Kansas City Chiefs Mascot Dan Meers: His Life on the Road to the Super Bowl

The world is becoming increasingly proficient at telling stories that deny God. As such, we need thinking Christian to become as natural as breathing. Welcome to the Thinking Christian podcast. I'm Dr. James Spencer. And through calm, thoughtful theological discussions, Thinking Christian highlights the ways God is working in the world and questions the underlying social, cultural, and political assumptions that hinder Christians from becoming more like Christ. Now, on to today's episode of Thinking Christian. Hey, everybody, welcome to this episode of Thinking Christian. We are joined today by our guest host, Nate, who we've seen on the show before, but also a very special guest. And you may guess by his background who this is if you're watching on video. But Dan Mears, the mascot for the Kansas City Chiefs. Dan, how are you doing? Fantastic. We just won a football game in the playoffs. Yeah, we're recording this right after the Buffalo Bills game. I got to say, I was out at a Kansas City restaurant last night and it got a little ruckus. So it was a lot of fun. Well, Dan, tell us a little bit about the life of a mascot, if you don't mind. Kind of give people an insight into what you do and what life's like kind of, you know, in and around the field there. You know, it's a lot of fun. This isn't one of those things where back in grade school, I thought, boy, I'd sure like to grow up and become a mascot for a living. You know, I trick or treated once a year on Halloween and got free candy. And I'm like, this is a pretty good gig. You know, but never in my life thought it would turn into a career. But I had I played sports in high school. I grew up in St. Charles, Missouri, with St. Charles West High School and play sports. And when I say play, I should let's just say I wasn't the best athlete out there. So I was more of a three-sport benchwarmer in baseball, basketball, football. And but I always made the team and always just had a good time and loved sports. Graduated from high school, went to college at the University of Missouri in Columbia. And I was sitting there one day reading the school newspaper and I saw this little article that said they were going to have tryouts to be Truman the Tiger. And I thought, well, that sounds kind of interesting. And I knew I wasn't going to be good enough to play at the collegiate level. And I thought, well, that's one way to stay involved with sports. And so I went back to my room and my my roommate at the time, he's like, you ought to try that. I think you'd be good at it. And so sure enough, I went to this informational meeting, tried out and I get the job. And for the next four years, I ran around in a tiger suit at the University of Missouri doing college football and basketball and other sporting events and community appearances. And and then I graduated from college and sure enough, I get my first job working for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team running around as Fred Bird, the Cardinals mascot. And the only thing about baseball, they play 81 home games during the summertime. It's crazy. I ended up being a Kansas City Chiefs. And they're like, hey, we're starting up a mascot program. We've heard things about you and we'd love to have you interview. And so I went and interviewed with the Chiefs and they offered me the position. And I, you know, I grew up in St. Charles, like I said, so Kansas City was kind of out in my comfort zone. It was on the other side of the state. But the more I prayed about it, the more I thought about, you know, I can keep doing 81 home games in the summertime or I can switch to football where they play 10 in the fall and winter. And I'll be the first to tell you, I'm not the brightest guy in the world, but even I knew that was a pretty good switch to make. And so I came to Kansas City in what, 30, this is my 34th season with the Chiefs. Wow. Started with the Chiefs back in 1990. And it's been a, I love it. I love working for the Chiefs. They're a great organization and I don't just say that because they give me a check twice a month, but they're just, I love that they're very supportive, not only of what I do, but they're very supportive and they give back a lot in the community. So I do a lot of community events, work a lot with food banks and homeless shelters, just all kinds of community stuff. And that's what I love about the organization. The Hunt family has huge hearts. I love that about them too. So when I took the job, Lamar Hunt, the original founder of the Chiefs, and he passed away, you know, several years ago and his son Clark Hunt took over. And I'll tell you what, the apple did not fall far from the tree right there because that Hunt family, I can't say enough good things about them, just the work they do. You know, they're committed to winning football games, of course, but what I love about working for the Chiefs is they're also committed to just making an impact in the Kansas City community and the surrounding communities. So you do the football games, but then you also sort of book in and around Kansas City, right? Like people