ARIZONA CARDINALS: KID STALLYN

Kid Stallyn was born on a double-dog dare over 15 years ago as Dustin Holmes, a self-described "mild-mannered engineer who likes his anonymity," picked up a foam hat and a mullet wig. Now he struts through tailgates and stadiums in a flashy red suit and fedora yelling at the top of his lungs. This is, he says, his destiny.

How did you fall in love with your team? What is your first memory around your NFL team?

As most Cardinal fans can attest, we are transplants from another team. When the Cardinals landed in Arizona, I was in high school in Denver, Colorado. I was a Broncos fan back then. I lived through the Orange Crush defense and countless Super Bowl blowouts. But one thing I always wanted to be was a season ticket holder. As I finished college and finished my career in the United States Air Force, I settled upon Tucson, Arizona. It was in 1999 after the Broncos had just won back-to-back Super Bowls and a legendary player retired. For me, it was as if my time as a Broncos fan was also retired. I wanted to fulfill that dream of being a season ticket holder. I became a season ticket holder to the Arizona Cardinals with my father, who had also relocated to Arizona. As the years progressed, and my kids got old enough, I added seats, and we made it a multi-generational tailgate. The crazy thing is, at some point, even though I started out being a Denver Broncos fan, in some way I think it was destiny that I would become a Cardinals fan. See, my childhood in Colorado was spent growing up on Cardinal Lane. It's as if it was a sign and that it was meant to be.

How, when, and why did you start dressing up, collecting, or becoming more than a regular ordinary fan?

Dressing up for the games started in 2001, after September 11th. My best friend at the time and I were camped out, waiting for some tickets to go on sale. Kids kept coming up to me and telling me that I looked like this rock star. At the time, I had no idea who he was. Neither did my friend. Well, after a few internet searches and finding pictures of him, my friend shows up to work with this god-awful foam, red hat and a mullet wig. Tells me that if he's going to go to the Cardinals game with me (he would go to the games my father couldn't attend) that he's only going to come if I wear that outfit. Well, peer pressure won out, and I told him I would wear it. I had very prominent seats at the Sun Devil stadium. Front row, end zone, right behind the goal posts.

That very first game, dressed up as the Kid in 2001, I ended up featured on the Jumbotron, and the Kid was born. With each and every game, the Kid would get more and more airtime. The Cardinals' field-photographer approached me in the 2003 season and asked me if it would be okay if he submitted one of his photos of me into a big Fan of the Year contest. Of course I said, "Yes!" I had to write a little bit about myself. Well, his photo and my write-up made it as the finalist for the Arizona Cardinals. The next thing I know, I'm on field being presented an award.

As part of my acceptance speech that day, I thanked my best friend Ron who started it all. I thanked my dad for not disowning me and I thanked the South Endzonies for getting pumped up and rowdy for every home game. Since then, both Ron and my Father have passed on after courageous bouts with Cancer. I dedicate every single game to them, to memorialize them, because without them this would never have happened.

What is your favorite NFL moment or team memory?

I can't really say that I have a single memory that stands out more than any other. During the years at Sun Devil stadium when we bounced around at 2-14 to 6-10 season after season, fans from other teams over-ran the stadium. It was easy to start a chant that would result in someone actually getting hurt, just people behaving stupidly. I would have to say that winning the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles stands out the most. Having lived through all of those losing seasons at Sun Devil Stadium to get to see it hosting the team's most important game in franchise history was amazing. The confetti was flying at the end, grown men were crying in absolute disbelief that we were actually going to the Super Bowl with the chance of being champions. Being there, front row, in my own stadium was surreal. To be there with my father and sons.

What distinguishes you from other fans of your team?

Honestly, I don't think that there's anything that sets me apart from any other fan in that stadium. Sure, I wear a bright, red suit and I get put on the Jumbotron for acting foolish and trying to get the crowd pumped up. But there are 65,000 others in that Stadium that love this team as much, if not more than I do. I've been afforded some amazing opportunities and met some amazing people through this journey. Had my friend not double-dog-dared me to do this, I would be just another face in the crowd cheering on my team and going into work on Mondays, hoarse from screaming so loudly. I just hope that I've motivated another fan to be as loud and crazy as I am in that stadium or added another lifelong fan to the bandwagon due to my passion for this team and organization. If that's true then it's worth it to keep on being the Kid.

