Kirk Cousins Credits Creed For Monday Night Performance As Band Continues To Have Weird Effect On Sports

Not since Drake's habit of mushing teams he bets on or cheers for has a musician or band affected sports the way that post-grunge icons Creed have in recent weeks.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Scott Stapp and Co. have been front and center in the sports world, and it looks like they worked their musical magic for the Minnesota Vikings.

That's the second time this month.

Earlier this month, Kirk Cousins cited Creed as a driving force behind the team's win over the Chicago Bears.

Although, I think they could have played a recording of someone farting "Yakety Sax" into a kazoo and still not have had too much trouble with the Bears.

However, on Monday, Cousins pointed to the raw power of Creed once again after the Justin Jefferson-less Vikings' stunning win over the San Francisco 49ers.

In primetime, no less.

"And I got to say it, y'know; Creed," Cousins said after the game. "I'm getting my ankles taped pre-game — because I try to get them to be as late as possible — and I'm sitting there on a table and suddenly it comes on."

Creed's "Higher" Is Taking Vikings Higher

By "it," Cousins means Creed's 1999 megahit "Higher." The soulful lyrics of Scott Stapp. The searing guitar work of the criminally underrated Mark Tremonti. And who could forget the driving rhythm section of Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips?

"We go to pray in the corner of the locker room — any guys that want to pray — and so we had to turn the Creed off, and Harrison Smith made a great point. 'Guys. This is the prayer.'"

"They keep playing higher and I'm going, 'Creed a lot of hits, They got a good catalog don't have to only play 'Higher,'" Cousins said.

By the way, is that not a perfectly Kirk Cousins thing to say at that moment?

Despite his yearning for some deeper cuts from Creed's extensive back catalog, Cousins understands why "Higher" is the song of the season for the Vikings.

"They're taking us higher. So we'll take it," Cousins said.

The Vikings are understandably loving Creed right now ( to that point, they should also check out Alter Bridge. That's Creed minus Scott Stapp plus Myles Kennedy and they're great. Also, Mark Tremonti's solo work is *chef's kiss*. The dude can shred.)

However, they need to be cognizant of the fact that Creed has proven to be a fickle mistress. The Texas Rangers got all fired up about Creed and invited them to Game 3 of the ALCS, which ended in a loss and a premature end to the team's Creed mystique.

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Matt is a University of Central Florida graduate and a long-suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan living in Orlando, Florida. He can usually be heard playing guitar, shoe-horning obscure quotes from The Simpsons into conversations, or giving dissertations to captive audiences on why Iron Maiden is the greatest band of all time.