can have you in to do all sorts of stuff, right? So not just in and around Kansas City. So I have literally had appearances and I think at this point, 41 different states. And so... Wow. So we not only do appearances for birthdays, weddings, you know, grand openings, parades, you name it. We do just all kinds of appearances, schools, churches. But then what's kind of a little bit different about me is that I also do speaking. So when I started with the Chiefs, I started doing school programs where I would start as KC Wolf and then I would take my head off, introduce myself to the kids, and then I would share a message with them. Maybe it was character education or not being a bully or fitness and nutrition or reading or whatever the program might be. Also did a lot of churches, vacation Bible schools, church camps, where I'd just share my testimony and my faith and the importance that my relationship with Christ has in my life. And so, well, that has now changed. Well, I still do a lot of that, but I've also started to do corporate speaking. Several years ago, I wrote a book. And the funny thing about writing a book is people think you're smarter than you really are. And so all of a sudden I started getting these calls to do corporate speaking. And when I first started, I'm like, what do you talk about? You know, I'm used to talking to kids. They're easy to talk to for me. And I'm like... And then I started to realize that adults are just big kids. And so it's the same thing. You show them pictures, you tell them stories, you make them laugh and have a good message. And so I started doing that and I literally speak at conferences all around the country now. And so last week I was in South Dakota, a little cold up in South Dakota this time of year. I had a chance to go down to Atlanta, Georgia. And, you know, it was like 25 degrees there. I thought I was going to have to break out sunscreen for a second. But, yeah, it's been a lot of fun. Like I said, I get a lot of opportunities just to go out and hopefully, hopefully do a little shine the light and the love of Christ wherever I go. That's amazing. Do you carry the suit with you wherever you go? I mean, when you go to a corporate event, do you have to kind of ship it? Do you pack it? Like, what do you do? So it kind of... The birthday party or something here in the Kansas City metro area, I put it in a great big bag. I throw it in the backseat of my car and he travels with me and doesn't say much. So that's what I like traveling about. He's a lot quieter than my kids were when they were growing up. But the corporate events, I usually... I tell folks that most of my appearances, I'm either in a suit and a tail or a suit and a tie. Now, if you're in a tail, you don't smell as good. In a tie, you smell better. Most corporate events, they want you to smell, you know, respectable. So typically what I do is I just bring the Casey Wolf head with me to show the adults. And then I also make sure to bring the Casey Wolf Super Bowl ring. I don't know. That's amazing. I've never seen how huge it is. That's usually the biggest Super Bowl ring anybody got, right? Yeah, I think that is the biggest one. At least that's the one that fits the Casey Wolf finger. But yeah, so I bring that along with me. And then after the conferences, I speak at, I usually stick around and we take pictures with the head and the Super Bowl ring. So it's a lot of fun. That's awesome. Great. Yeah. And so you were, so you started with the Chiefs in 1990. Is that correct? Yes. Okay. Marty Schottenheimer. And so you would have been there in the Joe Montana era when he was quarterback as well. I started with Steve DeBerg, if you remember that. I remember Steve DeBerg. Yeah, absolutely. I think it was 19, what was it? 93, 94s when Joe Montana came around. Yeah, yeah. So I kind of was a 49ers fan. And so I, I loved Joe Montana when I was a

play in the football or anything, but that's awesome. For a while there, the Chiefs were getting all our quarterbacks from San Francisco. I think Joe Montana and all those quarterbacks from that San Francisco pipeline. But this Patrick Mahomes guy, I think he's working out pretty good for us. I guess he's doing okay. He's not from San Francisco. Yeah. I think they should keep him around for sure. He's got some promise. Got a new Brock party, but I get it. Yeah, I totally get it. Amazing. Well, very cool. So, I mean, what's the tone around the Chiefs right now? I mean, obviously, you're going pretty deep in the playoffs again this year. You know, you just beat the Buffalo Bills. Um, people are gonna gear up, I assume, for the Ravens. Uh, do you have any role, like, in away games and stuff like that? Do you travel with the team? Do you stay, you know? Typically what they do is they keep me in town. So like there's probably not a lot of KC Wolf fans in Buffalo or Baltimore. If you just want a guy to run around in a costume and get snowballs thrown at, he might be happy to be that guy. Because I've got a little bit of padding, so it's not going to hurt that much. But no, typically they will, like, if it's an away playoff game, they will leave me in town because we do a lot of