Colorado Spring Game sold out
The game is scheduled for April 22.
45,000 tickets sold. The previous record attendance was 17,800:
That number of tickets is higher than the average attendance last year of these Pac-12 teams:
It's not a stadium sell out. But that's only because they decided to not open up luxury seating:
Last years attendance was 1,950.
The game will be on ESPN with Chris Fowler and team announcing:
March 30th, 2023 at 11:10 PM ^
You got that shit right, this hype will flame out quickly. It's easier to recruit Florida scraps for an FCS team, now he has to recruit the mountain time zone for an FBS team. It's destined to fail.
March 31st, 2023 at 10:33 AM ^
I'll bet within 5 years he's at FIU, FAU, or USF
If he has them at .500 next few years (it's a complete trash program which Mel TuckeLLLL helped crush) he will be @ Miami in 3 years and just imagine how fun it will be.
I love that Prime is in CFB - like Leach he is interesting and makes thing fun vs all the staid robots who are coaches.
Good for them, seriously
Agreed. A bunch of Bitter Betties in here. Negative Nancys. Hateful Hannahs. Sour Sarahs. Cynical Cindys. Zaftig Zoes.
Debbie Downers
Whiny Wilberts
Tommy Tutones
Karens.
March 31st, 2023 at 10:10 AM ^
All the Karens I know are lovely, pleasant people. I'm just saying.
March 30th, 2023 at 10:08 PM ^
Grumpy Gusses
Wait, is that right? It sure doesn't look right. How would you make Grumpy Gus plural? Calling all MGoGrammarians!
That's a lot of 20 oz coke zeros
David says hi!
March 30th, 2023 at 10:30 PM ^
Is he still “doing his thing” with Toys R Us?
I recall him saying .. if something isn’t broken, break it.
I guess his mantra helped put Toys R Us officially out of business.
That was his job - he was literally hired to put TRU out of business! His job was to extract all the cash out of TRU that he could, and then walk it through bankruptcy to protect the VC's who bought it so they wouldn't lose all the cash they just extracted. That is exactly what he did, and the VC's that hired him thought he did an excellent job of it.
Unfortunately, he's pretty good at his corporate role - extracting cash and getting a business through bankruptcy. Which makes him both a really good business man, and a despicable human being.
More unfortunately for us, his attempts to extract all the cash he could out of UM's athletic department cratered the football team for nearly 10 years. And as a member of some of Bo's teams, that is unforgiveable.
March 31st, 2023 at 10:12 AM ^
I recall him saying .. if something isn’t broken, break it.
He certainly did that here. Congratulations?
that really kind of sucked, that bankruptcy occurred when my daughter was born. We got a bunch of baby's r us gift cards from the baby shower.
One of his first orders of business was to invalidate the gift cards in bankruptcy.
Too soon...
They won’t win more than 3 games.
$50 says Colorado wins it.
CU is +6000 currently. Those odds must have skyrocketed once Prime Time showed up.
Stanford is sitting at +30000 for reference.
USC is the favorite at +170.
(Pac championship odds)
Didn't look up the season over/under. Maybe 4.5?
LOL!! You missed the point of his post... :)
"CU wins it". It's the Spring game - CU vs CU.
Objectively this is good for CU football and I'm happy for them and those players, who have been stuck on some bad teams for a minute.
I do think this is setting up for an inevitable disappointment compared to expectations - I know fans and school officials preach patience around stuff like this and say they know it's a multi-year process, but this team isn't likely to be fundamentally better than your average Pac-12 team and yet 45k are going to be sitting in those stands and inevitably leave with a healthy dose of optimism regardless of the outcome simply because of the nature of spring games. If the offense does well it'll be seen as a sign of a future offensive explosion and not a terrible defense; a defensive clinic will be seen as a defense coming around and not signs of a disjointed offense. And an even game will be seen as a balance squad, not two mismatched, defective units slamming into each other.
Anyway, for now I'll sit back and wish the Buffs good luck in a Pac-12 that will likely be a bit wide-open.
Objectively this is good for CU football and I'm happy for them and those players, who have been stuck on some bad teams for a minute.
Are any of those guys left, or did Coach Prime run them all off? He brought a lot of "luggage" with him...
“We’ve got a few positions already taken care of because I’m bringing my luggage with me. And it’s Louis. I’m coming. It ain’t going to be no more of this mess that these wonderful fans, this student body, and some of your parents have put up with for probably two decades now. I’m coming. And when I get here, there’s going to be change. So I want y’all to get ready to go ahead and jump in that Portal. Do whatever you’re going to get. Because the more of you who jump in, the more room you make. Because we’re bringing kids that are smart, tough, fast, disciplined, with character.”
