Deion Sanders, head football coach at the University of Colorado, has found himself in hot water yet again, but this time he does not have Colorado sycophants like me backing him up. Folsom Field was where I fell in love with football, and I am completing my master’s program at the University of Colorado right now. I am a 90’s kid who grew up in awe of Deion high-stepping his way through NFL players like they weren’t even there. I am primed to love Coach Prime, but this bullshit makes that incredibly difficult.
In what I thought may be my last blog for a long while before diving head-first into the world of finance at CU (lol), I wrote on my Substack how he’s a lovable (to me at least) strand of the brash Trump style that has overtaken this country. He understood the desire in America for this kind of over-the-top character long before there was a President Trump, and all this bombast surrounding Prime Time is and always has been carefully thought out.
Sanders has successfully branded lily-white Boulder as home to Black America’s College Football Team, plus his own coaching path as one he is carving on behalf of black head coaches who are criminally underrepresented in college football, and who Deion actually is has become secondary to what he represents.
This is a really cool story to watch unfold on the most beautiful campus in America. Never in anyone’s wildest imaginations could they have envisioned Colorado taking the torch from legendary teams like Georgetown, UNLV and Michigan’s Fab Five. Like it or not, Deion Sanders has created a serious cultural moment in this country.
We also need to put A LOT more respect on that man’s name for being a once-in-a-generation athlete. He is the only human ever to play in both the Super Bowl and the World Series. His 1992 season is an all-timer, slashing .304/.346/.495 for the Atlanta Braves while leading MLB in triples and being voted a first-team NFL all-pro for the Atlanta Falcons. He’s a sports Mount Rushmore-level legend and some of the disrespect shown towards him really grates me. I cannot help but agree with Sanders that a large part of the hate he gets is either due to or inflamed by the color of his skin.
But man fuck Deion Sanders for this. What the hell are you doing dude?
Lawd Jesus https://t.co/WVIBSUE14X
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) May 1, 2024
He’s jumping into his players’ Twitter beef, making fun of a former player of his for not racking up a bunch of stats during his collegiate football career. Jaheim Ward is a junior at Austin Peay, and Deion Sanders is a 56-year-old grown-ass man. What are we doing here, folks?
If your son and his teammates want to talk trash to some guy they used to play with, whatever. Let them go at it. Who cares?
But what the hell are you doing picking on a college student? You’re a Hall of Famer and you have Lil Wayne walking you out to the field. I can’t even comprehend the level of petty it takes to kick everyone’s ass across two professional leagues, party with the most famous and beautiful people in America then forge a path through undefeated Jackson State as College football’s Next Big Thing, but still want to pick on people who’s brains are still developing.
Here’s a general rule of thumb for grown-ups: if you are beefing with someone who still does homework, you are losing.
I’m really excited for this upcoming football season and think Coach Prime is on the right track. Deion’s son, Shedur Sanders, looks like the best quarterback in the country and most projections currently have him going number one overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. If Shedur doesn’t get picked first, it easily could be his top target Travis Hunter, who might be both the best wide receiver and the best cornerback in the nation. He literally doesn’t come off the field and is the best college football player I’ve ever seen live.
I think last year’s 4-8 record repeatedly thrown at Coach Prime downplays the reality of what Sanders inherited at 1-11 CU, which was the worst roster in major college football. A three-win improvement in year one is an unquestionable sign of progress.
I’ll even defend him showing up to Boulder and telling incumbent players who he had no plans for to leave while the transfer portal is still open and they have options. That’s a lot more honest than lying to them about their role only for them to find out they won’t make it on to the field once the portal is closed and the games are kicking off. Besides, if you think he’s the first coach to ever take over a one-win team and initiate a roster overhaul, congratulations on finally paying attention to sports for the first time in your life. I think his points about how we lie to kids all the time are really good, and especially salient in this depraved moment.
But this? What the fuck is this? I’m embarrassed to even have my name on the same page with this man right now, let alone publicly declare my sports allegiance to him. This is the first instance in the Coach Prime era that has made me wonder whether he really is too egotistical and self-destructive to become the coach he aims to be.
Deion, please get off Twitter. This is where the Trump comparisons end. You are clearly not built for this. I do believe that you have proven to be a savvy game day coach and a serious motivator, and there is real substance behind this whirlwind of bluster you’ve brought into my backyard, but please, stop beclowning yourself by fighting with your son’s frenemies and start figuring out how to design protection schemes that don’t make him the most sacked quarterback in college football this year.