watch parties. Like I said, it's just all kinds of appearance requests that come in. So my goal is just to try to keep up with as many of those appearance requests as we possibly can. And if they hit the Super Bowl, do you get to go to Vegas? I mean, is this... Yes, I do. So, yeah, it's been to three Super Bowls. Two of them turned out pretty good. That one in Tampa didn't turn out quite the way we wanted it to. But yeah, we win this game on Sunday against Baltimore, and I'll be headed to Vegas that week leading up to the Super Bowl. And then hopefully you'll have a ring on the other hand, so you can have two huge rings. Jeez, I got a lot of fingers I can keep winning Super Bowls. There you go. That is fantastic. Well, I want to take a quick break, and then I want to come back and talk a little bit about your specific story and get into your testimony and talk a little bit about your faith in Christ. And so let's just take a quick break, and then we'll come back and do that. Let me ask you a serious question. If something triggered a major market drop in the coming months, would your retirement be ready or exposed? With inflation, market volatility, and ongoing global uncertainty, more families are taking a closer look at whether their retirement plan is truly built to hold up. And then you're finding that adding a layer of protection makes a lot of sense. Sanctuary Metals is a Christian-owned company that helps families strengthen their retirement savings with physical gold and silver through a gold IRA. During uncertain times, many people look to precious metals as a way to add stability when other assets may be under pressure. If you'd like to explore whether a gold IRA is a good fit for your situation, Sanctuary Metals makes it easy to get started. Text GUIDE to 94878 to receive your free retirement defense guide or call 888-958-6579 to speak with one of their knowledgeable team members. Again, text GUIDE to 94878 or call 888-958-6579. Let me ask you a serious question. If something triggered a major market drop in the coming months, would your retirement be ready or exposed? With inflation, market volatility, and ongoing global uncertainty, more families are taking a closer look at whether their retirement plan is truly built to hold up. And then you're finding that adding a layer of protection makes a lot of sense. Sanctuary Metals is a Christian-owned company that helps families strengthen their retirement savings with physical gold and silver through a gold IRA. During uncertain times, many people look to precious metals as a way to add stability when other assets may be under pressure. If you'd like to explore whether a gold IRA is a good fit for your situation, Sanctuary Metals makes it easy to get started. Text GUIDE to 94878 to receive your free retirement defense guide or call 888-958-6579 to speak with one of their knowledgeable team members. Again, text GUIDE to 94878 or call 888-958-6579. All right, everybody, welcome back. We are here with Dan Mears. And Dan, I just told you to share your story. I know you had some really crazy stuff happen to you as you're doing your mascot thing. And I'm just interested for you to share that and then talk about maybe how your faith in Christ connects to that story. Yeah, I know it's kind of interesting in life. You go through life and you always hope things are just kind of smooth and easy and no issues and no problems. And come to find out, God sometimes will throw a curveball your way just to help you grow in your faith and your relationship with him. And, you know, the good book says all things work together for good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. And, you know, I've come to really understand that now. There's times I've doubted that promise when I was right in the middle of it. But I look back on things now and I realize, you know what, he always does have a plan and a purpose. I don't always understand his plan. I heard a song recently that said, I don't know what he's doing, but I know what he's done. And I've appreciated that, just knowing that, you know, his ways are higher than my ways. And so, but my story, you know, I've been a mascot for 24 years, just doing my thing, having fun, doing my best to serve the Lord, speaking at vacation Bible schools and churches and men's groups and conferences. And, you know, on game day, we always try to do a skit before the game. And earlier in, and this all happened on November the 23rd of 2013. I tell folks, I always remember the day because on that day, I literally came within inches of losing my life. Thankfully, instead of losing my life, I just spent nine days in a hospital and I got some big scars. And I had a guy tell me once that scars are just tattoos that come with a cool story. Today, I won't show you my scars. If I do that, you'll never invite me back on this dress. But I will share a little bit of my story, but I was going to bungee jump and zip line into Arrowhead Stadium. So how that works, we hire a company that comes in. They set up a zip line that attaches to the lights at the top of the stadium. Stretches all the way across the football field to the lights on the other side of