Iowa State community says goodbye to special fan Nick Bassett, whose spirit inspired Cyclones' teams, fans
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Nick Bassett sometimes caught himself thinking about what his final moments would look like. A longtime Iowa State football season ticket holder, Bassett was such a big fan of the Cyclones that he dreamed of getting one last chance to visit his family’s seats in Section 3 at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.
“I fantasize about when I die,” Bassett said in an interview with the Des Moines Register last summer. “I hope I get to meet my maker sitting in my season ticket spots and just sit there and look over the field for a while and talk with my maker for a while and just sit there and just take it all in before I go to the great beyond.”
Bassett, a popular and inspiring Iowa State fan, died Thursday at the age of 29. He had struggled with various health issues since he was 2.
He gained wide notoriety this past season when he was the subject of a Des Moines Register feature and appeared on ESPN’s popular television show “College GameDay” when it visited Ames before the Cy-Hawk football game.
Bassett, a Boone native, vowed to return to Jack Trice Stadium for the first game of the 2021 season after having both his legs amputated last May due to health complications from his scoliosis. Iowa State fans rallied around him. So did Cyclones coach Matt Campbell, who befriended Bassett and invited him to several practices.
To Nick and his entire family! Thank you for allowing me to meet an amazing individual! The joy he had every time I was able to speak to him was wonderful! I was proud that I was able to keep the promise I made him last time we spoke! He is an inspiration to us all! @AnnBassett61
— GC4🐺 (@george_conditt) January 26, 2022
The support hasn’t stopped for Bassett or his family members, who have received an outpouring of support since he died. Current and former Iowa State players took to social media throughout the week to offer their condolences.
“It’s just been a phenomenal response,” his mother, Ann Bassett, said Friday morning.
Previous coverage:
Bassett was diagnosed with scoliosis when he was a toddler. Doctors also discovered a spinal cord tumor. By high school, he was in a wheelchair. Eventually, sores on both legs caused poor circulation and led to them being amputated last May.
His ordeals never diminished Bassett's spirit.
He was determined to make it back for Iowa State football's season opener against Northern Iowa on Sept. 4, 2021. Before his surgery, Bassett took to Twitter to share his goal. It caught the attention of Campbell, who called Bassett the night before his operation. Campbell visited Bassett during his recovery.
And Bassett, just like he planned, was back at Jack Trice Stadium for Iowa State’s game against UNI. Bassett posted a sign on the back of his wheelchair that said, “I will….and I DID.” Campbell and some of Iowa State’s players continually stopped to see Bassett during the team’s Spirit Walk into the stadium before home games.
Friday, I will be having an operation to amputate both my legs just above the knee. No clear line on recovery but my goal is to be healthy enough to watch @ISUMattCampbell and @CycloneFB at Jack Trice Stadium this fall. Two words keep racing through my mind..."I Will"
— 🌪Nicholas Bassett🌪 (@NicholasBasset3) May 26, 2021
Fans flocked to visit Bassett in the tailgating lots and inside the stadium. He became a regular caller on local radio shows to talk about the Cyclones. As time passed, Campbell and Bassett kept in contact. Bassett landed in the hospital again this year for surgery on one of his stumps, but he fell ill afterward.
His health deteriorated so badly that Campbell left a recruiting visit ahead of schedule Wednesday night so he could visit Bassett in the hospital. Campbell sat with Bassett and his family and shared stories for nearly an hour.
“Nick was special and his spirt should make all of us better people,” Campbell said in a text message to the Register Friday.
"We are incredibly saddened by the passing of Nick Bassett," Campbell added in a statement released by the school. "Nick was truly an inspiration to our football team. He faced adversity and never backed away. Our football team rallied around his spirit and courage."
More: Iowa State community remembers Nick Bassett, who died at age 29: 'Thank you for touching our hearts'
Iowa State sports were just a part of Bassett’s life. Bassett competed on the Boone High School track and field team, rode the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa and was involved in Dance Marathon at Iowa State. Bassett also wanted to be an organ donor, a request that his parents honored.
Ann Bassett said she still can’t wrap her head around how Iowa State fans have responded during her family's tough times.
“We’re kind of speechless about the whole thing,” she said.
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State community says goodbye to Cyclone fan Nick Bassett
