Kirk Cousins is a member of the Atlanta Falcons now, leaving Minnesota Vikings fans with complicated feelings about a quarterback who split the fanbase. Kirk was polarizing, with his big-money contract and lone playoff win in seven years. The merits of statistical success vs. viably competing for a Super Bowl victory remained a massive talking point throughout his tenure.
While we knew this day would come, seeing another fanbase embrace Cousins’ corny dad persona has been a little weird. The feeling is somewhat reminiscent of watching an ex start up a new relationship with someone else. Despite how well things might have ended or how both parties said it was just time to move on, some feelings linger.
However, this seems to be one of the more messy breakups. Despite both parties saying that they are excited about the future and the direction they are going, some things still don’t add up.
Cousins said he wanted to retire in Minnesota, which had become home for his family. Head coach Kevin O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said they wanted Kirk back in purple and gold next season.
Ultimately, neither group is at fault for protecting their interests and doing what they did. Watching Cousins don his now iconic chains and Atlanta’s social media team flood everyone’s timeline with Kohl’s Cash memes has made Vikings fans feel like they’re watching an ex post Instagram reels about how happy they are in a new relationship.
Olivia Rodrigo just left town after performing on the “GUTS” tour. As it happens, her songs “Deja Vu” and “Happier” apply to the way Vikings fans feel about Cousins.
Why am I referencing Olivia Rodrigo in a Cousins article? A lot of the music from her first album, Sour, is weirdly relevant to this current situation. Many of the songs on this album explore her feelings after watching her ex get into a public relationship with someone he deems to be better after breaking her heart.
Happier
In this song, a jealous Rodrigo ruminates over her lover’s new relationship. Despite these feelings, she hopes her ex is happy — just not happier than they were together.
Many Vikings fans have expressed a similar emotion, wishing Cousins success in Atlanta but hoping he does not reach the same heights as he did in Minnesota.
Rodrigo sings:
You’ve moved on, found someone new
One more girl who brings out the better in you
Cousins moved on, finding a new team in the Falcons, and talked about how they will get the best out of him.
Rodrigo continues:
And do you tell her she’s the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen?
An eternal love bullshit you know you’ll never mean
Remember when I believed you meant it when you said it first to me?
Sound like anyone you know professing their desire to retire in Minnesota, then making the same claim to Atlanta?
Cue Rodrigo:
I hope you’re happy
Just not like how you were with me
I’m selfish, I know, can’t let you go
So find someone great, but don’t find no one better
I hope you’re happy, but don’t be happier
Deja Vu
In “Deja Vu,” Rodrigo sings about watching her ex and their new partner doing things that were once special between them, something Vikings fans have already dealt with early in Kirk Cousins’ reign in Atlanta.
It didn’t matter if you loved Cousins or couldn’t stand him, there was something inherently funny about the “Kirko Chainz” and the Kohl Cash memes from his tenure in Minnesota. Both jokes started from Vikings fans, and watching the Falcons’ social media team and the national media repeat the punchline has been annoying, at minimum.
Rodrigo sings about something similar:
So when you gonna tell her
That we did that, too?
She thinks it’s special
But it’s all reused
That was our place, I found it first
I made the jokes you tell to her when she’s with you
She rhetorically asks her ex if they experienced deja vu from when their relationship first started because they are doing all of the things that she used to do. We all remember seeing Kirk Cousins at yet another introductory press conference, promising a team that he would take them to the Super Bowl seven years ago.
It isn’t all doom and gloom, though. Rodrigo managed to parlay her heartbreak into one of the biggest breakout albums of all time, winning three Grammys and making her an international pop star almost overnight while her ex faded into relative obscurity.
The Vikings hope for a similar outcome as they move on to a brave new world with a different man under center in Week 1 for the first time in over half a decade.
