Perhaps the biggest story in college football this season is Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes.
Transitioning this past winter from coaching Division III HBCU Jackson State Tigers to a Division I school in Colorado meant the pressure and spotlight would be on Sanders. Sanders signed a five-year, $30 million contract with Colorado during the offseason and had the tall task of turning a one-win team into a powerhouse school. To many, it seemed impossible.
A year later and heading into the fourth week of the season, Sanders has proven his doubters wrong. Not only has his team gotten off to a 3-0 start, but the culture and talent that Sanders has brought to Colorado has gained national attention never before seen in college football.
The first three Colorado games have amassed record-breaking views– their first game of the season against Texas Christian University had 7.26 million viewers and their most recent against Colorado State broke the ESPN viewership record with 9.3 million people watching. Alongside the name Deion Sanders and the talented student-athletes on his roster, spectators are drawn to the new energy and swag that Colorado has brought to the college football world.
Through small changes such as replacing the captain patches on the jerseys with Ls for “leaders” and Ds for “dawgs,” and his post-worthy quotes including “I’m bringing my luggage with me… and it’s Louis,” Sanders has gotten the country’s attention.
At Colorado’s last game versus Colorado State, multiple A-list celebrities came to support Sanders and his squad. In a match that Sanders himself declared to be “personal,” he had Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson help with his pre-game speech and a performance by rapper Lil Wayne as the Buffaloes walked on the field along with attendance from Rob Gronkowski, Offset and Kawhi Leonard among many others.
Throughout his tenure as Colorado’s head coach, Sanders has stayed true to himself by wearing a hoodie, hat and sunglasses to games instead of most coaches' stereotypical formal suits. He has also recently trademarked the phrase “We Coming,” and, according to Front Office Sports, is currently trademarking four new terms: “It’s Personal,” “Coach Prime,” “Prime Effect,” and “Daddy Buck,”– furthering the impact his new coaching gig has had on the national scale.
“Coach Prime changing the face of college football is incredible,” Dwayne Johnson said on The Pat McAfee Show.
As their season continues and opponents get tougher, Sanders will continue to be true to himself and his principles as he rebuilds Colorado Football.
Marley Joseph is a first-year broadcast journalism major from Harlem, New York. Having a passion for writing, and being involved with minority groups at American, he was immediately drawn into writing for The BlackPrint.
