Kirk Cousins, the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback who led the Minnesota Vikings to a divisional title last season, says he listens to worship music in the locker room before games to have the proper perspective before he takes the field.
The 34-year-old QB led the Vikings to a 13-4 record and NFC North title last season, including a 33-point comeback against Indianapolis, the largest comeback in NFL history. The Vikings are among the favorites to win the NFC North in 2024. Cousins is known as one of the NFL’s most intense quarterbacks, a trait he credits to his Christian faith. He told the Sport Spectrum Podcast and host Jason Romano, “You certainly honor your teammates, you honor your coaches, and you honor your opponent by giving everything you have to the competitive arena.”
Cousins continued, “So for me, I think when you bring that intensity and the fire, I think it is a great witness. And I think it shows just how invested you are and that you want to do your absolute best. Colossians 3:23 says, ‘Whatever you do, do with all your heart,’ and I’d like to think when I go out there, I’m giving all of my heart.” Cousins says worship music gives him the right frame of mind, adding that his playlist includes artists such as Sonicflood, Hillsong, Bethel, Maverick City Music, Cory Asbury, Matt Maher and Phil Wickham.
He said, “That’s really what I listen to in the locker room before games, on the bus, is that type of worship music where you can kind of focus your perspective on an eternal perspective and on who God is and His love for you and the trust you’re placing in Him. That’s kind of where I want to be mentally and in my heart going into a game. And so I know nothing else I’d rather listen to than worship music in that moment.”
Romano also asked Cousins about his involvement in the Netflix docuseries “Quarterback,” saying he found it “fascinating” that Cousins never cursed in the series. Cousins said, laughing, “They slip out from time to time.” He said he wants to be the same person on and off the field. He wants to “impact people for eternity” and “share the gospel.”
Cousins said, “I don’t believe in compartmentalizing your life. People have asked me, ‘Do you pray before games?’ And I say, ‘Well, I do, but I also pray in the first quarter, the second quarter, at halftime and the third quarter and the fourth quarter.”