Super Bowl 60 notebook: Cooper Kupp’s ‘unbelievable story’ adds another championship chapter

SANTA CLARA – Cooper Kupp stepped up to the interview podium on Sunday night with his family by his side.

The Seattle receiver wore his Super Bowl champion hat, a memento he helped earn by catching six passes for 61 yards in the Seahawks’ 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium.

When Kupp arrived in Seattle last spring, after a painful parting of the ways with the Los Angeles Rams, he said he just wanted to make sure he didn’t get lost in the Seahawks’ building, about two hours northwest of his hometown of Yakima, Washington.

Kupp not only achieved that mission but also turned an already decorated resume into something much more.

“It’s an unbelievable story,” Kupp said at the podium. “There were some really tough times for my family and I.”

The tough times had the ultimate reward as Kupp became a two-time Super Bowl champion.

“Cooper is an absolute force multiplier, an absolute stud of a person, stud of a teammate,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said. “This should cement him in the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. Super Bowl MVP. Two-time champion. All-time great teammate.”

Four years ago, Kupp was the Super Bowl MVP when the Rams beat the Bengals. On Sunday, the 32-year-old veteran led the Seahawks in receiving and so much more.

“I think the other thing with Coop is the way he’s helped our program and how we build what we do from day to day is not talked about enough,” Macdonald added. “He’s got a great perspective. Sometimes we don’t do what he wants. But we definitely listen to him.”

WALKER DEDICATES GAME TO FELLOW RUNNING BACK

After winning Super Bowl MVP, Kenneth Walker III couldn’t thank fellow running back Zach Charbonnet enough.

For the entire regular season, Walker and Charbonnet formed a lethal one-two combo that gave defenses fits. But after Charbonnet tore his ACL against the 49ers three weeks ago, Walker shouldered most of the Seahawks’ running load.

Walker finished with 135 yards on 27 carries to help Seattle win.

“You never want to see your brother get hurt, but I knew I was going to have to pick up the slack,” Walker said. “I know how hard he worked. I see him every day. … For somebody like that to get hurt, it sucks. But I wrote his number on my wrist. I was going to show it when I scored, but I didn’t get a touchdown. But yeah, he supported me through everything.”

SEATTLE KICKER GOES FULL CIRCLE

Jason Myers’ season ended with a record-breaking five field goals on Sunday, but his professional career arc started in the South Bay.

After receiving no pro interest coming out of Marist University in 2012, Myers worked as a valet in his home region of San Diego. Two years later, he decided to give the sport another try and played in the Arena Football League for the San Jose SaberCats and Arizona Rattlers.

Myers’ career took him from the AFL to his first NFL gig with the Jacksonville Jaguars and then to the New York Jets before finally landing with the Seahawks in 2019.

Now, after starting his pro career more than a decade ago, Myers appreciates the journey that has brought him to this point.

“Honestly, the road that I’ve taken personally is what has built me into who I am as a person and as a player in the NFL,” Myers said. “I’ll remember that for what it is and remember that for what it did today.”