Hall of Famer and Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal never backs down from good competition as an athlete, and always tries to be “in shape”. However, recently, the big fella had Kirk Cousins on his podcast, ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq‘, with his co-host, Adam Lefkoe, who made Shaq feel old.
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During the conversation, Adam Lefkoe decided to poke the bear by including Kirk Cousins in a bit he does with Shaq often. Lefkoe asked the quarterback if he had ever seen Shaq play when he was a kid. Before Kirk could even answer, Shaq immediately intervened and said,
“I f**king hate it when you do that. I’m not old…Because I’m looking at a beautiful grown man and you talk about when he was a kid. You making me feel like I’m f**king 75 years old.”
Lefkoe asked Shaq how he should’ve framed that question, leading O’Neal to correct him, “Have you ever seen Shaq play?” However, the star of this whole interaction came out to be Kirk Cousins. When Adam did ask him that question as O’Neal instructed, Cousins played along by saying, “When I was this tall,” imitating the height of a toddler.
O’Neal just turned 52 last month in March whereas Kirk Cousins is 35. There is a 17-year age gap between the two players. Moreover, Shaq had already arrived in the league in 1992 when Cousins was just four years old. So, it is fair to assume that Cousins did watch the Lakers legend play in the NBA as he grew up.
How did Shaquille O’Neal inspire Kirk Cousins?
Shaq inspired numerous young kids who dreamt of playing in the NBA one day. O’Neal’s influence even spilled over the NFL as Kirk Cousins revealed how he looked up to Shaq for inspiration,
“I got the vibe from watching the documentary and watching your story. Like, you loved Orlando. You loved living there, and you liked the city but LA provided better opportunities. Just kind of hearing his story in that documentary, how he left… and that kind of resonated with me because I feel like, not at the altitude that Shaq was doing it but I feel like I’ve kind of lived that a little bit.”
Despite being 52 years of age, the Big Aristotle did not like feeling old. However, he has gracefully accepted his old age as he once shared words of wisdom on social media,
“The older you get the more you realize how precious life is. You have no desire for drama, conflict or stress. You just want good friends, a cozy home, food on the table, and people who make you happy.”
He still feels like a 26-year-old at heart. He can drop wisdom in a flurry but enjoy life like a young gun whenever he wants to. And it is that flexibility or diversity in his personality that makes Shaq so likable after all.