the stadium. And then they attach a bungee cord to that zip line. So sounds perfectly safe, I know. Yeah. What I would do with those, I was supposed to jump out of the lights at the top of the stadium. I was supposed to fall for about 20 feet. The bungee cord was supposed to catch me, bounce me back into the air. And then I was going to zip line out over the field. So it was supposed to be the greatest mascot entrance ever. Well, unfortunately that day, things didn't go as planned because when I jumped out of the lights, because of the slack that was still in the zip line, instead of falling 20 feet, I fell approximately 70 to 75 feet. And I hit the seats in the upper level of our stadium. I hit the seats so hard that two seats out of the concrete. So if you ever go to Arrowhead Stadium by section 324, row 32, seats 22 and 23, you'll notice those a little bit newer. Thanks to me. But after I hit, I still remember, I guess my body must've went into shock or something. I was just, my whole body was shaking and I was really struggling to breathe. And I'll be honest, at that point, I was scared and I just wanted to get down. Well, unfortunately, if your bungee cord's attached to a zip line, you can't get down halfway through the ride. It's like a roller coaster. So you go to a theme park and get on a roller coaster. You're not going to get off the roller coaster until it comes to a stop. Well, the same was true for me. I jumped out of the lights. I hit the seats. At that point, the bungee cord yanked me back into the air and then I ziplined out over the field. And, you know, I wish I had time to share the all the details of what happened that day and how I can look back on it. But I look back on that now and I realize that, you know, I'm just thankful to still be here. I remember going to the hospital and the doctor explaining, you know, I broke seven ribs, collapsed a lung, shattered tailbone, cracked my sacrum, got a big gash on the back of my left leg that required a lot of stitches. Then I broke the T12 vertebrae in my back and I've now got titanium rods back there that kind of stabilize that part of my spine. But I remember both of those that walk. The doctor, as he walked out of my hospital room that evening after telling me all my injuries, he said, Mr. Mears, I hope you realize tonight you're a lucky man. He said, if you fell 75 feet, he said, number one, you're lucky to still be alive. Number two, you're lucky you're not paralyzed. And,

Six months. I spent 19 days in the hospital and then I was off work for six months doing therapy and rehab. And it was during that time that, you know, some of the most challenging days of my life when I'm like, Lord, I don't understand this. Don't understand it at all. Definitely don't like it. But what it did for me is it caused me to realize that God's principles and his promises never fail. They're always reliable no matter how severe, no matter how painful the situation is. And, you know, that's the one thing. I still get emotional when I talk about it because I look back on it now. And the Bible says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He always has been good. He always will be good. Always has been faithful. Always will be faithful. Always has been gracious and merciful. Always will be gracious and merciful. And, you know, since that time, you know, I'm now kind of, you know, I'm not going to say I'm complete fully recovered, but I'm 57 now, so I can't tell the difference between age and injury anymore. So it's all, all kinds of blends together at this point. But, you know, I've still faced challenges in life. And, and every time I face another challenge, I realize that, you know what, that God, I don't know, like I said, I don't always understand what he's up to, but I do know this, I know he's good. I know he's got a plan. And I look back on it now. And honestly, I would have never written that book if I would have got hurt because I was just too busy. I was always out and about, you know, people would always say, I should write a book. And so I did wrote this crazy book called Wolves Can't Fly since I've proved that wolves cannot fly. But the cool thing about it, all the money we make off of books, we give to charity. We give it away to homeless shelters, orphanages around the world. And just, uh, it's the most rewarding part of what I do is like, well, I speak at these conferences and then I stick around and sell these crazy books. And um and then we've, I think we've given away almost a quarter of a million dollars at this point to just, just ministries and orphanages and homeless shelters. And like I said, the rewarding part of my job, you know. It's one of these days I'm looking back on this and I'm not gonna lie, the Super Bowl rings are cool, you know. But when I, at the end of my career, I'm back on this, it's, you know, that's what I'm gonna remember are the relationships and hopefully the impact that uh that I was able to have through this, this crazy platform that I've been given. Because, as you know, I tell this to my kids, God didn't put us on earth to make a living. He put us here to make an impact and, and we're called to be salt and