In the small town where Cooper DeJean once drew football plays in elementary school and taught his classmates how to run them during recess, the community is planning a big party to watch the town’s local hero in the Super Bowl.
The Philadelphia Eagles defensive back has lifted spirits in Odebolt, Iowa, a town with a population of just 920 people, which was once known as the Popcorn Capital of the World.
Residents say he has also inspired children in the four towns that make up the local school district in this remote area of Western Iowa, where he played quarterback in stadiums made out of cornfields.
On Sunday, they will gather in the Odebolt Community Building for a Super Bowl watch party they are calling the “Cooper Bowl.” Many people plan to wear special Eagles green T-shirts printed for the occasion, featuring DeJean’s No. 33. It’s also a birthday celebration for DeJean, who turns 22 on Super Bowl Sunday.
“The whole town is just ecstatic,” said Cory Duff, who owns The Bolt Drive-In, a local restaurant.
“I would say it has brought a renewed energy back to the community,” he said. “It has definitely uplifted everybody around here.”
Duff, a lifelong Denver Broncos fan, mentioned, “I even bought his jersey.”
“Everybody around here has their own team, but whenever the Eagles are playing, everyone’s watching,” Duff added.
DeJean’s father, Jason, was moved by a video that school employees made, featuring dozens of children and teachers wishing his son the best in the Super Bowl.
“They all got on the playground and spelled out ‘Cooper,’” Jason DeJean said. The nearly 5-minute video includes scenes of elementary students mimicking birds as they sing the Eagles’ fight song, “Fly Eagles Fly.”
Since DeJean began his football career at the University of Iowa, “the support around this community has been just crazy,” Jason DeJean said. “Now you see Eagle jerseys and 33 and all that stuff. It’s great to see, and you couldn’t ask for any more support than what this community gives.”
After winning back-to-back state football championships in his final two years of high school, DeJean went on to a successful career at the University of Iowa, where he was named an All-American. In the 2024 NFL draft, the Eagles selected him in the second round.
Cooper DeJean in the NCAA college football gameOnly a few athletes from the small towns in the Western Valley Activities Conference go on to compete at major universities, making DeJean’s journey from Odebolt to the Iowa Hawkeyes and now the Philadelphia Eagles one of the most remarkable paths in this part of Western Iowa.
“It’s not very often a kid from a town of less than 1,000 people gets to go to the Super Bowl,” Duff said.
DeJean’s hard work is a common link that connects him to other legendary athletes from Iowa, such as former Iowa Hawkeye and WNBA star Caitlin Clark from West Des Moines and Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner from Burlington, who played high school football in Cedar Rapids.
DeJean’s journey to the Super Bowl has brought attention to Odebolt, but it was the ground he played on that helped put the town and its surrounding farmlands on the map.
A two-lane highway leads from the Loess Hills on Iowa’s western edge, passing giant wind turbines and fields of corn and soybeans to Odebolt.
A 20-mile stretch of the road, Iowa Highway 175, connects the towns that send students to DeJean’s old high school: Battle Creek, Ida Grove, Odebolt, and tiny Arthur, with a population of 222.
In this vast area, farm animals greatly outnumber the people. The county that includes Odebolt is home to around 46,000 cattle — more than four times the human population of 9,800, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The rich soil surrounding Odebolt was once ideal for growing popcorn, and Chicago’s Cracker Jack Co. chose it to supply popcorn for their snacks.
In 1938, Cracker Jack Co. Executive Vice President E.R. Shields praised the early settlers of Odebolt, calling them shining examples of strength, fortitude, and foresight, which made the town “The Popcorn Center of the World.”
People who know DeJean say they see the same strength and fortitude in him. They admire not just his work ethic in sports but also his character in life.
“The kid is insanely humble, and he’s not going to forget where he comes from,” Duff said.
