Amid the cheering and shouting coming from the stadium, two students stand out as a personal, colorful cheer squad in their body paint and homemade capes. Superfans Jake Sullivan, senior in aerospace engineering, and Chris Hess, senior in materials engineering, make it to every football, basketball, wrestling and volleyball game they can. Despite rain or snow, they do everything possible to make themselves part of the game-day experience.

FYI managed to corner these superfans to talk about their costumes, cheering and experiences at the big game – and how they have become some most recognized ISU fans in the past couple years.

Paul Nemeth: How long have you been a Cyclone fan?

Jake Sullivan: Well, I was brought up in western Wisconsin, so I was always a Badger fan growing up, but ever since I visited [Iowa State’s] campus, I loved this campus and I loved this town. When I went to my first Cyclone game, that was it. It was about three years ago.

PN: How long have you been dressing up for games?

JS: It’s been an evolution, really. We started out simple. It was just a group of us, maybe three or four of us, and we all made our own shirts for the 2003-04 season. At the last game of the year, my friend Willy [Chris Hess] and I decided we always wanted to go to a game in the middle of winter in body paint, so that was our first excursion with that. It was fun. It was cold as hell, but it was great. The beginning of the evolution of the costumes started at the Iowa game last year. We had the idea for the capes over the summer, and we put those together. For the Iowa game, we figured that would be a good time to debut it, and it worked really well.

PN: What is the craziest thing you have done at a game?

JS: I would say the craziest thing the two of us have done was last year at the Colorado game, when the tornado touched down north of campus. They ordered us out of the stadium and we left. We started walking towards Hilton [Coliseum] with everyone else. We got about half-way and we said, “Hey the tornado is over that way.” So we turned around and started walking around the tailgating lot. It’s probably the stupidest thing we’ve ever done, but we have pictures with our sign that says, “The National Weather Service has issued a Cyclone Warning,” with the blood red sky in the background.

PN: What do you think makes somebody a superfan?

JS: It’s a combination of things. It’s undying support for any team that goes to your school whether it’s football, wresting, volleyball or men’s and women’s basketball. It’s when, no matter how the season is going, whether we’re 2-10 or 12-0, you cheer the same anyway. Being a superfan is defined by your actions more than a costume. It’s about showing support to the team. It’s about coming early to the game and staying late afterwards. It’s about trying to get people psyched up and ready for the game. I try to think of it as almost like a lifestyle.

PN: What’s it like to see yourself on NCAA and Mediacom?

JS: I didn’t know about that one. I had an internship in Houston and was driving up to my home in Wisconsin, and I was in southern Minnesota when a friend of mine called and said, “We just rented NCAA ’07 and flipped on Iowa State and we saw you.” I didn’t believe them at first, but he said, “No, there’s no doubt that it’s you.” I was shocked. I nearly drove off the road. I mean, what an honor. Getting on Mediacom and TV, it’s exposure and it’s fun, but it’s not as important as cheering. I look at that stuff as an added bonus.

PN: Do you make your own costumes?

JS: Everything I wear and most of what Willy wears is custom-made in some shape or form. The capes we made from some fabric at Wal-Mart and some liquid stitch. My belt, I spent the better part of a couple of weeks on that thing, between the cardboard, covering it in fabric, extruding everything with cardboard, cutting everything out and gluing everything onto it. We buy the shoes at Wal-Mart. They’re just white shoes and we paint them. The socks I dyed last year in the dorms – that was an experience. The overlying principle is everything must be cardinal and gold, but if we can customize it and make it our own, more power to it. It’s a time-consuming process.

PN: How did you meet Hess?

JS: Sheer chance. We were randomly assigned to the same house in Friley, freshman year. He lived right across from me. We both lived in the same house last year, only he lived next door to me. We were both big fans and I mentioned, “I’d like to body paint for the next game,” and he said, “I’ll do that.” I was like, “Finally, there’s somebody that’s as crazy as I am. Perfect.”

PN: What is the most common reaction you receive?

JS: It depends on the people. Stares are very common, especially if it’s not near the stadium, like when we’re walking. We always have enjoyed walking down Lincoln Way and getting people to honk at us. Usually there’s a lot of laughter and a lot of the, “Oh my god!” reactions.

PN: Do you see yourself being a superfan after you graduate?

JS: I’d like to be. Will there be a point where I’ll outgrow it? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how close I can stay to campus.

Paul Nemeth: How long have you been a Cyclone fan?

Chris Hess: It’s been about four years. Since I started coming here.

PN: How long have you been dressing up for the games?

CH: I’ve always been wearing cardinal and gold. The first costume I ever made was for the Iowa game my freshman year, when I made a pair of tennis shoes, and from there, our costumes debuted at the Iowa game last year.

PN: Where do you get your ideas for the costumes?

CH: It’s kind of random. I don’t remember where I first got the idea for shoes, but that came from high school. The capes – that was just a random “What can I add to my costume?” thing.

PN: Why do you dress up?

CH: I really like expressing spirit for the team, really trying to be a part of the game day and what’s going on the field. I like to try to really create the atmosphere for the team. It’s a fun chance to do something different.

PN: Do your costumes ever get uncomfortable?

CH: Occasionally, they get a little warm and the capes get a little heavy sometimes, but for the most part, it’s not too bad. You hardly notice them at all.

PN: How much money do you spend on costumes every year?

CH: That is a very good question – one I probably don’t want to know the answer to. Probably $60 to $100 depending on if we had to remake the shoes, and we bought a lot of material to make the capes, so that was a little more expensive.

PN: What makes somebody a superfan?

CH: Being there early for the game, trying to get the crowd hyped up. You have to be supportive of the team and not just sitting there talking on your cell phone to your friend. You really have to be a part of what’s going on at the game.

PN: What is the craziest thing you’ve done at a game?

CH: At the last basketball game my freshman year, I shaved a mohawk into my head, colored the mohawk red and painted the rest of my head gold. It was kind of inspired from Lord of the Rings with the Oliphant riders.

PN: What did your parents think about it?

CH: They were like, “I can’t believe this, but I believe it.” Then the last basketball game, either my sophomore or junior year, where [the theme was] “Think red, wear red,” I wore all red except for yellow shorts and painted my arms and my legs red. I kind of looked like the Incredible Hulk. I “psyched out” that game.

PN: What is the most common reaction you receive from other people?

CH: Most often we get, “That’s awesome!” or “I really like your costume!”

PN: How much time and effort does it take to make these costumes?

CH: It takes a little bit of dedication. It gets a little repetitive painting the shoes, having to usually put several coats of paint on them. With the details we put on the costumes, we usually spend a few hours on each object.

PN: Do you see yourself being a superfan after you graduate?

CH: I would like to think so. I think that I will still be back here cheering for the Cyclones. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to make it back for games.