You may not like the style but you can’t argue with the results.
What Deion Sanders has done at Colorado is truly incredible. After all the media fanfare and high expectations over the past few years, it’s easy to forget that the Colorado Buffaloes were undisputedly the worst team in college football before Prime took over.
In 2022, the year before Sanders was hired, the Buffaloes went 1-11 with ten of those losses being of 23 points or more. They hadn’t won a bowl game since 2004 and only had 2 winning seasons (one being a 4-2 record during the Covid season) since 2006. Sure, they had been pretty solid during the Gary Barnett years (1999 – 2005), winning 4 Big 12 Conference titles, but it had been a long time since Buffaloes fans had something real to get behind.
Colorado dominated Utah today, winning 49-24 at home thanks to three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, sending them to an 8-2 record and a legitimate shot at making the 12-team college football playoffs. Travis Hunter added to his Heisman case with an interception and 3 tackles on defense while adding 5 catches for 55 yards and a touchdown on the ground on offense, though he was penalized for hitting the Heisman pose after his pick…
While all of the on-field activities may take most of the headlines, there was a moment during the game that makes you realize why sports are so special.
Miss Peggy, Colorado’s Biggest Fan
Miss Peggy and her sister, Betty, went to a Colorado football game back in 1940 and loved the environment so much that they decided to just keep coming back. They became decades long season ticket holders and though Betty sadly passed away in 2020, Miss Peggy still shows up at every game she can and has formed a tight bond with both the team and fanbase, earning her title of Colorado’s Biggest Fan.
Deion Sanders was quick to get to know her after he showed up on campus and was even able to get her an NIL deal, the first ever for a fan. He told the Denver Gazette earlier this year that his goal is to get Miss Peggy to a College Football Playoff game:
“She means so much to this program. We just gotta get her a private plane and make sure she’s comfortable on the way there.”
Well, Miss Peggy is turning 100 years old on November 19th, and to honor her reaching that milestone, the Buffaloes pulled out all the stops at today’s game against Utah and made sure she felt the love that the entire program has for her.
It started with Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff Show giving her a birthday cake and singing to her, which made her cry and if that doesn’t touch your heart you may want to go see a doctor…
From all of us at Big Noon, happy 100th birthday Miss Peggy 🎂💙@CUBuffsFootball x @CUBuffs pic.twitter.com/brbdkZnc7n
— Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) November 16, 2024
But what was somehow even cooler than that happened during the game.
During a break in the action, the entire 54,000+ crowd sang happy birthday to Miss Peggy and the look on her face is just too much for me to handle… Gosh, who’s cutting onions in here?
This moment 🥹
The whole @CUBuffsFootball stadium was singing Happy Birthday to Miss Peggy for her 100th birthday 🎂
🦬 pic.twitter.com/uoxa6Cb5s0— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2024
Fans like Miss Peggy are the reason that sports are so incredible. Sure, we all love the big games and clutch plays but that loyalty to one team, through the ups and downs, over decades and decades is something that can’t be replicated.
Happy Birthday, Miss Peggy. Here’s to many more years of health and happiness.
Miss Peggy kicking off her 100th birthday celebration at the game today! #SkoBuffs #MissPeggy pic.twitter.com/FUmMhiJfW8
— Forever Buffs 🦬 (@CUBoulderAlumni) November 16, 2024
