If you're looking for the date that Kirk Cousins officially became One Of Us, it was Aug. 25, 2018 (also known as Saturday).

It was then that the Vikings QB tweeted: "Raincheck on Minnesota State Fair … parking was a challenge. Hoping later this week I can try a #FriedTwinkie for the first time."

Cousins might not have been born here or spent much time in Minnesota before signing with the Vikings, but professing a love of deep-fried foods while simultaneously complaining (mildly) that he had to give up on his quest to attend the State Fair because of parking woes qualifies him as an honorary Minnesotan.

He can enhance his status by remarking that "we needed the rain," by putting a windshield scraper in his car the day after Labor Day and noting during a 7-degree day in January that "it's really not so bad outside today if you're in the sun."

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.