MetroFanatic: Kenny, you were in Portland for just one year and they trade you here.
Kenny Cooper: I look back at my time in Portland with fond memories. It's a great team, good coach, and incredible fans. But I'm really happy to be here, really excited to be a part of a great organization. This team is full of incredibly talented players. Players like Thierry Henry, who is a hero of mine. I've lived on the east coast before. I really feel like I'm returning home, in a way. I have family over here, my wife's family is from New Jersey.

MF: Gotta love the in-laws!
KC: Yep, it's great to come, be close to them... It's a great organization, and I'm very privileged to be a part of it.

MF: Now, you might have enjoyed the Portland fans, but there was some comments from the management that you didn't exactly fit in...
KC: Again, I look back with fond memories and appreciation that they showed the faith to bring me in the first season.

MF: Now that's a classy answer. Does the situation here better fit your playing style?
KC: I want to give Hans whatever it is he asks for me, as a target, wide, or underneath. I don't want to be one-dimensional. I want to offer different options for him.

MF: Tell us the story behind #33.
KC: When my dad was in Baltimore, he had a player, Mike Reynolds, who died. He wore #3. So I always wore #3, but when I got to the pros, 3 is more of a defender number. So I switched to #33, and every time I wear it, I think of Mike.

MF: Your nickname, Frankencooper, who created it?
KC: I don't know... Might have been my mother!