Iowa State fan's 'GameDay' plea for beer money nets $5,700 charity windfall

Bob Hille

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Iowa State fan's 'GameDay' plea for beer money nets $5,700 charity windfall image

An Iowa State fan who held up a sign during Saturday's "College GameDay" in Ames, Iowa, asking for help replenishing his beer supply, wound up with an overflowing red Solo cup, the Des Moines Register reported.

What started as a joke, will instead be a four-figure donation to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.

The backstory: During the TV pregame before the Iowa-Iowa State game, Carson King, 24, held up a sign on camera behind the ESPN set that read "Busch Light Supply Needs Replenished" and asked viewers to Venmo him donations.

The one-time Iowa State student who works at a casino had hoped his joke might get him some beer money.

It did … and then some.

When he hit the $600 mark, he said he decided he would donate the proceeds to the children's hospital. As of mid-day Monday, he had raised approximately $5,700.

"This was way better than expected," King told the Register. "It just goes to show that no matter if you’re a Hawkeye fan, Cyclone fan, or Grand View Viking, we’re all Iowans, and Iowans take care of each other."

King's mother, Dana Archer-King, said her son told him of his plan beforehand: arrive at 5:30 a.m. Saturday and try to get on screen with his sign.

"Probably like most moms, I just laughed and thought, 'Great, this will be my proudest moment,'" Archer-King told the Register.

Now? It actually is a very proud moment for her as a mother.

"He's not a wealthy kid by any means," she said. "I'm not sure how many 24-year-olds would just give that kind of money away. We're all so in awe with what he's doing."

UPDATE: Busch Beer, which dubbed itself the ‘unofficial official’ beer of the state of Iowa, also found King's act inspiring, and announced Tuesday that it will be matching his donation to the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. "They’ll also be supplying Carson with a year’s worth of free beer to ensure he doesn’t run out of Busch Light again in the foreseeable future," a spokesperson told Omnisport in an email. 

 

Bob Hille

Bob Hille Photo

Bob Hille, a senior content consultant for The Sporting News, has been part of the TSN team for most of the past 30 years, including as managing editor and executive editor. He is a native of Texas (forever), adopted son of Colorado, where he graduated from Colorado State, and longtime fan of “Bull Durham” (h/t Annie Savoy for The Sporting News mention).