light in this world. And every morning we wake up, I tell folks, you, you know, you get your choice. You can rise and shine or you can rise and whine and whiners don't make a positive impact for Jesus Christ. And uh so that's my goal each day. You get up and go out and uh choose to shine and let his love and his light shine through, through you no matter what you do for a living. I don't care if you're a teacher, a doctor, a podcast host or crazy math stuff in the National Football League. You know, we've all got a platform and we're just called to use it and be faithful to him. Amen. So, I mean... As my pastor likes to say, you're never gonna live life abundantly until you learn to live life obediently. And so I just, you know, each day just trying to walk obediently with Christ and, and uh live out those fruits of the spirit that hopefully he's developing in me, the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Hopefully people can see that in me. Well, I think it's incredible. Even uh even the fact that you have a suit on most of the time when people see you. Before I even knew your story, I always thought, man, that dude just has so much energy. There's just such a great energy coming from him. Like, it's just so inspiring, so fun. And so I wanted all of our listeners on a national level to, to see, you know, behind the scenes, behind the mask, behind the mascot, what, what really drives you. And so that's incredible. Thank you so much for sharing that. I'll tell you what, he's, uh, Lord has blessed me in many, many ways, not just in that. I'll be honest with you, not materialistic. You know, Patrick Mahomes makes a little more than Casey ballclub. Just a little bit. He has blessed me with so many things that money can't buy. Like I said, the love, the joy, the peace that's in my life, the wonderful family he's blessed me with and working for a fantastic organization that supports the, the work I do around the world. And it's just, uh, you know, it's just, it's all good things come from him. And so I just need to keep that in mind and, and know that uh that he's the giver of all good things. Absolutely. I uh I'd kind of like to hear a little bit more of your faith story. Um and so I wanna take a, just a second quick break. And then when we come back, um talk to you about when you came to faith and sort of your relationship with Christ, you know, sort of then and now. Um let me take a quick break and then we'll be right back. Sounds good. Let me ask you a serious question. If something triggered a major market drop in the coming months, would your retirement be ready or exposed? With inflation, market volatility, and ongoing global uncertainty, more families are taking a closer look at whether their retirement plan is truly built to hold up. And many are finding that adding a layer of protection makes a lot of sense. Sanctuary metals is a Christian owned company that helps families strengthen their retirement savings with physical gold and silver through a gold IRA. During uncertain times, many people look to precious metals as a way to add stability when other assets may be under pressure. If you'd like to explore whether a gold IRA is a good fit for your situation, Sanctuary metals makes it easy to get started. Text GUIDE to 94878 to receive your free retirement defense guide or call 888-958-6579 to speak with one of their knowledgeable team members. Again, text GUIDE to 94878 or call 888-958-6579. Let me ask you a serious question. If something triggered a major market drop in the coming months, would your retirement be ready or exposed? With inflation, market volatility, and ongoing global uncertainty, more families are taking a closer look at whether their retirement plan is truly built to hold up. And many are finding that adding a layer of protection makes a lot of sense. Sanctuary metals is a Christian owned company that helps families strengthen their retirement savings with physical gold and silver through a gold IRA. During uncertain times, many people look to precious metals as a way to add stability when other assets may be under pressure. If you'd like to explore whether a gold IRA is a good fit for your situation, Sanctuary metals makes it easy to get started. Text GUIDE to 94878 to receive your free retirement defense guide or call 888-958-6579 to speak with one of their knowledgeable team members. Again, text GUIDE to 94878 or call 888-958-6579. Welcome back, everybody to Thinking Christian. We're here with Dan Mears. Fantastic story, Dan. Thank you so much for being here and sharing that. I looked up this story when Nate told me that he was going to have you on the podcast and uh, like just an amazing story. So, um, tell us the story. That was the story I would have picked for myself, but it's the one the good Lord gave me. So I guess that's the one. But yeah, we don't know what to pick the stories we write, but you know what? We do get, we do, like I said, you don't get to choose what you go through, but you do get to choose how you go through it. And I absolutely admit my tattoos do not have anything on these scars in your story. So, uh, but I'm kind of interested, you know, did you grow