Ram fan spotlight: Lance Krisl brings unparalleled passion for Colorado State athletics

Lance Krisl is no average fan, not at all. He’s a “super fan.”

A 2005 Colorado State graduate, Krisl goes above and beyond the status quo of the common fan of Rams athletics. His passion for his school and namely CSU football can be seen in his everyday life.

“I truly believe in being a stalwart Ram fan,” Krisl said in an email interview in December. “The passion, loyalty, and love that I have for CSU is expressed in my personality everyday.”

A season ticket holder for both football and men’s basketball, he makes the two-hour drive from Littleton for each home game. As a teacher, Krisl promotes CSU and Fort Collins to his students.

“My classroom walls are covered in CSU football and basketball posters,” he boasted. Krisl believes one aspect holding CSU athletics back from power conference attention is a lack of fan involvement and season ticket holders. In response, Krisl does everything he can to help raise the CSU image.

He has created the Facebook and Twitter accounts “CSU To Big 12,” in hopes of raising the school’s profile for the Power-5 conference.

“I created the Facebook page CSU to Big 12 as a way to display my pride in CSU and try to help the cause for recruitment and acceptance into a power football conference,” he explained. “I believe that young alumni really need to be the target audience to gain support and make CSU fans some of the best in college football.”

At home, Krisl has an extensive Colorado State memorabilia collection, including an impressive set of helmets. His collection includes three full-size authentic CSU helmets, five stunning custom designs, and a large amount of mini helmets autographed by former Ram legends.

“I believe that CSU has the most unique helmet in all of football. The classic green CSU helmet with gold horns has always been advertised and displayed with such pride and tradition,” Krisl said.

“The helmet design process started when I wanted to create some of my favorite throwback CSU and Colorado A&M helmets to add to my collection and display in my basement.”

Through Kustomcrafted Artworks, Krisl is able to send in his designs, and within 2-4 weeks his design becomes reality.

“I choose the type of color scheme, paint style, horn type, and face mask and then they produce the helmet. The artist has great attention to detail and is very precise with his work on the helmets.”

Not only does he design helmets for his own personal pleasure, but Krisl has actually designed a few helmets that he hopes to see the Rams wear on the field some day. With college football seeming to be become an arms race for resources, branding a unique image is as important as ever. The CSU grad and “super fan” recognizes this unique time of transition in college football as a chance for Colorado State to rise above the mid-major status.

“Branding is now part of the college athletics culture and, in order to succeed, CSU needs to be innovative in their design and presentation,” Krisl explained. “Athletes care how they look when they play.

“Recruits always look at branding and the type of uniforms schools have to offer. Why do you think TCU, Baylor, and Oregon have gained so many recruits in the last 10 years?  (largely) Due to uniform combinations. I believe that CSU has some new alternate football jerseys coming out in the next year or two that I am really excited to see. “

With Under Armour, the Rams have made great strides in boosting the “swag” of the program. Although some college football fundamentalists will miss the mystique and classic CSU look, Krisl recognizes a new era of college football in Fort Collins.

“One of the best things to happen to CSU in the last couple of years is the contract with Under Armour,” Krisl said.

“The Ag day orange out is one of the biggest athletic apparel money makers of the year. People love the color scheme and design that has been presented by Under Armour. The jersey and helmet combination is one of the best in football.”

Krisl’s passion for his school is what makes college athletics so spectacular. A large portion of his life is dedicated to the school he loves, and he does everything in his power to help support the program.

Along with the social media accounts and being a season ticket holder for two major sports, Krisl has participated and volunteered for various Colorado State events, including the Ram Captain Drive, Ram Good Time Auction, and is a supporter of the new on-campus stadium coming in 2017.

Krisl attends every home game, and every road game he has the opportunity to. He travels to most Bowl games and NCAA Tournament games the Rams participate in. Simply put; Krisl lives for Colorado State athletics.

If CSU is ever going to rise above the other mid-major schools, fans like Krisl will be the difference. Colorado State was one of the premier athletics programs of the region in the late 90 – the early 2000s. After nearly a decade of disappointment and underachieving, CSU has quickly turned a new corner.

With consistent success in both the men’s and women’s varsity athletic programs at Colorado State, resources growing by the year, and with dedicated fans like Lance Krisl, the Rams just may have a chance at building something special from the ground-up.

“The athletic programs have had great success recently that will continue to create recognition within college athletics. The leadership, passion, and support given by the fans and alumni to CSU will take us to that next level so desired by many fans,”Krisl said.

“The new on-campus stadium will be one that is admired throughout the country. CSU has so much to offer currently and in the future that I believe all alumni and fans will continue to be proud of our school.”

We’re proud of you, Mr. Krisl, for being proud to be a CSU Ram.