Creed have been one of the more polarizing bands in rock over the years, but you can count Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins as a definite fan. In fact, he investigated what it might take to book the group for a private concert last year.
While appearing on The Ringer’s 10 Questions With Kyle Brandt, the host directed one of his questions to Cousins about his Creed fandom, playing a bit of “My Sacrifice” and asking him to complete the lyrics.
“It goes back to middle school for me,” says Cousins. “That was the jam. Going to the weight room in middle school and you’re going to get a lift in and you’ve got Creed playing in the background. And then someone decided they weren’t cool. I don’t know who that was or why, but someone decided they weren’t cool and they went away. I’m with the Redskins, I’m in the weight room and this song came on. I don’t hate it, I never hated this song. Why can’t it be a good song?”
Cousins says he appreciated hearing the track after nearly a decade of not hearing it and decided to tweet about it, which brought a definite response. “I was naive to the fact at the time that social media was the place for only mockery and satire and that is the engine that drives it, so I opened myself up for that one,” explained the quarterback.
Since sharing his love for Creed on social media, it’s become a topic that comes up. He adds that he still likes to have their music on for workouts and states, “I’m not saying it needs to be played at every lift, but there’s some good songs in there. They weren’t one hit wonders. There’s a few others.”
During the conversation (which starts at 46:41 in the player below), Cousins revealed that he actually investigated what it might take to book the band for a private show, and learned that he might be able to have Stapp perform as the other members were promoting their Alter Bridge album at the time.
“As a slight joke, because there’s some seriousness in every joke, right, but I asked my marketing agent to call Creed’s marketing people and this was last summer and say, ‘What would it take to get a private concert?'” recalls Cousins. “That’s still in my head to maybe get Scott Stapp with an acoustic guitar to come to my house and play those songs.”
Cousins isn’t alone in his Creed fandom in the NFL. Back in 2016, members of the Carolina Panthers stayed loose for their playoff run by “Creedbombing” on the practice field. The art of “Creedbombing” was to sing Creed lyrics while making “really deep, direct eye contact” with your subject, much like Stapp did in the band’s videos. After the story made the rounds, Stapp cheered on the team and their practice field activity.
See more of the chat below and look for Cousins starting his season with the Vikings Sept. 13 against the Green Bay Packers.
Kirk Cousins Talks With The Ringer’s Kyle Brandt About Creed
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