have. Oh, yeah. You've said a swear word. We had to edit a couple out of the Netflix doc. Have you ever said a swear word when you're not playing footbal? Yes. Oh, yeah. Are you cool? You'd have to ask my teammates. I think I have. I think
I have nerd swag. What the F is nerd swag. I think it's exactly what you think it . I don't think nerd swag. What is nerd swag? I'm just going to leave that there and I'll let you decide what it is.
