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Professor Roger Cooper attends every Chiefs game this season

Most Ohio University professors have several hobbies outside of the classroom. While some enjoy walking their dogs or experimenting in the kitchen, others take pleasure in traveling around the world to watch their favorite football team in action. 

Roger “Coop” Cooper is a professor in the School of Media Arts and Studies, the director of the Ohio in L.A. program and a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. 

Coop bled red and gold from a very young age. He grew up in a small town in Arkansas, but his mother was born in Kansas City and later met his father there. Coop said he and family would often drive to and from the city, kickstarting his Chiefs obsession and interest in travel. 

“For me to be able to go to a bigger city made a big impact on me, it just made me see a broader world,” Coop said. “ … it really fostered my love and desire to travel and I think the Chiefs are kind of an expression of that.” 

In 2024, Coop decided to take his passion to the next level and attend every Chiefs game of the season. He originally wanted to do the challenge during retirement, but after attending a sports conference in Spain he could not wait.  

“There was a session on fandom and during that session (I) was just kind of sitting there like, ‘I want to do this now, I don’t want to wait,’” Coop said. “Who knows how life is going to turn (out) … I did not know at that point we were going to win a second Super Bowl.” 

There is no doubt Coop chose a good year for the challenge, as 2024 marked the Chief's 55th season in the National Football League and the 12th season for head coach Andy Reid. Additionally, the team conquered the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 26 by a score of 32-29, winning their third AFC title in a row and clinching a spot in the 2025 Super Bowl for the fifth time in just six seasons.

Throughout his history with the Chiefs, Coop has not just attended games, but touched the lives of people from around the world. Shannon Holman, a Nebraska local, continues to be Coop’s gameday buddy at Arrowhead Stadium after both sat next to each other six years ago. 

Holman said some of his favorite memories with Coop were shared at the American Football Conference championship games.

“I remember vividly those moments, not when the clock hits zero but just at that point in the game where that play happens where we realize we are going to the Super Bowl,” Holman said. “ … those are some of the happiest moments of my life, and they are associated with Coop because he is always right there next to me.”  

Holman said he will forever be in awe of Coop’s honesty and kind heart, especially with the hardships he has faced.  

“He let me know that he did have two seats, but I would notice that throughout the season, there would not be anyone sitting in that seat,” Holman said. “His wife had just passed. For someone I just met to … show that type of vulnerability and openness, it meant a lot to me and … just made me feel like he was a really genuine dude.”

Despite the passing of his wife, Coop said he continues to feel her presence in exciting moments and sees her contagious personality in the people he meets.  

“In 2019 my wife passed away … and that was the first season that the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 50 years,” Coop said. “Irrational as it sounds, I felt like she was guiding that in some ways … the people who sit around my tickets at Arrowhead were just very empathetic toward me, and it was very sweet.” 

Jerry White, a Kansas City native, shares a similar passion for the Chiefs and spent his childhood watching and attending games. He and Coop met at an event hosted by the tailgating group Chiefs in L.A., and the two formed a strong bond after reconnecting weeks later. 

“I have gone to all these games with him and I have spent tons of time with him outside of that as well,” White said. “He is just always there for people around him … and really wants people around him to succeed … I am very grateful to call him a friend.”  

When he is not cheering on the team, Coop swaps his Chiefs jersey for Bobcat attire, teaching classes such as the business of media and the development process for the creative industries. 

“I really enjoy his classes because he makes everybody feel involved,” Henry Pausch, a junior studying media arts production, said. “... I have seen the most class participation in Coop’s class because … they find him interesting and they find his personality very endearing for a classroom setting.”

Bobcats who decide to participate in the Ohio in L.A. program will experience working in Hollywood’s “media and creative industries” and have the opportunity to travel with the professor. 

“(I am) hoping to make some impact on their growth as people and professionals,” Coop said. “... I love teaching here, but in L.A. we bond and get to know each other so well.” 

Whether a student runs into him outside of class or a fellow Chiefs fan spots him at this year’s Super Bowl, Coop strives to leave a positive impact on each person he meets.

“I just felt like I could be myself,” Holman said. “When you are talking to him he is going to tell you how he feels (and) he is going to just be himself.” 

gn875322@ohio.edu 

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