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Rob Curley: Cooper Kupp takes his big win and heads to Disneyland, family in tow
The phrase has become as synonymous with the Super Bowl as extravagant halftime shows and goofy commercials. You know the one – the one that typically follows some form of the question, “You’ve just won the Super Bowl. What are you going to do next?”
“I’m going to Disneyland!” Well, or Disney World. The answer you hear from the player largely depends on which coast you live on.
Only this year, it was different.
Cooper Kupp, the all-everything wide receiver who went from Cheney to Champion, who was named the game’s MVP after helping lead the Rams to their first Super Bowl win of their second Los Angeles era, was there for the latest iteration of the theme park’s traditional postgame ad. And so was quarterback Matthew Stafford and defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Which was a bit of a twist.
So were all of their families. If you were counting at home, there were 17 very excited people in the commercial. With Kupp’s wife, Anna, in front of him holding their youngest son, Cypress, and Kupp behind them holding their first son with the easy-to-remember name of Cooper, the whole group said it together: “We’re all going to Disneyland!”
Sure, the slight tweak was from the company that basically wrote the book on how to market to families, but the change also felt like it was custom scripted for Kupp. Dating back to his time in Yakima, the former Eastern Washington star has always made it clear family means the most to him. Even more than football.
Once you know that, it only makes sense Kupp would say that famous ode to Mickey Mouse in a way that included his family.
And because Disneyland is only 30 miles, or about four hours by car, from the Rams’ new home next to LAX in Inglewood, California, there was no need to wait around. Kupp, Stafford and Donald – along with their families – headed to the happiest place on Earth on Monday.
As expected, they were totally in a big parade down Disneyland’s Main Street, USA, with even more yellow, gold and white confetti flying through the air than the night before at SoFi Stadium.
At the top of the float carrying the players through the cavalcade was Kupp, wearing a red Mickey T-shirt, black pants and a ball cap on backward. Standing right next to Kupp was Mickey Mouse himself, wearing a red and black track suit, but with his ball cap notably on forward, because it’s hard to enforce employee dress codes at the park if the boss isn’t following them.
Their waves to the crowd were almost as coordinated as their outfits.
After the parade, the Rams players spoke with the media in front of the park’s famous castle. Only they weren’t recapping the game. This was about important stuff.
That’s where we learned this was Kupp’s third trip to the House of Mouse in Anaheim. He first visited the park during his rookie season five years ago, more recently when his son was old enough to really enjoy the park.
“My favorite ride is the teacup ride,” Kupp said. “Me and my boy had a great time on that one.”
Kupp’s day at the Anaheim resort began before the parade with a visit with Spider-Man and a few other Marvel superheroes over at Disneyland’s younger cousin of a theme park, California Adventure. They took photos together. There was some flexing.
There was even a little superhero small talk.
“I like the hat,” Spidey told Kupp.
“Thank you,” the MVP said. “Could I at least be a little part of the team? Maybe?”
The answer to that question didn’t take long. There was a full-on photoshoot with the Marvel heroes and the Rams superstar. There was even more posing and more flexing. Everybody was looking like they were straight out of a movie poster, only with Kupp standing in the middle of all of them, kneeling down and pointing at the camera with the kind of smile that was made for a Wheaties box.
There was even a moment when Anna joined in the posing.
It was the sort of photo that, if turned into an actual poster, would sell out at every Saturday home game in Cheney, if only given the chance. The Marvel heroes and the hometown heroes.
Afterward, it was time to take a spin on the new Web Slingers ride, a mixture of video game and thrill ride, only louder. With a dose of virtual reality thrown in. Throughout the ride, Cooper and Anna worked together to defeat villainous, gigantic robot crabs.
When it was over, the former high school sweethearts high-fived each other.
Spider-Man congratulated them, “You guys were amazing!”
Of course they were. They were at Disneyland together, less than 24 hours after Kupp made the game-winning catch that will now be on every future Rams highlight reel.
Because if you’re Cooper Kupp, that’s what you do after you win the Super Bowl. You go to Disneyland. With your family.