KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a maze of hallways that the crowds don’t see at Arrowhead Stadium, Dan Meers unlocked a bright red door. Inside, the room is packed with decades full of memory-making and over-sized outfits for the Chiefs mascot, KC Wolf.
You’ll see a few face masks plus the ‘winter’ and ‘summer’ wolf bodies (think less fur).
“He’s got 85-inch hips!” Meers said, pulling out a giant pair of shorts along with big red cowboy boots, gold boxing gloves, and even a tuxedo.
Meers has been the man behind the mascot for 30 years. He said the job is so much more than a costume.
“What I am passionate about in life is simply three things. That’s my faith, my family, and using my life to make a positive impact in this world,” Meers said.
KC Wolf spends a lot of time out in the community. Meers said KC Wolf made 600 appearances just last year and that requires the help of back up KC Wolves, too.
At one time, that included Lee’s Summit native Andrew Johnson who is now fellow NFL mascot Toro for the Houston Texans. Johnson said it all started when he met Meers.
“When I was in fifth grade, I got to try on the KC Wolf costume. That was the moment I realized this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” he said. “The best part of my job goes back to the goal Dan Meers set with the KC Wolf program and his goal has always been to be a character with character.”
Meers has been such a role model that he won a lifetime achievement award at an NFL Mascot Summit that is now named after him.
“You’ve just got to be old enough and live long enough and they will eventually name an award after you,” he said, laughing.
Meers smiles through the highs and the lows, such as a fall while rehearsing a stunt in 2013.
“Did a little bungee jump that didn’t go very well and I fell about seventy-ish feet,” he said.
He spent months recovering and wrote a book called "Wolves Can’t Fly."
He said he uses the proceeds to benefit charities in Kansas City and around the world.
“I can communicate with kids in any language,” he said. “I can entertain kids in any language in a costume.”
Now he’s writing his second book, called “Mascot On A Mission. Living a Life of Influence.” He uses even a dark day as a light despite the pain.
“I still deal with it once in a while, but I tell people every morning I wake up I can rise and shine, or I can rise and whine,” he said. “Its crazy. I look back on it and I wouldn’t even trade it. Even if I could change it, I wouldn’t, because just all the lessons that I learned through that time.”
“I want to make every day count, you know? I want this world to be a better place because I was here for a short time,” Meers continued.
That is a mascot on a mission.
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