This is the second installment of my new blog series “Profiles In K-State Fandom,” highlighting some of the great K-State fans out there. Today you have the privilege of meeting Mike Stanley.

I “met” Mike on Twitter/X. We have yet to meet in person, but we have corresponded via messaging both publicly and privately for a while. Mike always has positive things to say and solid “takes” on everything K-State related. Him and his son Brody have been invited to hang out with both the football and basketball coaching staffs and I wanted to get the entire scoop about how that transpired. I think you’ll enjoy getting to know Mike and his story.

JM: Tell me a little bit about your background.  Where were you born/where did you grow up and how did you become such a huge K-State fan? 

Mike: I was born and raised in Dodge City, KS. As far back as I can remember, we were catching every Kansas State game we could. Sometimes we would watch it on TV, sometimes my grandpa would have the call from Mitch Holthus on the radio while we were out working cattle, but every time Kansas State was playing, we were watching. We also would make it up to a few football games a year when I was little. We would drive up and back most days and I can remember picking up burgers from The Cozy Inn in Salina most of the time as well.

JM: If you attended K-State, tell me a little bit about how you came to that decision.

Mike: I always knew I was going to Kansas State. I applied to Kansas State, KU and I think Colorado and Mizzou, but I never had any intention of going anywhere other than Kansas State. I got my acceptance letter from KU just so I could throw it in the trash. By that point I was so familiar with K-State, Manhattan, and everything that I couldn’t wait to experience life as a student.

JM: Did you graduate from K-State? What year?

Mike: I graduated in 2007 with my Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology.

JM: What do you do for a living?

Mike: I’m a chiropractor. I’ve been in practice since 2011 and started my own business in 2021.

JM: Are you married?  Kids?

Mike: I am married to my wife, Marcella and have two kids, Brody (9) and Holly (4).

JM: Are they K-State fans as well?

Mike: Yes, they are huge K-State fans. I met my wife at Kansas State. I was a TKE and she was a Tri-Delt. Brody is obviously Mr. K-State and Holly is starting to get into it too which is fun.,

JM: Tell me a little bit about your son Brody and his story. Also, talk about how you got connected to the football and basketball coaching staffs and how you got invited to hang with the players and coaches in the locker room.

Mike: Brody was born with a rare form of dwarfism called Diastrophic Dysplasia. It’s the third most-common form of dwarfism and affects 1 in every 500,000 kids. During Marcella’s pregnancy we were told by one doctor that he likely would not survive birth and if he did he would never walk or have any quality of life. He’s now 9 years old. He has had two foot surgeries, two neck surgeries, rods in his back to correct his scoliosis, a cleft palate repair, and tubes in his ears. He uses a wheelchair to go long distances and a walker for short distances. He runs track, swims, bowls, loves Transformers and loves playing video games.

I first got connected to the KSU staff through Taylor Braet. He started following me after he saw my uniform concepts on Twitter and we met in-person the following year at a Catbacker golf tournament in Wichita. He invited us up for a tour of Vanier and now every year he has us up for a football practice which has been just incredible. It’s so fun getting a behind-the-scenes look at the coaches and players and it really makes you root for these guys when you meet them and realize that they’re kids busting their ass for K-State. After meeting Coach (Conor) Riley, he invited us up to watch a football game in his coaches box with his family and the other coaches’ families as well. We got to go down on the field during pre-game and again, the whole experience was incredible. Now, I think most of the football staff and a lot of the players follow me and follow Brody’s story. They reach out to us on occasion and Coach Riley said they have a picture of the Offensive Lineman with Brody hanging up in their OL room. Brody has become buddies with all the coaches, Skylar Thompson, Will Howard, Avery Johnson, Deuce Vaughn, and so many more. It’s always so special to see how the players embrace Brody. They’ll reach out to check on Brody when he has procedures and you can tell that they genuinely care.

Coach Mittie followed me and started following Brody’s story as well and he reached out to us to come up for a game and meet the ladies’ team. We got to hang out with them in pre-game, meet Ayoka Lee, and then watch a game a few years back. He and his wife also reach out and keep in touch about Brody.

Coach (Marco) Borne also started following me on Twitter and invited us up for a men’s game last year for the first time. We got to take B into the locker room for pre-game and got seats behind the bench. He got to hang with Tang and then they gave him a basketball that the entire team signed and had him do the breakdown with the team post-game. Seeing Brody meet Markquis Nowell was special because he’s obviously an all-time Cat, but also the preconceived notions of height for a basketball player that he has had to battle through in his journey. They invited us back for another game this year.

Across football and basketball, the Cats are 4-0 when Brody is in town to watch.

