Cooper Kupp's return to Washington was a success

Even though the star wide receiver from Eastern Washington University may have not had as many receptions as he would’ve hoped, Cooper Kupp still found success on and off the field as he returned to the state of Washington against the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 17.

I was fortunate enough to be able to travel over the mountains last weekend to watch Kupp play again and I was not the only one to make the trip for the former Eagle. I wondered if I would be one of the only ones representing Kupp in a No. 18 Los Angeles Rams jersey, but I definitely was not.

Upon entering CenturyLink Stadium, you could see a crowd of fans near the visitor’s tunnel which is where I headed in hopes of having Kupp sign my jersey. There you found a large group of people wearing Kupp’s jersey, Eastern gear and even people with signs for the rookie standout.

In the sea of 12th man flags you could also easily spot the red EWU flag that was waving in honor of Kupp. It was just so cool to see the representation from Eastern Washington and other Kupp fans on the West side of the state.

When he came running off the field after warming up for the big matchup, he headed straight over to the crowd of Eastern fans and started signing autographs for everyone – including my jersey. My mission was accomplished. It really stood out to me how the rising star was still humble enough to go straight to the fans and thank people for their support.

I thought pregame was exciting but little did I know that the actual game would be even more so. Well that is if you are cheering for the Rams. The Seahawks couldn’t seem to stop running back Todd Gurley, or anybody else for that matter, en route to their 42-7 humiliating loss to the team in its second-year Los Angeles team.

Sorry to all you Hawks fans out there, but it was nice to see that happen. I know it may seem weird to have somebody living in this area not be a Seattle Seahawks fan, but I could never seem to hop on that bandwagon.

During the game, Kupp caught two passes for 21 yards against the Seahawks to bring his season total to 58 receptions. This was coming off a 118-yard game for the rookie against the Philadelphia Eagles. His other 100-yard game was on Week 12 against New Orleans where he recorded 116 yards.

The coolest thing was that Kupp wasn’t the only former EWU athlete on the field as Samson Ebukman also made his return to the state. The linebacker had a part in the game as well, with two assisted tackles on special teams, which was one of the keys to victory for the Rams.

Now with the Rams in full control of their playoff destiny, the two EWU standouts have a good chance to be competing for that coveted Super Bowl ring. Now that would be quite the rookie year for these Eastern Washington Eagles.

Grace Pohl can be reached at grace@cheneyfreepress.com.