With each passing day, it gets more difficult to scroll on my phone without seeing something that makes me want to claw out my eyes. So when a video of an adorable toddler sitting on a stoop popped up on my TikTok For You page, I stopped in my doomscrolling tracks.
As it turns out, millions of others had the same response. Meet Cooper O’Brien, the 18-month-old who went viral after his father, Chris O’Brien, began documenting their morning routine on his TikTok account, @obrienbois. Dubbed “Coop on the Stoop,” the series captures the duo’s daily ritual of sitting on the stoop outside their Orange County, California home, watching the cars go by before starting the day.
The videos have amassed millions of views thanks to Cooper’s irresistible charm and Chris’s play-by-play narration of the stoop sessions, delivered in the matter-of-fact tone of a sports announcer.
But what’s really pushed the series into viral territory is the clairvoyant role it’s taken on. Each stoop session has become a forecast for the day ahead, with commenters decoding the smallest details in Cooper’s behavior for deeper meaning. He’s become TikTok’s own Punxatawney Phil, except instead of predicting the seasons, Cooper’s vibe at the stoop sets the tone for everyone’s day.
For example, after it rained one morning — which Chris dubs a “wet stoop day,” — Cooper swapped the damp curb for his pint-sized folding chair instead. He also arrived with his water bottle in hand, and noticeably took his time settling into the teeny tiny seat.
Commenters were pretty unanimous about what that meant for the day ahead:
Stay hydrated, stay calm. Noted.
In another video, Cooper — adorned in a gingham jumpsuit that could rival any NYFW model — appears a bit unsteady, needing to course correct before plopping down. Again, the takeaway was crystal clear:
And, of course, this goes without saying:
But sometimes, Cooper’s behavior is more difficult to interpret. For instance, take the time when he pulled what Chris called a “fake out,” nearly sitting on the wet stoop before promptly rerouting to his chair.
The “Coop on the Stoop” community was thrown into a frenzy, with many fans posting reaction videos to process the moment together. One TikTok user, @erinwthefits, posted a video that captures the playful confusion perfectly: “Has anyone seen today’s ‘Coop on a Stoop’ video?” she exclaims. “He almost sat on a wet stoop, faked us out, and then slowly reversed into the chair. What kind of day does that mean we’re about to have?!”
Her video alone racked up over a million views, and the comments show that others are just as invested:
BuzzFeed caught up with Chris O’Brien to talk about what it’s been like to watch his simple family ritual transform into such a viral phenomenon. “It all happened so fast,” Chris told BuzzFeed. “The first time someone made their own recreation of them sitting on the stoop was probably when I realized that people were more invested than I thought!”
And these recreations have extended beyond just everyday fans — even professional sports teams are getting in on the joke. The official TikTok of the Philadelphia Eagles (@philadelphiaeagles) posted a video of their cornerback Cooper DeJean sitting on a stoop. The Chicago Cubs (@cubs) also took advantage of the trend’s momentum, posting a spin-off that features their mascot, Clark, perched on a stoop at Wrigley Field, which fans have since dubbed “Clark in the Park.”
The trend reached its peak on September 12, when Cooper was recognized as “Person of the Week” on ABC’s World News Tonight. The segment emphasized how the viral series has brought people together, reflecting a deeper need for light-hearted moments of connection in a chaotic world. “It’s meant a lot to us just seeing the amount of joy and happiness he’s spreading to people,” Cooper’s mother, Hailey O’Brien, told ABC.
Chris told BuzzFeed that one of the most surreal parts of going viral has been getting recognized in public. “Fortunately, everyone has been extremely nice and respectful,” he said. “Sometimes it is a quick ‘I love your videos’ while they pass by, and some people stop us to chat a bit more, but it’s all been well received by us — and more importantly, everyone has been extremely respectful of Cooper.”
While Chris said that Cooper is too young to grasp what’s going on right now, he and his wife plan to show their son the videos when he’s older. “I hope he just appreciates the silliness of it all, laughs at the hilarious comments and recreations, and appreciates how much joy he has been able to bring to strangers around the world,” Chris told BuzzFeed.
While no two “Coop on a Stoop” videos are exactly alike, each one ends with Chris’s familiar sign-off: “We’ll be here,” he says. And as long as Coop is on the stoop, its clear that millions of adoring fans will be right there with him.