Behind Enemy Lines - Colorado

In most scenarios involving a cold and rainy night where your team loses in overtime after a successful Hail Mary to end regulation, a college football might tell you there was nothing redeeming about their gameday experience. That’s not the case for this writer who spent last weekend in Boulder, Colorado. This piece isn’t about a play called Victory Cigar or a fumble or play-calling. This piece is about Folsom Field, Deion, Ralphie, and a new era of college football in a place that had almost been forgotten.

Nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, the campus of the University of Colorado sneaks up on you as you cruise the highway away from Denver. Its aesthetic was surprising, though I don’t quite know what I expected. The campus is old, and has gone through changes over the years, but the buildings look uniform and are designed with purpose. Everything has the vibe of a Spanish mission, or something mediterranean, it wasn’t something I could really describe. But it looked both very out of place, yet still very Colorado. The key word to find when describing it, though, is beautiful. It’s littered with greens and browns and golds, with what looks like Christmas trees everywhere. My only regret was that I saw it in September, rather than seeing it in all of its splendor in the snowy months.

The football stadium is like the campus, it sneaks up on you. I’ve been to many of college football’s hallowed grounds, places like the Horseshoe, the Coliseum, the Cotton Bowl, and plenty of others. Most of these places have something in common: they look like football stadiums. Folsom most certainly does not, at least not from the outside. In fact, if it were not for the gates and lights giving it away, you might walk past it thinking it was another group of buildings where students were going to class. In fact, there are buildings with a view directly onto the field that really are classrooms. Attached to the stadium are offices for the athletic department. But it’s beautiful and perfectly matching with the rest of the Colorado campus. It’s as if the stadium within is just a courtyard with seating that happens to be used for football.

The place isn’t massive, it holds roughly 60 thousand people. And it’s old, the original lower bowl has been around for over 100 years, in fact. It looks and feels like a college football stadium. It isn’t loaded with amenities and frills; it’s got metal benches and a small concourse. Even the men’s room is just the maximum number of troughs that could stuffed into a small room. If it weren’t for its location, people might even call it ugly, or dingy, or in need of an upgrade. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Over the top of the stadium stand the Flatirons. A mountainous area that towers over Folsom Field. There may not be a setting in college football that rivals it.

But, despite its location, state flagship status, and long history of being in power conferences, Colorado as a program had all but been forgotten. In recent memory, the only times Colorado came up was in terms of its value as a realignment option. They won a national championship over 30 years ago, experienced the merger of the Big 8 into the Big 12, made a couple of conference championship games, left for the Pac 12, and then vanished into irrelevance. The stadium, and all of its beauty, lies dormant, waiting for someone to call college football’s attention back to this gem in the mountains.

Enter Primetime. Deion Sanders, also known as CFB and NFL Hall of Famer and 10-year MLB veteran. Deion never met a challenge he couldn’t conquer. Still, it was a surprise to many across the football world when he dove into coaching just a few years ago. He had a prime (pun intended) gig doing football analysis on tv. He’s made more money than most humans could ever dream of. But he hit the profession with a style that only Deion has. He immediately started to attract power level recruits to an FCS school, including one of the best players in college football, Travis Hunter. He’s got the rare opportunity to coach his sons. He’s over the top, loud, and at times controversial. You can’t look away from Primetime. This is what Colorado sought when they hired him. They didn’t need a coach who could come in and be Nick Saban, their fan base doesn’t expect that level of on-field success, yet. They needed energy. They needed to give people in Boulder and across the country a reason to not just look AT Folsom Field, but within it. And Deion has delivered.

He's the face of everything. Their merchandise says “Prime.” He has his own line of sunglasses for sale. The football facilities are lined with his quotes. He’s larger than life. When I arrived in Boulder late Friday afternoon, the day before the Baylor game, the energy around the place was similar to a place that was preparing for a party. It was empty, and somewhat quiet, but you could tell everyone involved with gameday was ready for 58 thousand screaming fans to takeover in less than 24 hours. And oh, did they take over.

The student section takes up almost half of the lower bowl, stretching from the far corner of one endzone, around the horseshoe bend, all the way to midfield. Everyone is dressed to impress. On a night that was forecast in the 50s with rain, I saw togas. There were plenty of shirts with the Deion motto: Look Good, Feel Good, Feel Good, Play Good, Play Good, They Pay Good. There were cowboy hats and sunglasses at night. Gold chains. Grown men in football gloves. The players have entourages. It’s almost a caricature of high-level college football. But it’s amazing in every way. There were few moments and interactions that didn’t leave me with a smile on my face. I know some had different experiences, but the fans I met were delightful. Fun trash talks but realistic expectations. The team hasn’t become anywhere close to elite on the field, but the fans are happy with the party, for now. The wins will come, maybe. But losing or winning matters less when you’re having a good time. And a good time they have.

Just as the stadium matches the campus aesthetic, everything about the gameday experience matches Deion. Fun music, dancing, and the commercials even match. They had one commercial during a timeout that featured a woman who had to have been at least 75 years old, sitting on a throne, wearing a chain and sunglasses with Colorado players around her. At first, I thought this was a special fan that was being honored, maybe a professor or longtime ticket holder. No. It was an ad for a local realtor. It was glorious.

I’ve long been on the fence about Deion as a college football coach. I’ve thought many times that he seemed all hat and no cattle. I’ve questioned his recruiting methods and his affinity for the transfer portal, both incoming and outgoing. I’ve criticized his treatment of the media. After one weekend in Boulder, I’m a convert. I get it now. Boulder and Folsom Field are alive again. They matter. People care. In a city that’s surrounded by beauty and adventure, there are tons of things one can do on a given Saturday. Deion found a way to make Colorado Football the biggest choice you can make. That ability is invaluable. Wins will always be the gold standard for success in college football, but if there’s a silver standard, Deion has met it. People want to be at a Colorado game, they enjoy it, it’s fun. That’s all we can ask. College Football is an avenue for entertainment and the athletic department in Boulder has absolutely nailed it.

I can’t say this enough, make it to Boulder. Go to a game as soon as you can. Experience what Primetime has to offer while he’s around and thank the CFB gods that Colorado is back home in the Big 12.