Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks ‘loves everything’ about New Orleans
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks caught up with Grit Media again for another addition of their ‘Unfiltered’ video blog series. The Black and Gold’s sophomore pass catcher talks about moving from the West Coast to the Big Easy and adjusting to the new scenery after being drafted out of Oregon State by the Saints in the first round a year ago.
“I get the questions, how do I like New Orleans? How do I like the city of New Orleans? How do I like everything about it? You know what, quite frankly, I like everything, I love it,” Cooks said. “But I will say it was a change, especially coming from the West Coast and being born and raised on the West Coast. Being down south for the first time, it was definitely a culture shock.
“Everything is different down south than it is on the West Coast. Whether it’s cooking, whether it’s how you drive, how you wear your clothes, how you talk, it’s all different. It’s a wild city (New Orleans), as we all know. I’ve never been. First of all, I’ve never lived in a city period, so now being in New Orleans and seeing how they live and how they party, it’s crazy. They can get down out there. Everyone is still super nice. That southern hospitality like they say, and they can cook really well, so those are the biggest culture shocks to me.
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“Over the years I’ve been around different types of people and have gotten their styles and their culture, so now being in New Orleans, I guess it was kind of an easy transition to being able to get to know the style out there and the culture of the down south. I feel like you have to be open and willing to learn. I think some people get stuck in their ways and they don’t want to learn how other people talk, how other people dress, how other people act around the world.
“In order to actually learn more about life, you need to know different cultures and how other people act. And not just that, but just in case you are happening to move there for a long period of time like I am in New Orleans, I already have that mindset of getting to know others and being social. I feel like if you practice that why you’re young and throughout your life, when a major change happens in your life, you’ll actually have that background on getting to know people and that’ll transition to other people and getting to know their culture.
“You’re going to have to adjust to some things in your life. Be open-minded and be willing to do that, and don’t be stubborn and be stuck in your own ways. It becomes a burden on many, because then they feel like they don’t have any friends. Just be respectful and mindful of everyone’s culture and everyone’s style. You don’t have to put it in your own life, but just respect it.”
Brandin Cooks has just about everything you want to see from a professional standpoint both on and off the field. The classy wideout is lucky to be playing in such a great city, and New Orleans is lucky to have him.
The speed demon is going to be quite difficult for opponents to adjust to and defend for a very long time. He looks to be the real deal. The potential is there and the ceiling is endless. With the starting job in his hands, Brandin Cooks looks to shine in his second year in that high-powered Saints offense.
Next: Faster than a speeding bullet, Brandin Cooks soars