Kansas State University Athletics
Turner’s Final Act
May 25, 2023 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
It's 1:36 p.m. on a cloudless Friday in Colby, Kansas, and many men and a few women from the annual Northwest Kansas Catbackers event have departed the Meadow Lake Golf Course clubhouse and are navigating the nine-hole bluegrass golf course that opened in 1953. A few women and a few men collect the last of the paper plates from lunch. A bartender chats with a group of purple-clad loyalists who've stayed behind to talk about the weather and Kansas State sports.
Blake Turner, a 24-year-old Topeka native, wears a purple windbreaker, a purple Scott City Nut Fry ballcap over dark hair, and a grin. He sits on a white wood chair at a long white wood table in the northeast corner of the clubhouse. Turner, a sixth-year senior at K-State, has spent one fourth of his life on the cheer squad, and carries a university secret that's old as ivy on Anderson Hall, one that has carefully been passed down through the decades, and one that he's carried for the past four years.
"I was never going to break the tradition of keeping my identity of being Willie a secret," he says. "No, not me."
Turner, who wore K-State purple since kindergarten, will serve as K-State's mascot, Willie Wildcat, for less than seven more hours. His final event as Willie will come at the Catbackers event in Hays, Kansas. That's when he'll take a bow, putting a bow on his time as K-State's icon and university ambassador — a journey that's featured more than 250 appearances in addition to K-State athletic events. There are so many memories, so many of them, that spill from his mouth since this all began — the time he performed 81 pushups in costume for a man celebrating his 81st birthday; the time he slid into a Formula 1 racecar in Wichita; and his very first K-State event as Willie, when he attended the annual Bill Snyder Highway Half and 5K, and performed the famous "K-S-U" on the Powercat at the 50-yard line at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"Pretty cool," he says. "It was the first time I'd ever done the 'K-S-U' on the Powercat. Very exciting."
Yet for all the memories — for all the Harley Days; for all Army fatigues on Fort Riley Day; for all the lavender, purple and white uniforms for basketball games; for all the Santa hats at Christmas; for all the tuxedos at weddings; for all the peek-a-boo games with young children; for all tailgates, the birthday parties, retirement parties and graduation parties, is the singular event that Turner carries into retirement, the ultimate pinnacle, the top of the top, the dream beyond dreams, which next to his college graduation in December 2022 is the singular most breathtaking moment of his life.
The moment arrived shortly before 10:30 p.m. on November 26. K-State scored its final touchdown with 4 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in a 47-27 win over Kansas at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
That's when Turner — Willie — sprinted up the west stadium steps, dashed into an awaiting elevator in the West Stadium Center lobby, reached the sixth level, climbed more steps to the roof, and reached the 45-degree nighttime air, rain trickling, and stood atop the Dev Nelson Press Level, and performed the highlight above all highlights for a K-State mascot.
He performed the "K-S-U" on top of the press box.
The 6-foot, 215-pound Turner waited four years to do it. Not every Willie is privileged to get a chance at living out the dream. It had to be the right place at the right time. Hours before kickoff to the K-State/KU football game, a member of the K-State fan experience team escorted Turner to the sixth floor of the West Stadium Center. They climbed some steps. The heavy dark door opened to sunlight.
"No freaking way," Turner said.
Turner walked toward the edge, overlooking the stadium to find his spot. The K-State marching band was practicing on the field. Hours later, he returned to the spot. He saw the crowd of 51,861. "I blacked out," he remembers. He knew his job down to the motion. He let muscle-memory take over.
"I knew what I had to do," he says. "I had to do my thing. I had one job. And everyone was watching."
TV cameras panned to Willie on top of the press box. The crowd went nuts. Willie was illuminated by the stadium lights, little droplets of rain appearing to shoot through him and onto the roof below. The first costumed Willie mascot appeared in 1947. Through the years, only a select few had managed to reach the top.
"There were no tears or anything," Turner says. "It was just heat of the moment. A lot of adrenaline kicked in."
There's Clark Kent and Superman.
There's Bruce Wayne and Batman.
There's Peter Parker and Spider-Man.
And there's Blake Turner and Willie Wildcat.
"When I'm Willie, I have a totally different personality," Turner says. "There've been close calls. You have to be quick on your toes. Someone might ask, 'Where were you at? I didn't see you.' I'll say I had food poisoning or had to go home. It's about being quick on your toes, fibbing the truth, as to why they didn't see you at the football game, because you must keep your identity a secret. Or going on a trip for basketball, I say I'm going as a fan. You might not post on social media just to keep it low key exactly where you're at. Being Willie has taught me to be a quick thinker."
But for four years Turner has been there.
And so has Willie.
"The final time I'd ever do the K-S-U on the football field, I slowed it down, just taking my time out there, really, and embraced my four years," Turner says. "I took it slow. I stood out there and looked at one side and turned around and looked at the other side.
"I got everything out of it."
Which brings us to 8:07 p.m. — less than seven hours after our talk in Colby — when a young man makes his way toward the middle of the stage at the Home Events Center in Hays, Kansas. He wears a 2023 Catbacker Tour T-shirt, black shorts, purple Nikes and a purple ballcap. Surrounded by more than 300 purple-clad gatherers, and underneath the lights in a spacious dark, quiet auditorium, the young man holds a microphone and begins to talk.
"My name is Blake Turner," he says, "and this is my last event as Willie Wildcat."
The crowd stands and applauds.
At 8:23 p.m., as gatherers disperse, heading into the nighttime air, Turner emerges from the Home Events Center. He pushes the carrying case into the second undercarriage compartment on a long purple bus. Then he walks along the edge of the bus, hangs a left, and slowly walks up the bus steps and disappears inside.