Like a lot of things about Deion he's a talker who doesn't always back up his bravado with actual changes. He brought in a number of guys from Jackson St. and elsewhere - Taylor Upshaw is one - but he doesn't seem to have a ton of guys leaving CU. And let's be honest - bringing in a half-dozen guys from a good FCS maybe sounds good on paper to Sanders but even middling P5 guys are going to be as good, if not better, than a lot of these players.
there are few things less interesting than spring game attendance.
March 31st, 2023 at 10:14 AM ^
I think it's interesting. Only for a day, but still.
I mean good for Colorado fans for being excited. They sure haven’t had much excitement as of late. I think they’ll be let down but let’s let them enjoy this
All for 4-8 season
March 30th, 2023 at 10:34 PM ^
I don’t have a horse in the race.
Prime won’t have the talent advantage on his roster that he had at his previous gig.
It will be interesting theater to watch. And, we’ll learn more about just how solid of a coaching staff Colorado has.
Enjoy…
March 30th, 2023 at 10:43 PM ^
This is why the people saying Coach Prime was a bad move for CU didn't know what they were talking about. CU had lost all relevance, regardless of how much they win that's at least changing. And Deion isn't a good person but he's a far cry from a Meyer or a Durkin.
"...Deion isn't a good person..."
Please explain why he's not.
I think your point is that he has a big mouth, in that he talks a big game. But he's backed up that mouth everywhere he's been and in everything he's done. On the field he's a HoF player and someone everyone universally acknowledges as a true lock down corner and one of the best to ever play the position. As a coach he's won big at each level he's worked - HS and small college (HBCU), so he's earned his chance at a bigger program and CU will be a good test of his coaching ability.
Has he bought players? Probably, but who hasn't? (And don't say 'Harbaugh' - LOL, we all know he's provided some 'benefit' somewhere...) He's never caused distress in locker rooms. He's never been in fights. He's never been tossed out of games or accused of dirty hits (TBH, he was rarely accused of delivering any 'hits' during games). He never put his himself above team goals or demanded the spotlight over a teammate (the spotlight largely chose him, and he happily obliged). His teammates loved him throughout his career.
So again, I ask you to explain why he's not a good person.
All this reminds me of Terrell Owens - same kind of personality, same kind of complaints without evidence...
March 31st, 2023 at 10:56 AM ^
Deion haters all show their age fairly easily.
lmao.
March 31st, 2023 at 11:30 AM ^
Deion is 55 himself. It's never good to be overly broad in your assumptions about groups of people.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:01 PM ^
Coach Prime comin'
I am hopeful. *looks at CU degree* OK, maybe wildly optimistic. to the point of delusion.
McCartney came to my grad school specific graduation. I hoped it was an upwards trajectory. I met Dan Hawkins and thought "I guess a winning[ish] record and no flagrant nepotism would be a plus." Nope.
I hope he leaves us in a good place when that FSU/ATL/Cowboy job comes calling.
Please. B1G, swap us with UNL (NU to the ROW). See previous comment re delusion. Our football (pre-prime) mostly sucks, but at least we have academics and a second-to-none location.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:11 PM ^
I hope the guy succeeds, truly do.
March 30th, 2023 at 11:26 PM ^
I love his moxie. Was a junior living in apt on S. Forest, and still remember watching on MNF, him high stepping even before he was.in the clear, and still scored, and a legend was born. I expect him to have success there, and soon will be landing some top recruits.
March 31st, 2023 at 12:43 AM ^
Coach may have trouble giving that many tickets away.
Give it a couple years. The Buffs will be 4-4, getting ready to host Oregon On the first Saturday of November, and 24,000 fans will be there in a half empty stadium despite it being a sunny 45 degree day.
CU may be good from time to time, but they have no real staying power in that market. They never have and they never will.
Awful lot of sizzle in that program before anyone has even bought a steak.
I wish no ill will on Deion and his tenure at Colorado. Michigan is not in direct competition with Colorado, so Colorado's success or lack thereof makes no difference to me.
I am curious how this experiment will work. Colorado is not Texas, Notre Dame, Alabama, OSU, Michigan or USC. What I mean by that is that Colorado will be more than willing to be patient give Deion at least three to four years to garner results. Expectations at a place like Colorado are not what they are at those other programs. Even if Deion wins 1-2 games this year, Colorado won't panic and fire him. He won't even be on the hot seat. Colorado has by and large been so bad for so long (minus a year or two a few years back) that its not like they can sink much lower.
I'm not too sure there will be much of a "culture issue" for Deion in Boulder. No, its not a big football culture, but Boulder is probably about as progressive as it gets. I don't think Deion has much to worry about on that front. My worry for him is will his message, bravado and bluster start to wear off if his teams start losing?
Deion seems to be able to coach on some level, but he also had a massive talent advantage with pulling in top-250 guys at Jackson State and allowing them to run roughshod over other teams that were massively outclassed and just didn't have a real chance. He's not going to have that in the Pac-12. Especially this coming season. TCU, Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Utah are all on the schedule. Shoot, so is Nebraska, and if Rhule can make something of the talent Frost left behind he could have a formidable team in Lincoln.
