Colorado football made its 2024 public debut Saturday afternoon at the Black & Gold spring game, where thousands of fans flooded Folsom Field, despite the constant downpour of rain, in hopes of seeing a glimpse of the team head coach Deion Sanders has put together since the end of the Buffs’ last season.
“You’ll find a lot of CU fans from the ’90s and 2000s that still come out in the rain,” said Colorado alumnus and superfan Keith Warner, who attended the game in his rain-soaked Ralphie coat. “They bleed that black and gold. They want to believe this program can go back to where it used to be.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re losing every game of the year, when Ralphie runs on that field it’s hard to think your team can’t win.”
CU athletics reportedly sold 28,424 tickets for the game, and it is estimated that about half those fans showed up.
“We came last year, and our boys love it,” said Karly Gillaspie, a CU alumna who attended the game with her family. “It’s just the atmosphere and the fun of being here. Prime knows how to make it fun to be out here, and we never had that.”
The Buffaloes went 4-8 last year, a large improvement from their 2022 season, when they went 1-11. For Buff Nation and fans that have been around since the program’s glory days – highlighted by the 1990 national championship team – the improvement last year was a sign that Coach Prime is moving them in the right direction.
“He’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing, bringing in that new talent,” Tim Reeder said. “I grew up a Colorado football fan. My second year living here, some 38 years ago, I bought season tickets, and I’ve had them ever since. I stuck around for the hard times too, so I had to be out here to see our new guys today.”
The times have certainly been tough for Colorado fans, whose Buffs haven’t earned a bowl game bid since the 2020 season under former head coach Karl Dorrell, when they played Texas in the Alamo Bowl. Still, fans are hopeful that this might be the year that changes.
“We need a bowl game this year, and we definitely need to be a challenge in the Big 12 (Conference),” said Brett Reeder, Tim’s son.
Tim added: “It’ll be fun to be in the Big 12 again – we’re old enough to remember being in it last time.”
With Coach Prime bringing new names, faces and fame to the Buffs, the move to the Big 12 from the soon-to-be-disbanded Pac-12 Conference is promising for fans who are looking to see improvements in the program they love.
“Before Prime we weren’t competitive, and all I can ask as a fan is to be competitive,” longtime CU supporter Ron Walker said. “So it’s exciting again.”
