“We comin’.”
“We don’t want you.”
“We comin’ anyway. We here.” Deion Sanders dug his feet into Colorado soil and planted them on the CU Boulder football field. “God told me to come to the Buffs at Colorado University.”
Football is a fickle business. It’s wise to place your feet on God’s word and where He wants you if you want a sure bet.
“We want a coach. We don’t want a preacher.” Angry parents at CU pulled their boys out from the football program. Their boys could have been a part of a miracle in the making. I wonder if they are sorry today and eating their words for being shortsighted?
In 2022, CU was known as the worst football team in the country. Under Sander’s determination to be where God wanted him, it has become a silk purse full of gold coins. Merch stores are selling memorabilia and bringing an economic boost to Boulder. In six home games during the fall 2023 season, CU generated $113.2 million. Once an empty stadium with a 50,183 capacity, it is brimming over with fans. Hollywood celebrities, occupying hotel rooms and eating at fancy restaurants, are bringing their glitter to the university town of Boulder.
The old, familiar cliché, “you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear,” needs to be rethought.
It means it’s impossible to make something successful or of high quality out of something which is unsuccessful or of poor quality. If one discounts God in the mix of things, it could be true.
Sanders has made it very clear he is here in the Rocky Mountains because of God. The whole Colorado Buffaloes’ coaching staff has undergone a dramatic turnaround. Football fans said about Sanders, “He is an enigma. Some people love to love him, and others love to hate him.”
Sounds familiar. Some will never be believers.
On Saturday, Nov. 16, they played the Utah Utes. The sports announcer at the beginning of the game asked Sanders how they were going to compete with Utah’s physicality.
Sanders said with without flinching, “We have our size. We’re going to take what is ours.”
The Colorado Buffs upset the Utah football team 49-24. The coach from Utah in the postgame press conference praised Sanders for the great team he had put together.
Sanders sees the team as sons. He is pouring godly principles into the young football stars. His desire is to build godly men. He is doing it. He tells his guys, “Whatever you’re going through on the football field, life is harder and you’ll deal with harder blows. This is what you’re learning in playing football.”
Sanders brought his own two sons with him to the Colorado football field. He’s had a lot of pushback starting Shedeur Sanders as the Buff’s quarterback. The quarterback has brought his team in view of the Big 12 title and college football playoffs.
Shedeur Sanders was not ranked, and Deion Sanders was labeled as a hater for this. In the beginning, Deion Sanders said, “I’m not giving my son anything. He has to earn it.”
He has earned it and is known as maybe one of the greatest quarterbacks in the country. Now that Colorado is winning games, a lot of people are yelling, “Where are all the haters now?”
It seems Shedeur Sanders is receiving plenty of “love” in the rankings this week with his big win over Utah. A quarterback’s ranking is based on the “juice” they have after the current game.
Deion Sanders, known as Coach Prime, brought loyalty with him. Travis Hunter previously played for the Jackson State Tigers, where he was the highest-ranked prospect to ever commit to a Football Championship Subdivision school. He followed his coach to CU. Hunter is the Colorado Buffaloes’ wide receiver.
Romi Bean, lead sports anchor/reporter, interviewed Coach Prime. She commented that Hunter is playing everywhere on the field and is all over the place. Deion Sanders quickly corrected her.
“Hunter is exactly where he needs to be. Never before or after, will there be a player who can play both offense and defense so successfully. He is a rarity. We design the plays around Hunter. He does what he needs to do.”
After the game, the announcer asked, “What does Travis Hunter do after a win?”
“He goes home and goes to bed. Not like some of the other players after a win, who go out on the town and celebrates. Hunter is a good guy.”
He is a 2024 Heisman Trophy hopeful after a performance on Saturday that only he could do. In Colorado’s win against Utah, Hunter had a rushing touchdown, five receptions for 55 yards and an interception. Hunter is a projected top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL draft, with a valuation of $3.1 million.
Final brushstroke: Could there be any doubt about Deion Sander’s faith? He has honored God and turned a pig’s ear into a silk purse and given these young men a chance at success. He has ignored the naysayers blinded by their own inability to change. Only the Lord has the power to back his Word. Deion Sanders is telling the world, “If you want to be blessed, you better listen to God.”
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