Posted on 09/18/2023 8:57:51 PM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
Deion Sanders has made Boulder, Colorado, the improbable center of the sports world.
Why it matters: In Sanders' first year, he's led the once-hapless Colorado Buffaloes to a 3-0 start. Among his biggest supporters — Black fans around the country.
The big picture: Black households have been glued to the Buffs' first few televised games.
Celebrities from Snoop Dogg to Dwayne Johnson are hyping the Buffs.
Black teachers, with no previous connections to Colorado, on social media call Sanders an inspiration. Details: Sanders, aka Coach Prime, led the Buffs to a dramatic 43-35 double-overtime win over Colorado State on Saturday.
Lil Wayne, the Wu-Tang Clan and several NFL stars were among those on hand to watch the game as both ESPN's "College GameDay" and Fox's "Big Noon Kickoff" broadcasted pre-game shows from Boulder.
Superstars like LeBron James posted moments from the game on social media, including praising Colorado players' athletic actions.
Zoom in: Not since the Los Angeles Raiders of the 1980s or Michigan's men's basketball team The Fab Five of the 1990s has a team captivated Black America and hip-hop culture like the Buffs have so far.
Carl Suddler, an associate professor of history at Emory University, tells Axios that watching Sanders receive this kind of support from Black folks on social media has been exciting in the early weeks of the season.
"In this 'new age' of college football, he seems to be a one-of-a-kind draw — and hire — that may have more staying power than college football folks may have initially expected."
By the numbers: Colorado Buffaloes merchandise has become some of the hottest sports gear with sales skyrocketing over 800% from last season.
Shirts and hoodies with Prime quotes "We Coming" or "I ain't hard to find" are, well, hard to find.
Catch up quick: Sanders took over a program that was 1-11 last season and used the transfer protocol to revamp the team with former players from historically Black colleges and universities.
He warned players from the previous Colorado Buffaloes team they might not have a spot and urged them to leave to make room for other players.
During the first game, Colorado shocked the college football world by beating TCU, last year's national title runner-up, 45-42, in a contest that drew a large Black TV audience.
What he's saying: "It's tremendous. It's not a burden whatsoever. It's a blessing," Sanders told reporters after being asked about people comparing Colorado to the Fab Five or being called Black America's Team.
Sanders said his players weren't even born when those other teams were playing but his older coaches know and see similarities.
"I don't think our young men inside that locker room understand the moment."
Zoom out: Sanders, known for his swag and boasting, has brought that personality to Colorado and drawn criticism from other college coaches.
Yet that swag once displayed by Muhammad Ali, Jack Johnson and scores of Negro League baseball players is attractive to many Black Americans in the face of discrimination.
"So many people hold on to the misguided belief that there are 'right ways' to do something, to achieve the highest success in sports. And that 'right way' for Black folks ought to be as far from flashy as possible," Suddler said.
Yes, but: While Black America is embracing the Colorado Buffaloes, Boulder is a town with a Black population of 1%.
The University of Colorado has a Black student population of less than 3%.
Nearby Denver has a Black population of 9%, and its Five Points neighborhood was once called the "Harlem of the West."
The historic Black neighborhood where Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis once performed in packed rooms has become a major base for Sanders' support. What's next: No. 19 Colorado Buffaloes take on No. 10 Oregon on Saturday in what will likely be the weekend's most-watched college football matchup.
Because Contreras is a leftist hack journalist who harps on race
An Hispanic with a chip
Ryder Cup team?
Predictably, any criticism of Deion by any non-black person will be met with accusations of racism.
Well, I should think that that's only fair, considering how everyone up until now was always touting "White America's team!"
Time that "Black America's team" also got some attention!
Maybe this will help correct the skewed racial proportions in sports!
Regards,
if they loose, which they will, just wait for the racist rant....
they barely won over a team they should have crushed....
Do. Not. Care.
After watching the post game interviews, I’m convinced Colorado doesn’t have any English courses or a communications degree program.
EC
And there’s the problem with “experts” again. Self-proclaimed “experts” predict something silly, and all of a sudden a win is viewed almost as a loss. There was nothing wrong with the win; the problem was with a foolhardy prediction that ignored the fact that there was another team on the field who was just as determined to win.
Why do we treat sports predictions pulled out of some analyst’s nether regions as some sort of absolute truth that the results should be measured against?
It was too, too bad the coach from Colorado State who called out Sanders’ big mouth was black. It would have the perfect opportunity for all the race baiters to go into overdrive. It took two weeks for me to go from being a fan of Sanders to being sick of his mouth, team and divisiveness. Hopefully, Oregon shuts him up this week. His team played like crap most of the game against what should have been a totally outclassed team in CSU.
Im not so sure thats the case after listening to Primes assessment of todays youth. Personal responsibility and hard work certainly arent the hallmarks of “black america” at this point and time.
As if football is the fulcrum of life. Is football now the opiate of the people?
I don’t believe Deion is what the media and businesses who see dollars only are starting to make him out to be. But he is doing decently well ( so far) and deserves credit. A few losses will deflate the hype, and cause lots of verbal pivoting by his supporters. But kudos so far.
dark skinned people are extremely racist.
To be fair, four letter words seem to be the Lingua Franca of communication in modern high school and college football circles. This skill is suppressed when the public interviews take place. You’re seeing what’s left after the necesssary suppression/censorship, which for any given team may not be much.
Tribalism ... something the demoRats understand very well.
Personal responsibility and hard work certainly haven’t been the hallmarks of “black america” since 1963 and LBJ.
We won’t see that change for quite a while if LBJ’s prediction continues to hold true .
Colorado State coach Jay Norvell was born to Merritt Norvell, who was black, and Harriette Cynthia Norvell, who was also black and one of the first black models in Wisconsin
This writer thinks blacks should be more flashy showboating and coarse and arrogant
More? It’ll be WWE. Ugh! Sanders will crash and burn just like Whitlock says.
RE: Colorado’s now “Black America’s team” thanks to Coach Prime
Well, Ain’t that just special
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