up uh Christian? What was your, when did you come to faith? So I grew up in church. I'm not gonna say it. So I had wonderful parents that made sure I was in church and Sunday school on a regular basis and even went to a Christian school growing up. And uh, you know, I knew all about the Lord and I, I, you know, we was, we'd say our prayers four times a day, once before every meal and once before bed. And uh, but honestly, it was a routine. It was, it was what we did on Sundays and it didn't really affect the way I chose to live life on a, on a daily basis. Uh, that really changed for me my senior year of high school. I went to a fellowship of Christian athletes camp there in St. Louis, Missouri. And it was at that camp is where I, I, you know, the Lord just kind of opened my eyes. I was a sinner and I needed a savior. And, and uh, it was, it was more than just religion. It was a relationship with Jesus Christ. And I just realized I was going through the motions. And so I, uh, I remember that my senior year of high school at that

I was with a ministry called Navigators, and that taught me a lot about memorizing scripture and sharing my, you know, putting together my testimony and being confident in sharing that and just having my quiet times each day. And that ministry really helped me develop some disciplines in my life that have helped me throughout my life. And so, but yeah, it was at Fellowship Christian Athletes Camp. I see here in my high school that I gave my life to Christ, and I'll tell you what, it's been a journey since then. It's funny. You know, one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is when it talks about how God uses unschooled and ordinary men. And I'm like, hey, sign me up. That's me. Hey, that's on my resume right there, unschooled, ordinary guy. And I'm like, if God can use, you know, his disciples, he can use guys like me as well. And yeah, I laugh at my fist. I tell folks, I'm most of the smart kids in my class are educated magna cum laude. I graduated thank the laudate and just but just realized that God, he just takes us where we're at. And if we're open to it, he'll use us to make an impact in the lives of others, you know. You know, they say that he doesn't always use our abilities as much as our availability. And so I just try to make myself available to him as much as I can. And it's fun to just sit back and see what he does. What do you think really changed, like before the accident with your faith and then after the accident with your faith? And yeah, just kind of interested in. I think for me, it took it to a new level because I was, you know, before my accident, I woke up that morning and had my quiet time. And, but, you know, it's easy to just kind of fall into a routine and I still have to guard against that at times, you know, just kind of going through the, you know, you do what you do and get up and you have your quiet time each morning. And so, but that day, I think what changed the most is that it just took my faith to a whole other level, knowing that this God that I sing about his faithfulness and read about his faithfulness and hear about his faithfulness and then come to experience it firsthand and realize, you know what? It's all true. You can count on him. And that's been, you know, I've had so many opportunities since my accident to minister to other folks who are going through a difficult time, whether it's a health issue or, you know, there's so many hurting people in this world and it's not always physical. It could be mental or spiritual or whatever it might be. But, you know, I tell folks, we've all got issues. I've got issues. You've got issues. If you're listening to this and you don't think you've got issues, that means you've really got issues at this point. You know, I laugh at my fist. I tell folks, I'm most of the smart kids in my class graduated magna cum laude. I graduated thank the laude. And just, but just realize that God, he just takes us where we're at and if we're open to it, he'll use us to make an impact in the lives of others, you know. Just kind of go on through the, you know, you do what you do and get up and you have your quiet time each morning. And so, but that day, I think what changed the most is that it just took my faith to a whole other level, knowing that this God that I sing about his faithfulness and read about his faithfulness and hear about his faithfulness, and then come to experience it firsthand and realize, you know what, it's all true. You can count on him. And that's been, you know, I've had so many opportunities since my accident to minister to other folks who are going through a difficult time, whether it's a health issue or, you know, there's so many hurting people in this world and it's not always physical. It could be mental or spiritual or whatever it might be. But, you know, I tell folks, we, we've all got issues. I've got issues. You've got issues. If you're listening to this and you don't think you've got issues, that means you've really got issues at this point. You know, I laugh at my fist. He says that all the time. It's people like that don't think they've got the issues are the ones that got the