This Saturday's Iowa/Iowa State rivalry game means a lot to many people across the state of Iowa. But not as much as it does to Nick Bassett. Before we get to Nick's story, we need to back up a bit. Actually quite a bit. I originally met Nick Bassett and his entire family at one of the first CMN Radiothons I did for KHAK. Nick was born with scoliosis, and then doctors found a tumor in his spine. Numerous operations followed. We featured Nick's story on our Radiothon, and even back then I was struck by his strength and determination.

Flash forward to 2021. Nick is now 29 and a HUGE Iowa State football fan. He and his family have season tickets and go to all the home games at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. Early this year, Nick was having issues with his legs and his doctors gave him some tough news. He could continue to fight the infections, or he could have both of his legs amputated. Nick made the difficult decision to go with the double amputation. But he vowed that he wouldn't let it keep him down, in fact, as the Des Moines Register reported, he would go on to make it his mission to recover and get well in time to make it to all the Iowa State home games this season.

The Register reports that Nick's story of overcoming adversity even caught the attention of Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell, who called Bassett the night before his surgery. He even visited Nick during his recovery in the hospital. He then invited Nick and his family to attend a Cyclone practice. They did, and Nick even got to address the team.

Twitter via @NicholasBasset3
Twitter via @NicholasBasset3
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Now, it looks like the entire nation will get to see what Iowa toughness looks like, as Nick revealed today that ESPN will be doing a feature on his story!


So tune into College Gameday on ESPN this Saturday. Its going to be quite the scene over in Ames for the big Cy-Hawk game. But you'll also get to know one of the most inspiring people I've ever met, Nick Bassett. We're proud of you Nick. Your story will help more people than you will ever realize, no matter what colors they're wearing on Saturday.

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