Dan Meers captivates audience at 10th annual Semoball awards

Dan Meers, who is KC Wolf, the mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs, shared his inspiring life story at the 10th Annual Semoball Awards, presented by SoutheastHEALTH, on Friday night at La Croix Church in Cape Girardeau.

Meers detailed his stunt gone wrong in which he fell 70 feet while being set to bungee jump and zipline over Arrowhead Stadium before a Kansas City Chiefs game.

“I’ll always remember that day because I came within inches of losing my life,” Meers said to the audience. “The plan was for me to dress up in my costume and jump out of the lights at the top of the stadium. I was supposed to fall for about 20 feet.”

The fall resulted in Meers suffering seven broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a shattered tailbone, a broken T12 vertebrae along with various other injuries.

Despite the injuries, Meers recalled what a doctor told him while he was lying in a hospital bed.

“He said, ‘Mr. Meers I hope you realize tonight that you are a very lucky man,” Meers said. “Number one, you’re lucky to still be alive. Number two, you’re very lucky you aren’t paralyzed. That night in the hospital bed I thought a lot about what that doctor said. I don’t believe I’m lucky to be alive. I believe I’m blessed, I don’t believe in luck.”

Meers said one of the foundations that allowed him to get through the incredibly treacherous time was his faith.

“I knew God had a purpose behind it,” Meers said. “Otherwise he would have never allowed it into my life. That’s one of the biggest things I’ve learned in all this is sometimes God will have us go through challenging times. We always look at something as negative when in reality, God can use those times in your life to teach you some incredibly valuable lessons.”

As a result of his injuries, Meers spent nine days in the hospital. Those nine days allowed him time to reflect on things that really mattered to him, his relationships.

“There were three things that helped me get through those nine days,” Meers said. “My faith, my family and my friends. All three of those things are relationships.”

Meers said that at the end of his life, he doesn’t want to be remembered for what he did as a mascot or how long he did it.

“I hope to be remembered for who I was,” Meers said. “If the only thing people say about my life is that I love the Lord and I love people, then I’m good with that.”

The Semoball Awards are presented by SoutheastHEALTH and supported by title sponsors: The Bank of Missouri (Official Bank Sponsor), SEMO ESPN Radio, the St. Louis Cardinals, rustmedia and your local newspapers -- Southeast Missourian, Standard Democrat, Daily American Republic, Delta Dunklin Democrat and Dexter Statesman.