Its easy to be confident and strut your stuff when you're winning. What happens when USC comes to town and beats you 54-28? What happens when you go on the road to Oregon and you get run out of the stadium? Shoot, your first game of the season is on the road to a team that played in the title game the year before. Will Deion be able to keep the team focused, motivated and hungry if they start losing?
That remains to be seen. That all said, if he can have some respectable seasons over the first year or two, accumulate some talent and watch USC/UCLA walk out the door, maybe even Oregon and Washington to go with it if they join the B1G, he could potentially set Colorado up to be a major player in the Pac-12.
Lot of moving parts here!
March 31st, 2023 at 10:05 AM ^
Perkis - great comment. You hit one the key point - talent.
With all due respect to SWAC football - the talent level is different. And, while at JSU, Deion had P5 talent while playing games in an FCS conference. Remember - the SWAC is FCS - not even G5.
Colorado will have more talent on its roster than it's had in close to twenty years. But, even the most talented players need to develop - and, football isn't a game of "one" - it's a game of "eleven".
Will Colorado have what it needs? How about the coaching staff's schemes? Will they execute effectively? How about in-game decisions and strategy?
And - of course - those other teams in the Pac-12, I don't think they are waiting to see what Colorado and Coach Prime do. There's a lot of catching up for the Buffalos.
It's going to be interesting to watch. Four wins this season would probably be considered a success.
Enjoy the ride...
March 31st, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^
Boulder is probably about as progressive as it gets. I don't think Deion has much to worry about on that front.
Have you heard how Deion talks? He is absolutely going to offend some progressive sensibilities. He needs to hope that he's won enough games when he does it.
March 31st, 2023 at 10:28 AM ^
M-Dog,
Coach Prime's opening remarks, which I interpret to essentially be - if you're on this roster, go put your name in the portal, because I'm bringing in MY guys and they are already on their way.
I can understand what throwing a bucket of cold water can be like - but, this seems quite a bit different.
On a side note - I don't know what the portal activity is like for players that were on Colorado's roster - nor do I know whether Colorado offers four year scholarships, or one year renewables.
March 31st, 2023 at 10:45 AM ^
Interesting, because I took his opening comments to the team as "my guys may be on the way, but they're going to have to earn their spots, too."
Who knows? Maybe I need to go back and listen to it again, but I didn't really take a vibe that he's telling his guys they should automatically throw themselves out of contention and transfer. He was very blunt, from what I recall, in saying that some of the guys in that meeting would not be in that room come Fall Camp, but I got the vibe that he's making everyone earn their spot. Even the guys coming from Jackson State.
First of all, I wish Deon all the best of luck.
My only pause about heaping praise onto Sanders is that while he blew through 2 regular seasons at Jackson State with a massive talent advantage, his team lost in the Bowl games each time.
My reason for this pause is that once his team faces another team that was even in the same ballpark, he lost. Even in this last game, to me North Carolina Central was clearly the better "team". Their play was better on offense and defense, their schemes were more sound. They were just the better team. Jackson State seemed to play like "OK Mister uber talent QB, go make me a play" or "OK just throw the ball up to our 5 start CB who happens to be playing WR, but is so much more athletic than and CB he faces, he'll just make a play anyways"
To me the big question will be how long will Deon's bravado last before actual game results take over? I see a minimum of 8 losses on the 2023 schedule (TCU, Nebraska (yes them), Oregon, USC, UCLA, Wash St, Oregon St, and Utah). On the flip side I see only 2 "comfortable" wins (CSU, and Stanford) with Arizona and ASU as toss ups right now (and I am leaning both of these as losses but will keep them as toss ups for now).
I am sure his "shine" and bravado will survive this season even with a 2-10 or 4-8 record, but it will be interesting to see how Deon reacts to losing. Something that he has never done consistently in the past. Will the shine still be there next year to pull in more recruits? On the one hand I am sure CU will give him plenty of time (they have no where else to go) but back to back losing seasons? At some point bravado fades into the back and game results matter.
March 31st, 2023 at 11:53 AM ^
What does a successful season look like for Colorado? 4-8?
TCU and Nebraska are in the non-conference. They travel to Oregon, UCLA, and Utah.
Even if it's 5-7 will likely make them the most improved team in the country.
March 31st, 2023 at 12:21 PM ^
I might watch just to see how many sexual innuendos RG3 can fit into the telecast.
March 31st, 2023 at 12:28 PM ^
It may be one of their few wins this season.
1800 in attendance last year. I'll be there this year with my 4 year old, his first football game. "We Comin!" Excited to have compelling college football right down the street when you can't fly out to Ann Arbor on the regular.