Colorado and K-State has ties to "sharing your spare" ahead of becoming Big 12 foes

The soon-to-be conference rivals share a rare connection

Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY

Your scribe was minding his own business recently when an interesting email caught my attention. CU’s media relations guy for football Curtis Snyder fired off a message about the Big 12 announcing the 2024 football schedule. All conference members knew who they were playing but not the dates. Till now.

I scanned the email looking for the date of CU hosting Kansas State as the Buffs and Wildcats resume conference play. This is a good piece of relocating east where Buffaloes used to roam in abundance. K-State has a real solid football program but faces the same crazy financial NIL threats of an out-of-control system as do the Buffs. Topic for another day.

Soaking in the information, I grabbed the phone and fired off a feisty text to a huge K-State booster, Ben Newman. Based in St, Louis this dynamo and your correspondent are kindred spirits. I guess most would describe us as, “Upbeat and positive.” Newman is an author, consultant and motivational speaker who works with coaches of college football programs. The Michigan State grad didn’t play collegiately but is built like a linebacker and works closely with K-State’s Chris Klieman. Newman is officially a “Performance Coach” for the ‘Cats.

Newman and myself are kindred spirits trying to encourage others to achieve goals and overcome challenges. But the relationship goes much deeper than two high-energy guys. We’ve both been touched by a rare bone marrow disorder called Amyloidosis. This nasty stuff jacks with plasma proteins allowing them to clump together and wreak havoc on the hearts, lungs, livers, nervous system and kidneys of unsuspecting souls like this "Buff Guy" and Newman’s beloved mother, Janet.

The incredible woman was trying to fight this back in the 1980’s. She died at the tender age of 38, days before Newman’s eighth birthday. “Nobody knew what they were dealing with at the time,” says an introspective Newman during a recent chat. Lucky dudes like this 65-year-old are walking around today thanks to advances made against a malady that strikes about 100,000 of the world’s six-billion people. Amyloidosis killed my kidneys and this “Buff Guy” needs a transplant or faces a life-time on dialysis. Interested in sharing your spare? Here’s how to get started.

Those with Amyloidosis are standing on the shoulders of folks like Newman’s wonderful momma. There’s still a long way to go in terms of better treatments and earlier detection but this much is indisputable, it’s no longer a death sentence like the days of the mother of two sons, Ben being the youngest.

A drug known as Daratumumab. A game changer in treating multiple myeloma. Somebody said, “Hey let’s try Dara on Amy patients.” It works. I’m in remission and head monthly to UC-Anschutz, flirt with the nurses and get a shot of Dara. Four minutes, out the door and back in action. I know the health care system gets a lot of deserved crap but it ain’t the caregivers fault. Technicians, researchers, nurses and doctors have combined to save my life the past year or so.

And this ol’ MIssouri boy will forever be linked to Ben Newman in a way far more than our personalities. I can vividly remember the first time we chatted about the Amyloidosis connection. The conversation was taking my buddy to a tender spot remembering his mother. Two dudes having a “moment.” Unforgettable. It deepens the resolve of the correspondent writing this to never grow weary of taking advantage of the advances medicine has made since Janet passed. McIntosh, and thousands of others, look forward to the future with hope.

On October 12th the Wildcats came calling to Boulder. The foliage should be golden while the 45-year-old’s gonna be decked head to toe in Purple Pride. Meanwhile, a dude bleeding black and gold will stand in opposition. For three hours on a Saturday afternoon with the Flatirons as the majestic backdrop, two dudes will root on their favorite teams. Regardless of the game’s outcome, Newman will be a teammate for life.

I’m alive, praying for a transplant and standing on the shoulders of courageous souls like his momma. Forever grateful.