How did you develop your costume / get your nickname / develop your Superfan persona?

As I stated before, the costume started off as a cheap, foam hat and mullet wig. But since I was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fans, I've felt I needed to step-up my game each and every year. I've added leopard print, red pants to complete the rock star look. I've upgraded the foam hat to velvet, and now, to fedoras. I've gone from velvet pants to a Zoot suit. I've got a pink velvet suit that I wear during games in October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I usually go through a pair of gloves a season.

What is your favorite keepsake or piece of memorabilia?

I would say that my most treasured piece of memorabilia is the cleats that a great player gave my son at the end of the Rams game just before X-mas. I was going through my divorce. He had posted a picture of these special cleats that he'd had custom made just for this game. They are painted like a red candy cane. He posted that one lucky fan would be getting these cleats after the game. Well, that one lucky fan was my son Austin. Austin was wearing his jersey with that particular player on it along with a red Santa hat. The player picked him out of the crowd, came over, and gave them to him. That gesture had a huge impact on Austin at a time when his mom and dad were going through something tough.

When did you start collecting / building your fan cave?

I honestly don't collect memorabilia. When given something by the players or team, I would give it to my kids. Now that they're older, I will give it to a young fan in the stands. They've had gloves and hats from officials. Probably the strangest gifts from a player were his sweaty socks after a game once. Those rode in the bed of my truck on the way home. To me, seeing the enjoyment on their faces when they get a glove or hat from a player does a lot for making a lifelong fan. It doesn't need to be locked away in my house. As for the cleats, I prominently display those in my son's room along with two pictures of the moment they were given to him. But those are his memorabilia, not mine. My current wife already thinks I'm a hoarder.

What is your game day ritual? How do you prefer to watch the game?

Game Day ritual is the same whether it's a home or an away game. Every home game my KNP (Okay, no worries!), tailgate crew meets up when the gates open four hours before kickoff and host one of the best tailgates that the University of Phoenix Stadium has to offer. We have theme menus featuring references to the team that we are hosting each week and we invite opposing fans to come partake. We offer multiple TVs playing pre-game shows. Our biggest tailgate of the year is always against our division rival - the Seattle Seahawks. That game has become our signature tailgate. We have travelled to the Clink (CenturyLink Field) for the past two seasons and they come down to ours. We offer coffee and have a Clam Chowder Cook-Off each year for our home game. My KNP tailgate crew goes to at least one road game every year. In 2013 we only went to New Orleans. In 2014 we went to Denver, Seattle, St. Louis, and Texas. In 2015 we went to the mid-west. For 2016 we are targeting Buffalo and Los Angeles where we have 16 tickets all together at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

How does it feel to be known by your friends and peers as a die-hard fan?

I'm just a mild mannered engineer by day. I like the anonymity that living two hours away from the team gives me. There are people at work who know my alter-ego-persona and think I'm crazy. But there are others who think it's a lot of fun and enjoy coming to games with me. They range from fellow Cardinals fans to fans from other teams. We all just have the same love of the sport and camaraderie.

What is the best thing about your team?

The thing that I love about the Cardinals is the family environment it provides. Over the years, first as a fan and then as a result of my superfan status, I've gotten to meet and develop a friendship with many people within this organization. I've had players at my tailgate before they had to be in the stadium. I've had the owners as guests at our tailgate. On away games, they routinely invite our tailgate group for drinks at the team's' hotel. Our General Manager paraded me around as the Arizona Cardinals superfan in Seattle last year. They genuinely appreciate the fans and the support of the community. How many other organizations would go out of their way to do that? I get text messages on a regular basis from the owners. We've become great friends over the years and I wouldn't change that for anything. It's not just the owners, though. The guys who run the flags on the field, they always make a point to stop by before the game. We chat about life and family and slap a high five to a great game. I've become friends with cheerleaders over the years. I've developed friendships with players.

On a family trip to Florida, while waiting in line to go on this ride, walking through the fast-line there was a player and some kids he was hosting for his foundation. I went on social media later that day and asked him if he was there. His reply was, "Yes, I thought that maybe that was you". To get that kind of response from a player was pretty cool and humbling all at the same time. The next day we met up, shared handshakes, and he introduced me to some of the kids that he was hosting. It all boils down to the classiness of the organization, all the way from the top down to the players on the field.

All images by Ben Colen.

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