Again, when you meet Gene Taylor, Chris Klieman, Jerome Tang, Jeff Mittie, Conor Riley, Taylor Braet, Marco Borne, and so many more, the first thing that jumps out is their heart. They are genuine people who care so much about the kids in their program, but also the fans of their programs. Never once have we felt we are in the way, inconveniencing them, or in the way. Every time we go to K-State, they make us feel like the most special people in the room at that time. How can you not root for them to succeed in all they do when they are that caliber of people?

JM: Do you live in or around Manhattan? What’s your favorite restaurant or hangout when you’re in town?

Mike: We live in Andover about two hours away. I used to be a line cook at Kite’s when I was in school so we used to love going there and Coco Bolos, but now we are looking for new places when we come to down as things have changed so much in Manhattan over the last few years. My brother and his family also live in Manhattan so we love getting to see them all any chance we are in town.

JM: Do you have a favorite sport? Favorite K-State team?

Mike: Football is my favorite sport, far and away, but I love all sports. I have loved every single Chris Klieman team, but the 2003 K-State team (when I was a freshman) was incredible and who could forget the 2011-2012 football team? Last years’ basketball team was one of my favorites with Nowell and Keyontae. 

JM: Do you travel to K-State away games?

Mike: Not very often. We will watch the Cats if they are in Wichita but the only away game I’ve been to was in Waco for KSU/Baylor in 2018.

JM: Do you have a favorite away game place or story to tell?

Mike: I do not, but I’m really excited about some of the new Big 12 additions. Being a Bengals fan I’d love to watch a game in Cincy. I’d love to go to Provo and Salt Lake City sometime for a game as well. I always love Orlando so some of the new additions really add some cool cities that would be worth visiting.

JM: What is your favorite K-State sports memory?

Mike: Beating Oklahoma 35-7 my freshman year is my favorite team memory. Seeing Skylar Thompson walk up to Brody on the sideline during pre-game, smile at him, and say hello is one of my favorite moments of all time. Brody praying with the basketball team after a game is also up there.

JM: Who is your favorite K-State player(s), past or present?

Mike: Collin Klein and Jordy Nelson both exemplified K-State (and still do) for me. We have been so blessed to have so many great kids that I can’t pick just one. Skylar Thompson, Wyatt Hubert, Will Howard, Deuce Vaughn, Avery Johnson, Markquis Nowell, Ayoka Lee. Elite athletes and elite people.

JM: Who is your favorite K-State coach(es), past or present?

Mike: None of this happens without Bill Snyder, but I have never met Coach Snyder. We are so blessed right now with the people we have on staff that I can’t choose. Chris Klieman, Conor Riley, Coach Tru, Coach Tang, Coach Borne, Coach Jareem, Coach Mittie. Pick one. Love them all.

JM: If you had to guess, what percentage of your wardrobe is purple?

Mike: Probably 20% but when I was from 18-25 it was probably 80%.

JM: What does the “K-State Family” mean to you?

Mike: Family to me means that whether you’re a fan or a player, there’s a very real relationship that you buy into by being a part of Kansas State. There is a bond that you immediately have with someone else who went to Kansas State. Whether close friends, or complete strangers, the family will embrace you through the hard times and celebrate the good with you. The strength of Kansas State is in the relationships with the coaches, athletes, and other fans. There’s some dysfunction as well, but hey, it all comes with family. Overall, there’s so much love between everyone at KSU and I know that isn’t the case in many places.

JM: How did you become a Bengals fan? How was your experience at the Super Bowl?

Mike: So, not surprisingly, as a uniform guy, I was attracted to the Bengals tiger-striped uniforms as a little kid and I just stuck with them. Then while Brody was having a surgery, they reached out to us and asked if they could send him a care package. They sent him a package with a signed football from Joe Burrow and a signed picture and some other gear. He also received a signed picture from Joe Burrow personally after he saw Brody wearing one of his jerseys on twitter so we’ve obviously become huge fans of his for reasons other than the fact that he’s an incredible QB. The Super Bowl was very surreal. It is a bucket list item for so many football fans so to be able to not only go to the Super Bowl, but to watch my favorite team in it, was incredible. We didn’t win, but the experience of being there is so much more than the result of the game. A memory to last a lifetime for sure.

JM: Anything else you’d like to add?

Mike: I just want to say thank you to all of the people at Kansas State as well as all of those who have followed me and Brody’s story on Twitter. So many have supported us through some of the hardest times, but also some of the best times of our lives. I may not have mentioned all of them by name here, but they are all appreciated. It really is a special community full of special people. As a fan, we can get upset and discouraged when the results of the game don’t go our way, but keep cheering and supporting. These coaches and these kids deserve our love when they succeed and our support when they fall short because they are giving K-State everything they have.

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Follow Mike on X here: https://twitter.com/Stanimal032
Follow me here: https://twitter.com/joemathieu

If you would like to nominate someone to be featured in “Profiles in K-State fandom,” please message me and I’ll reach out to them. Thanks!