Turner has performed his final act.
It's 1:36 p.m. on a cloudless Friday in Colby, Kansas, and many men and a few women from the annual Northwest Kansas Catbackers event have departed the Meadow Lake Golf Course clubhouse and are navigating the nine-hole bluegrass golf course that opened in 1953. A few women and a few men collect the last of the paper plates from lunch. A bartender chats with a group of purple-clad loyalists who've stayed behind to talk about the weather and Kansas State sports.
Blake Turner, a 24-year-old Topeka native, wears a purple windbreaker, a purple Scott City Nut Fry ballcap over dark hair, and a grin. He sits on a white wood chair at a long white wood table in the northeast corner of the clubhouse. Turner, a sixth-year senior at K-State, has spent one fourth of his life on the cheer squad, and carries a university secret that's old as ivy on Anderson Hall, one that has carefully been passed down through the decades, and one that he's carried for the past four years.
"I was never going to break the tradition of keeping my identity of being Willie a secret," he says. "No, not me."
Turner, who wore K-State purple since kindergarten, will serve as K-State's mascot, Willie Wildcat, for less than seven more hours. His final event as Willie will come at the Catbackers event in Hays, Kansas. That's when he'll take a bow, putting a bow on his time as K-State's icon and university ambassador — a journey that's featured more than 250 appearances in addition to K-State athletic events. There are so many memories, so many of them, that spill from his mouth since this all began — the time he performed 81 pushups in costume for a man celebrating his 81st birthday; the time he slid into a Formula 1 racecar in Wichita; and his very first K-State event as Willie, when he attended the annual Bill Snyder Highway Half and 5K, and performed the famous "K-S-U" on the Powercat at the 50-yard line at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"Pretty cool," he says. "It was the first time I'd ever done the 'K-S-U' on the Powercat. Very exciting."
Yet for all the memories — for all the Harley Days; for all Army fatigues on Fort Riley Day; for all the lavender, purple and white uniforms for basketball games; for all the Santa hats at Christmas; for all the tuxedos at weddings; for all the peek-a-boo games with young children; for all tailgates, the birthday parties, retirement parties and graduation parties, is the singular event that Turner carries into retirement, the ultimate pinnacle, the top of the top, the dream beyond dreams, which next to his college graduation in December 2022 is the singular most breathtaking moment of his life.
The moment arrived shortly before 10:30 p.m. on November 26. K-State scored its final touchdown with 4 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in a 47-27 win over Kansas at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
That's when Turner — Willie — sprinted up the west stadium steps, dashed into an awaiting elevator in the West Stadium Center lobby, reached the sixth level, climbed more steps to the roof, and reached the 45-degree nighttime air, rain trickling, and stood atop the Dev Nelson Press Level, and performed the highlight above all highlights for a K-State mascot.
He performed the "K-S-U" on top of the press box.
The 6-foot, 215-pound Turner waited four years to do it. Not every Willie is privileged to get a chance at living out the dream. It had to be the right place at the right time. Hours before kickoff to the K-State/KU football game, a member of the K-State fan experience team escorted Turner to the sixth floor of the West Stadium Center. They climbed some steps. The heavy dark door opened to sunlight.
"No freaking way," Turner said.
Turner walked toward the edge, overlooking the stadium to find his spot. The K-State marching band was practicing on the field. Hours later, he returned to the spot. He saw the crowd of 51,861. "I blacked out," he remembers. He knew his job down to the motion. He let muscle-memory take over.
"I knew what I had to do," he says. "I had to do my thing. I had one job. And everyone was watching."
TV cameras panned to Willie on top of the press box. The crowd went nuts. Willie was illuminated by the stadium lights, little droplets of rain appearing to shoot through him and onto the roof below. The first costumed Willie mascot appeared in 1947. Through the years, only a select few had managed to reach the top.
"There were no tears or anything," Turner says. "It was just heat of the moment. A lot of adrenaline kicked in."
There's Clark Kent and Superman.
There's Bruce Wayne and Batman.
There's Peter Parker and Spider-Man.
And there's Blake Turner and Willie Wildcat.
"When I'm Willie, I have a totally different personality," Turner says. "There've been close calls. You have to be quick on your toes. Someone might ask, 'Where were you at? I didn't see you.' I'll say I had food poisoning or had to go home. It's about being quick on your toes, fibbing the truth, as to why they didn't see you at the football game, because you must keep your identity a secret. Or going on a trip for basketball, I say I'm going as a fan. You might not post on social media just to keep it low key exactly where you're at. Being Willie has taught me to be a quick thinker."
But for four years Turner has been there.
And so has Willie.
"The final time I'd ever do the K-S-U on the football field, I slowed it down, just taking my time out there, really, and embraced my four years," Turner says. "I took it slow. I stood out there and looked at one side and turned around and looked at the other side.
"I got everything out of it."
Which brings us to 8:07 p.m. — less than seven hours after our talk in Colby — when a young man makes his way toward the middle of the stage at the Home Events Center in Hays, Kansas. He wears a 2023 Catbacker Tour T-shirt, black shorts, purple Nikes and a purple ballcap. Surrounded by more than 300 purple-clad gatherers, and underneath the lights in a spacious dark, quiet auditorium, the young man holds a microphone and begins to talk.
"My name is Blake Turner," he says, "and this is my last event as Willie Wildcat."
The crowd stands and applauds.
At 8:23 p.m., as gatherers disperse, heading into the nighttime air, Turner emerges from the Home Events Center. He pushes the carrying case into the second undercarriage compartment on a long purple bus. Then he walks along the edge of the bus, hangs a left, and slowly walks up the bus steps and disappears inside.
Turner has performed his final act.
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