biggest issues. And so, and the Bible is clear about that fact that, you know, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And so, but you know, when you just learn to be real and be authentic and I tell people when I'm in a costume, I hide behind the mask. That's what I do for my work. That's not the kind of person I wanna be outside of costume, you know. Oftentimes we try to hide behind the mask. And us men, we're especially guilty of it because it seems like we never want people to see our faults or our fears or our failures. And even, even though we've all got them. But, but, you know, I've learned just to be authentic, be real and just know that, you know, we're all sinners. We all need a savior and I'm thankful that we serve a God that's his mercies are new each and every day. Mm. Did you find like, you know, you said you mentioned you had kids. How many kids do you have? I've got three great kids. Absolutely love. Being a mascot is a great job. Being a dad is the greatest. How did they handle it? I mean, how did they handle, you know, dad being hurt and then rehab and all that kind of good stuff? Well, it was kind of interesting because at, you know, they, you know, at that point they were in junior high and high school. And so it was, it was just kind of different because I was, you know, of course, couldn't go out and play ball and, you know, do all of the things that I tried to do on a, on a consistent basis with them. So it kind of had me laid up for several months and, but I think they, I think they, you know, I've talked to them about it before and I think it also helped them to kind of grow in their faith as well a little bit. And so, but yeah, they're now 20, 27, 25 and 22. So oldest daughter's a social worker and she and her husband live back in St. Charles, Missouri. My son is in med school, which I find that hilarious. His dad's a mascot. He's going to be a doctor. Him and his wife are currently in Springfield, Missouri. And so, and then my youngest daughter, she would see athlete in the family. She actually played college volleyball at Louisiana tech down in Ruston, Louisiana. But she recently graduated and stuff. And yeah, so I'm, I'm proud of them. Good, good kids. That's awesome. My wife is a volleyball player as well. So we have a little playtime. She played, uh, before she got into pharmacy school, she got kind of an accelerated program. She played D1 volleyball, uh, at UIC university in Chicago. And so, uh, red shirted her first year, got injured and then, uh, went into pharmacy school and that was the end of all that. Well, but, um, very cool. I've watched a lot of volleyball matches in my day. It's sort of an, right. It's sort of an all consuming activity, isn't it? It is. And then my son, he played college baseball for a couple of years as well. And so the thing I liked about volleyball, it was indoors and I climate controlled my son's baseball game. Gosh, there's some days I froze to death and other days I couldn't take enough clothes off to watch the game. Yep. Big difference. What's, uh, you know, as you look forward to the next couple of weeks, obviously you're pretty busy, I'm sure. Um, with appearances mostly and hoping for Vegas, right? And, and so when you go out on your appearances, um, you know, obviously you're talking to the chiefs and you're kind of entertaining. Um, when you get a chance to speak, what does that look like as far as sharing your faith with folks that just sort of invite you in because you're, you know, the wolf, right? Like, how does that, how does that work? Well, it's, it's interesting because when, when I go speak to groups, I mean, sometimes I get invited to go speak on a Sunday morning in a church and I come in and share my story. You come in with both barrels, you know, like it's no holds bar. You just go do what you do. And, uh, but of course, when I go speak at like, uh, conferences around the country or public schools or whatever it might be, I tell my wife, my goal is not to go in and shove my religion down anybody's throat because that's not going to be attractive, number one. And, uh, and plus I'm not going to get invited back ever. But, so I don't, I don't try to shove it down people's throat, but I sure don't hide the fact that I am a, a follower of Christ. And I just try to let my, you know, like I say, just let his light shine through me. I, you know, put a smile on your face, be kind and, you know, live as a character. I tell this to some of my backups that just live as a character with character, you know? Yeah, be fun, have fun, enjoy life, but, and just live life

