A Shirtless Boy from Eastern Iowa Has Won Over Minnesota Vikings Fans

An eight-year-old boy from a small Eastern Iowa city has stolen the hearts of Minnesota Vikings fans and players alike. And all he's done is take his shirt off and deck himself out in beads!

During the Thanksgiving matchup between the Vikings and the New England Patriots in Minnesota, eight-year-old Lincoln Gustafson of Denver, IA was seen multiple times on the Jumbotron. He was shirtless, boasting several chains, and dancing with a little shimmy at various points during the game.

The incident seems completely random without context. Little Lincoln is actually emulating quarterback Kirk Cousins from several weeks back.

WARNING: SOME LANGUAGE IN VIDEO BELOW:

Cousins was seen wearing several gold chains and dancing shirtless on the team plane home following a victory against the Washington Commanders in the middle of Week 9. It was the Vikings' sixth straight victory, as the team continued to have a resurgence following a down year. The video from the plane made the rounds, became heavily meme-d, and all of a sudden, Cousins had a new nickname: "Kirko Chainz."

Now, Lincoln Gustafson has become known as "Lil Kirko Chainz," or "Lil Kirk Cousins," after he stole the hearts of Vikings loyalists. After the Patriots game, Cousins revealed at the post-game press conference how touched he was by seeing Lincoln on the Jumbotron so frequently:

The young kid in the stands who was shirtless... that was just tremendous. The guys in the huddle were just loving it [....] laughing so hard. So, we gotta come up with a name for him, maybe give him some tickets and bring him back.

 

Cousins did just that. He reached out to Lincoln ahead of the Vikings game against the New York Jets, and made sure Lincoln and his family could go to that game too. Lincoln showed up for the Sunday game, rocking the chains in place of a T-shirt. Every time he came on the Jumbotron, the crowd went nuts.

As if things couldn't be more perfect, Sunday was Lincoln's birthday. How old is he? 8. That's Cousins' jersey number!

Meeting your hero, becoming a Minnesota sensation, and scoring free tickets to a football game sound like three amazing birthday gifts. Time will tell to see if Iowa-native Lincoln Gustafson winds up becoming more of a presence at Vikings home games.

VIDEO OF KIRK COUSINS REACHING OUT TO LINCOLN HERE VIA MINNESOTA VIKINGS' YOUTUBE CHANNEL.