Six-year-old Cooper Davis became a YouTube sensation last week when a video of him crying on Friday morning following the Jets’ 17-13 loss in Denver went viral. Young Cooper fielded questions from his mother Rebecca about the loss and began crying as he succinctly and accurately broke down the Jets playoff chances.
Rebecca told Metro on Wednesday that she posted the 2:31 length video to share with her in-laws and to her surprise it became an internet hit. In the video, Cooper is lying in bed, lamenting that “the Jets won’t make the playoffs” and that they “will lose to the Giants.”
On Wednesday morning, Jets nose tackle Sione Pouha posted a video response to Cooper:
“Hey little man, I see you crying out there man, but we enjoy the passion and the love you carry for the Jets. We carry the same thing on the field, don’t you give up on us cus we’re going out there to get those wins. Turn those tears into smiles and go Jets.”
The 15-second response by Pouha was shown to Cooper by his mother on their way to lunch on Wednesday morning. The young Jets fan was in awe of the personalized message.
“He couldn’t believe it. He was so happy, so excited. We were in the car, on the way to lunch,” Rebecca said. “I never in a million years would have thought it created so much interest.”
Entitled “It’s Tough Bein’ a New York Jets Fan,” the video was posted five days ago and has bested 163,000 views on YouTube, not to mention countless news stories, interviews and satirical responses.
Young Cooper and his seven-year-old brother Aivan became die-hard Jets fans through their father, who is described by Rebecca as a “lifelong fan.” Rebecca laughed and said the whole family is just “gluttons for punishment” in their fandom, but the video struck a chord with Pouha.
“I was impressed, blown away really that he knew so much about the team. He really knew his stuff, the playoff scenarios, all that, our schedule,” Pouha told Metro. “It was amazing really, the passion he had for the team at six years old. I just wanted to share something with him, let him know that we as a team don’t ever want to make him cry again.”
Because of the instant stardom, Rebecca has had to take down about 15 of the videos in order to protect the family’s privacy. One video of Cooper playing on the guitar remains and now has over 3,000 views. Last week, that same video had roughly two dozen views, but the web traffic to watch the crying video has had a residual effect on the rest of their online videos.
The video was shot on Rebecca’s iPhone moments after Cooper was awakened. The first words out of his mouth, she said, was asking if the Jets had won the game from the night before. Older brother Aivan was already up and knew the score, but what Rebecca caught on film was raw emotions from a still sleepy six-year-old.
“He loved this team with a passion. It’s impressive,” Pouha said. “It’s the same passion we try to bring on the field when we play.”
But for a very young Jets fan, the video message from Pouha was a special moment he will carry with him for a lifetime … or at least until the “Same Old Jets” inevitably break his heart again.
“Thank you for the video,” Cooper said. “Could you please beat the Bills on Sunday so I can go to bed happy?”
And this time, wake up happy too.
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.