faith in that setting. You know, it's kind of interesting too. I'll share this. For years, I thought, okay, I'm a mascot. I put this head on and mascots aren't supposed to talk in costume. And I'm like, okay, Lord, how am I supposed to share the gospel with people if I'm not even supposed to talk? Okay. And so when I told you I wrote the book, since then, I've written another book too, so I've actually got two books that I've written over the years. But in the books, I always take one chapter and it's kind of the faith chapter where I share my testimony. I share my faith, the gospel message. And it's been crazy. Then I start selling these books and I realized every time I sell a book, it's kind of like giving away a gospel track, a really thick gospel track. But I know that if they take time to read the book, they're going to, they're going to hear the message. And so, yeah, it's just kind of interesting how God kind of works out the details in our lives and just like saying, no, I'm passing out. I'll sell all these crazy books. And something you said earlier about using our availability. All you have to do is be available and then he'll figure out the rest or kind of piece the rest. My favorite verse is Proverbs 16, 9, a man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. So your heart is to reach the lost and then you're like, well, I can't talk through this mascot. So God, you got to do some work. And clearly he has. And I think that's amazing. And anybody can see that. That's awesome. Yeah, he's always got a plan. I just try to stay in step with it the best I can. So I don't really sweat the details because I think he's got that worked out. He's God, I'm not. I've learned that many, many times in life. Way better than we can, for sure. Yes. Well, Dan, I don't know that you want to tell people how to book you for more, but especially where can they get your books? Like, what do you want people to know? How can they engage with you? Where do they find your books? You know, that kind of thing. I've got a website. It's danmers.org. And you can find books there. You can figure out how to get in touch with me there. It's danmers.org. Mears has two Es in it. So if you spell it M-E-A-R-S, I'm not sure what's going to pop up on your computer. But if you spell it Dan M-E-E-R-S, hopefully you'll see a guy that looks somewhat like this. Even though I think those pictures on my website were airbrushed, if I'm not mistaken. I think they made me look a little better than I'm looking. I've got glamor shots on my website too. And I do think they make you look as good as possible. Right. Absolutely. Well, we'll make sure we link to your website, folks, in the show description. You'll find the link to Dan's website. Just encourage you to go pick up his book and benefit Charity too, right? That's right. That's fantastic. And maybe you book him for a party. You have him come in and speak. All that kind of stuff. That'd be fantastic. Dan, it's been a pleasure talking to you. I knew, I didn't tell you this story, but I knew Benny the Dragon. I think it was Benny the Dragon. Sparky the Dragon at UIC. The guy who did Sparky the Dragon at UIC. And he was friends with one of my wife's friends. And I remember meeting him and he was so laid back. Like he was such a chill individual. He didn't seem like the kind of guy that you would ever catch in a mascot suit at all. And then he became Sparky the Dragon and he's like all over the place. I wasn't sure what to expect when meeting you. I call them mascots. NBA, NFL, National Hockey League, NBA. I've met all kinds of mascots. And they fall into one of two categories. They're either the most laid back, easygoing guys you'll ever meet in your life. Or they act like they've been eating sugar cereal since the day they were born. Like you have got to calm down a little bit. You know, you're gonna burn out way too quick. No matter what category they fall into. The thing I've learned about mascots is, as they say, we're about two peas short of a casserole. So I don't know a single mascot out there that I want to be my financial planner. But I will say that they're a lot of fun. I know a lot of them around the country and I just love them. It's fun being a part of the furternity, as we call ourselves. Furternity. I love it. Thanks so much for being on the show. Your story is amazing. Like I said, we'll link to your website, danmeers.org. Two Es. But we'll link to it in the description. And, hey, I hate to say good luck because we're all Christians here. So may God's blessing be on the Chiefs. And I hope you're in Vegas in a few weeks here. Yes. And have another one of these next time I see you. And we'll keep doing it. Even the chop when we see you. For sure. Well, I appreciate you guys having me on. Absolutely. Thank you so much, Dan. Have a great day. Hey, friends. Nicole Eunice here from the How to Study the Bible podcast. I want to invite you to experience a fresh look at the story of Joseph and what it means for you today. Life can totally throw us for a loop, whether it's your family or your marriage, work, church or something else entirely. Maybe you have found yourself in a season that you never would have expected and that you certainly wouldn't have signed up for. In this six week Bible study together, we're going to talk about the biblical story of Joseph, a man who lived an unexpected life and trusted God through it all. We'll talk about the blessings he experienced, the promises God keeps, the way that tests of our character can actually refine our faith. We'll talk about patience. We'll talk about loss. Absolutely talk about redemption. So come join us for the six week series over on the How to Study the Bible podcast. Can't wait to dive in with you.