KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two Kansas State season ticket holders had a hand in the team's success this season.
Although they'd never agree with such a statement, technically Misty Woodward and Mitch Moss were part of the Wildcats coaching staff for one day.
"It was way above and beyond what we thought we would get to do this year," Woodward said.
Woodward and Moss went from sitting in the stands of Bramlage Coliseum to standing alongside K-State head coach Jerome Tang during a team practice.
"Before, we just kind of sat off to the side and watched, and they were like, 'No, you guys are coaches, you get out here and you start shagging balls. You guys are a part of this group,'" Woodward said.
The two fans won the opportunity to be honorary coaches for K-State's first Big 12 matchup of the regular season against West Virginia.
Moss and Woodward told KSHB 41 that Tang made them drop down and do pushups after players missed their free throws.
"As we're in there, Coach Tang is like, 'Okay, you guys are coaches for the day, you better do your homework and tell me what play we're going to run for the first play,'" Moss said.
The opportunity came at the same time the Wildcats were in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the All-State Sugar Bowl against the University of Alabama.
Woodward and Moss chose to coach with Tang and catch the better game.
It was a nail-biter in the Octagon of Doom as the Wildcats and Mountaineers went into overtime.
"I think the best part was being that close to the bench and going into overtime and winning that," Woodward said.
The Big 12 Coach of the Year is shaking things up at Kansas State, and he's filling seats in Bramlage Coliseum.
Fans tell KSHB 41 they no longer have to say, "wait until football season."
"You know, any doubters, I would say the proof is in the performance," Moss said.
In his first season with K-State, Tang had two players on the roster, found 13 and was picked to finish last in the Big 12 conference.
Tang took his team as high as No. 5 in the country, and, lucky for fans, this is just the beginning of the Tang era.
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