BYU’s win over No. 13 Kansas State on Sept. 21 at LaVell Edwards Stadium was a big deal for Cougar fans everywhere.
But it may have been a bigger deal for one Kansas State fan in particular.
It started with an (in)famous tweet.
Kolton Payne, a Kansas State fan, made what seemed like a harmless wager leading up to the Wildcats' matchup with BYU in Provo. He stated via X that he “will get converted and baptized if Kansas State loses Saturday.”
After BYU pulled off the upset, many fans jumped onto Payne's X page and asked him if he was still going to follow through with his word.
Payne was adamant that he would honor the bet, and his word, and he set up a time to meet with the local missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The date for his first meeting was scheduled for Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.
I will get converted and Baptized if Kansas State loses Saturday
— Kolton (@KoltonEMAW) September 19, 2024
How we got here
Payne is a 20-year-old Kansas State fan from Leonardville, Kansas. Leonardville is a small town of approximately 434 people that is 25 miles away from Manhattan, Kansas, the home of the Kansas State Wildcats.
Payne loves his Wildcats and he loves to banter with opposing team’s fans on X leading up to each game.
However, BYU fans are much different than your typical college football fanbase. As Payne prepared for some fun trash talk towards BYU, Cougar fans instead showered Kolton with love and helped him gain 600 followers in a two-day span. The friendly back-and-forths led Payne to publish a post that could potentially change his life.
Like many people who are not of the Latter-day Saint faith, Payne knew about some of the standards and beliefs of the Church. His only connection to the Church was through his brother, who was baptized and converted when he married his wife, also member of the Church.
In search for truth
Payne’s wager on X, based on the outcome of a college football game, only scratches the surface of what he is really in search of. His journey to find his faith did not start when he met with the missionaries.
Payne has worn a cross around his neck his whole life because he believes in a higher power. He just doesn’t exactly know what. His mother has been his main example of faith for his own life. His mother has been sick her whole life and she gave him a cross for his birthday one year.
When Payne was younger, his mother was involved in a bad car wreck where she was flown to the University of Kansas Medical Center. She always kept an angel's wing on her keys and she believed that was the reason she survived that horrible accident. She passed that on to Payne and now he has a wing on his keys so that whenever he drives, he can feel that protection.
“I’ve never really had a faith. I've searched for a long time,” Payne said. “I would go to Christian churches all the time, Catholic churches all the time, and nothing has really sat with me ... I ask questions to something up above all the time and I feel like I get no answer.”
A mighty change of heart
Despite being only 20 years old, Payne has dealt with some personal demons.
“I used to be an alcoholic and I have consumed more beer than most,” he said.
One day Payne decided he had enough and no longer wanted to be a prisoner of alcohol. He had reached one of his lowest points in life after a day of drinking and blacking out.
Payne took his friends on a joyride while drunk and put all their lives at risk. While on this destructive bender, Payne lost his ID and phone and after it was over, he could not remember any of it. After reflecting upon what had happened that day, Payne decided that he was going to start his journey to find the answers he was looking for. He didn't want to put himself and others in danger ever again.
Whether or not Kansas State won or lost to BYU, Payne decided Friday before the game that he was going to give The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints a chance and go in with an open mind.
Your stud missionaries, they said they were cool that i posted this and enjoyed my story. (They even asked for one themselves)😂 pic.twitter.com/AV7VC1LAyH
— Kolton (@KoltonEMAW) September 25, 2024
Payne followed through with his meeting with the missionaries.
“I felt something. It was a feeling I have never felt before," he said. "And it was a good feeling.”
Kolton Payne’s journey to find faith is far from over. His story is still being written. Certainly, BYU fans will be supporting him as those next chapters unfold.