Willie Prymer, donned in a purple No. 43 jersey, stood in disbelief at the sight that greeted him as he ambled down the final steps and onto the field Wednesday night at KSU Stadium. In a matter of seconds, a mighty purple river had washed across the field, squeezed between two steel barricades, and crested at a plastic table nestled behind the north end zone. Prymer hurried along the outskirts of the line to confirm his suspicion. "Hey, nephew!" he shouted. Darren Sproles paused while signing the back of a boy's jersey. He smiled, "Hi, Uncle Willie."

"I have never seen anything like it," Prymer said, turning to one observer.

Don't worry, Uncle Willie. Nobody had ever seen anything like it during a Fan Appreciation Day at KSU Stadium, either.

Unlike the chaotic crowd that swarmed around Michael Bishop on a blistering August night prior to the 1998 season, Kansas State officials prepared for the Sproles storm. The waiting line for Sproles at one point spanned more than 110 yards in length. Sproles was strategically positioned away from his teammates while most of the estimated 7,000 fans that had watched the Wildcats' practice littered the field.

Indeed, the senior running back and Heisman Trophy candidate had given a new definition to "reign."

"Man, I saw this line and I said, 'Good God, it can't be for him. It's gotta be for somebody else,'" Prymer said. "He's going to get finger-itis. I guess I'll go see (Bill) Snyder."

Sproles helped the boy off the table after a few swipes of fresh black ink had transformed the boy's attire into a now-valuable collector's item. Meanwhile, Prymer, who had traveled from Waterloo, Iowa, suddenly realized that unlike those family gatherings, his great nephew was now untouchable. A perfect stranger handed the Heisman Trophy candidate a football to sign. Another handed him a poster.

Not in line? No time with Darren Sproles.

Prymer shuffled for his disposable camera.

"I might not get an autograph," he sighed, "but at least I can get a good picture from here…Hey, Tank…Smile!"

Click.

A highlight film on Darrensproles43.com might illustrate Sproles' remarkable on-field moves, but the sight of watching Sproles sign a total of 2,241 autographs between 6:35 and 9:37 p.m. was pretty impressive as well.

The first autograph request came from nine-year-old Colton Leikan, who had Sproles sign a football and his jersey. And, boy, what a story he would have in the morning for his classmates at Coronado Elementary School.

"It was awesome," he said.

At times, the line comically resembled a cell phone commercial, fans twisting to steal a quick snapshot with their phones, or chatting along while they waited. Young boys wearing No. 43 jerseys raced toward the table, bashfully shouted, "Hi, Darren," then retreated to their parents.

"Hi," Sproles replied, smiling and signing.

The purple river continued to grow. Sproles shooed-away Sean Snyder, director of football operations, an hour into the signing session.

"He won't take a break," Sean Snyder said.

"He won't even eat dinner?" someone asked.

"No," Snyder replied. "He wants to sign for everyone."

Snyder handed Sproles a Gatorade bottle that he never opened. Sproles finally drank half a can of Met-Rx energy drink. He took a couple nibbles off a protein bar.

By 8:30 p.m., when a majority of his teammates had walked off the field, the line for Sproles trailed to midfield and horse-shoed toward the west bleachers and ended near the five-yard line. A couple stadium lights now illuminated the field. Before disappearing into the locker room, fullback Ayo Saba walked through security and slapped his gloves on Sproles' shoulders.

"Remember this," Saba said, softly, while nodding his head toward the crowd. "It's for real."

"For real?" Sproles replied, studying a spot on a magazine cover.

"Yeah, it's for real…for you."

While footballs and jerseys were the most popular items, Sproles signed everything settled in front of him, including a tailgate cover, a white hardhat, a sailor hat, a street sign and a purple foam claw.

One girl had Sproles sign her cell phone.

"It's tight," she squealed. "It looks very cool."

The next best thing to getting Sproles' phone number?

"It sure is," she laughed.

The most interesting observation wasn't necessarily what Sproles signed, but rather where he signed. Before long, Sproles' table resembled the conveyer belt at an airport check-in. Each fan was instructed to hand his item to the security man that was positioned next to Sproles. The security man, in turn, handed the item to Sproles, instructed him where to sign and with what color ink - black, purple or sliver. Then the fan received his item at the other end of the table.

Yes, football might be a team sport, but there was no hiding that everyone wanted Sproles' autograph to stand out. One football was covered in black scribbles, but the fan insisted that Sproles sign it in purple. The same held true with about everything else Sproles signed. If the football had a Powercat embedded on it, Sproles was often told to sign his name in the middle of it.

"I'm going to circle his name," a boy told his friend, "so I know which one is his."

By now, many fans had waited more than one-and-a-half hours for Sproles. But Sproles showed his stamina. He maintained the same smile with every photo-op. He said, "Thank you," or "You're welcome," each time.

"Sorry, he doesn't have time to shake your hand," one security man said to a young boy in an attempt to move the line along.

Sproles injected, "Hey, you want to shake my hand?" He waved the boy over.

With that, Sproles heartily pumped the hand of 10-year-old Patrick O'Leary of Salina and said, "Thank you."

"He's so nice," O'Leary later said.

Sproles has a way of bringing people together, of making people smile. Perfect strangers from Wichita and Topeka had turned into friends by the time they had braved the wait.

But Sproles didn't only touch K-State loyalists Wednesday night. As evidenced by viewing the guestbook on Darrensproles43.com, Sproles has had an international impact all summer. His guestbook had been viewed 45,699 times and 1,064 people had written notes to Sproles on the website, including admirers from 12 different countries and 27 states, as of Wednesday night.

"That's what's amazing about it," Uncle Willie Prymer said. "When he was a little kid, I never did think he'd play football."

And now? Well, as Jason Smith, 34, of Wichita, indicated, King Sproles trumped Bishop's infamous following in '98. Smith passed along a football helmet for Sproles to sign. The ball harbored only one autograph: Michael Bishop. Sproles signed the other side of the helmet.

"I would say there's probably about two to three times the crowd for Darren," said Smith, who grew up in Manhattan and vividly recalled the scene in '98. "My son, Jordan, was brand new. I had Bishop hold him and took a couple pictures. Of course, they didn't turn out because there weren't any lights on and it was dark by the time we got up there to see him."

Smith pointed to his son.

"Now, Jordan will turn 10-years-old on Thursday," he said.

"The excitement for Bishop had already started at Kansas State," Smith recalled. "The Heisman hype wasn't as big at that time, but his name was one of the biggest to come through here at that time."

Like so many other autograph seekers, Smith had braved the line. Now, he smiled at his treasure.

But that Sproles had topped Bishop's popularity became apparent even before he popped the cap off his first Sharpie on Wednesday.

Moments before the purple river had formed, Coach Bill Snyder had gathered the squad near midfield and introduced the team co-captains. Snyder asked the infamously quiet Sproles to say a few words.

"Hi," Sproles began, "how are you all doing?"

The crowd responded with its loudest cheers of the night.

"First of all, I just want to thank you for coming out here and supporting us today, and, um I'll see you all on (September) fourth," Sproles said.

Snyder took the microphone and chuckled, "He's getting better."

Moments later, Snyder spurred the Sproles storm. He thanked the crowd for coming and added, "We'll stay as long as you like."

The Sproles storm arrived like a Kansas tornado. It lasted for more than three hours. And what a storm it was to watch.

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