MUSKEGON – Scott Niswonger is pretty impatient when it comes to things he’s passionate about – and he’s extremely passionate about the West Michigan Ironmen.

A good example of his impatience goes all the way back in 2016, the Ironmen’s first season of existence.

The team had Ironmen tee-shirts printed up and thought it would be cool to shoot some into the crowd at games, using one of those tee-shirt cannons that kind of look like leaf blowers.

The team had one of those cannons, borrowed from the Muskegon Lumberjacks, and Niswonger volunteered to shoot the shirts into the crowd. But he didn’t think that cannon was powerful enough, so he went to work in his garage, building a new amped-up model for the Ironmen.

After some trial and error, he finally came up with a finished product which is still in use at Ironmen games today. It’s so strong, according to Niswonger, that he once accidently knocked a beer out of a fan’s hand when he hit him with a shirt.

“Years ago I worked with a guy at a racetrack in North Dakota who had built one of those, so I called him and asked how he did it,” said Niswonger, 45, a longtime employee of Charter Spectrum Cable. “He sent me a list of everything I needed to have. It took me a couple of tries to make one. I had one blow up in my garage. It almost took my thumb off.”

When asked why he didn’t just purchase a new cannon, Niswonger said, “Why, when I can make a better one?”

A season or two after that, Ironmen management decided that they wanted to have a team mascot for home games. They mentioned the idea to Niswonger, he was intrigued and kept waiting for the team to pick a mascot concept and have a costume made.

The team took too long for his taste, so he took it upon himself to order a costume and started wearing it at games as the Ironmen mascot.

Now he’s many seasons into his ongoing performance as “FE the Foundry Bull,” roaming through the seats visiting with fans during every Ironmen home game.

In case you wondered, FE is the symbol for iron on the periodic chart, and “The Foundry” is the nickname the team gives to Trinity Health Arena for its games.

“Coach Nate (Ironmen general manager/head coach Nate Smith) and those guys had an idea about getting a mascot, and Coach Nate said he wanted it to be a yak,” Niswonger said. “So I researched a few possible costumes, sent them links, and they didn’t respond fast enough, so I just ordered my own.

“It turned out to be a bull instead of a yak. Coach Nate and the others named him.”

The mascot who will drink a beer with fans

Niswonger, in his role as FE the Foundry Bull, will be sky high on Saturday night when the Ironmen host the Southern Michigan Apex in the Great Lakes Arena Football league championship game at 7 p.m.

The big game is extra exciting for the Ironmen because they are actually playing for a league title. While the team has been part of several leagues in its history, the Ironmen have only been in two league championship games, with one win and one loss.

There would probably be more trophies by now, but the Ironmen spent several seasons playing an independent schedule, with no league or championship to play for.

So the idea of watching the Ironmen win a trophy on Saturday is pretty exciting for Niswonger. He says he will be wearing his Ironmen championship belt (kind of like a boxer’s title belt), something he made in 2018 when the Ironmen won the Midwest Professional Indoor Football league title.

“It’s a championship game and you’ve got to be excited about it,” Niswonger said. “It feels good to have the team playing for some hardware.”   

Niswonger, as FE, shows off some muscle with a young Ironmen fan.

Niswonger’s obsession with the Ironmen began in 2016, the team’s first season, when he and his wife, Anita Niswonger, attended the first preseason exhibition game and he fell in love with the sport.

“I never knew anything about indoor football,” Niswonger said. “But after watching that game, I was like, this is something totally amazing. It’s just so fast and fun. You have players flying into the stands. I knew I could really get into this stuff.”

So Niswonger did exactly that, starting out as the guy shooting the tee-shirts to fans and taking on the team mascot role. He also plays a big role with setting up the field for every game, and even inherited the post of Ironmen equipment manager.

“I didn’t know anything about football equipment, but I was willing to try,” he said.

While Niswonger wears many hats for the Ironmen, his favorite part is playing the role of FE the Foundry Bull, who specializes in greeting fans young and old, and sometimes sharing an adult beverage with the older ones.

“I had no idea what to do as the mascot,” he said. “I watched a few YouTube videos of other mascots and decided I wasn’t going to be like them. I just give a lot of high-fives to the fans, go into the seats to have pictures taken, and maybe drink a beer with them.

“I am probably the only mascot around that will sit and drink a beer with you! Some fans will see me drinking a beer and bring me another one!”

Helping to keep the team together

Niswonger loves all the people involved with the Ironmen, from the fans to the coaches and players.

He and Anita have provided in-season lodging in their home for numerous players over the years – including offensive lineman Dee White this season – and have become close friends with many of them.

“A lot of the players in the early years were out-of-town guys, and we would invite them over and get them some home-cooked meals,” he said.

The Ironmen tattoo that Niswonger sports on his left arm exists because of a bet he had with some players.

“The first game of the season a few years ago, we shut the other team out, and me, being a loudmouth, told the guys on defense that if they did that again the next week I would go get an Ironmen tattoo,” he said. “Well, they did it again, and midway through the fourth quarter I noticed that the defensive guys were giving me that look, so as soon as the game was over I scheduled to have the tattoo done.”

The Niswongers are known to host their share of parties for Ironmen players and team personnel, during the season and in the offseason.

“Our parties with the Ironmen are pretty nice,” Niswonger said. “We’re going to have one after the game on Saturday.”

Smith, the team’s general manager/coach, is a huge fan of the Niswongers and the important role they play for the Ironmen.

The Ironmen are blessed to have many talented players who return season after season, keeping the team on the winning track. Smith said the Niswongers play a big part by creating a family-like atmosphere that convinces a lot of them to stick around.

“They host players all the time at their house,” Smith said. “They host cookouts in the summer. They are key components in helping the players stay connected in the offseason. The players trust Scott and Anita. They are the glue that keeps the guys together, and that embodies what our organization is all about.”