Saturday night in Salt Lake City turned into a horror show for Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes. But the disaster started before the kickoff even rolled around. Utah absolutely demolished Colorado 53-7. And the beating was so thorough that Sanders called it “probably the worst beating I’ve ever had except when my momma whooped me as a kid.” But before things went completely sideways on the field, Warren Sapp was already making headlines for all the wrong reasons. 

The Colorado pass rush coordinator and NFL Hall of Famer was caught on video once again engaging in his now-infamous pregame ritual. He walked into the end zone at Rice-Eccles Stadium and methodically kicked over the orange pylon that mark the goal line. Leo Rivera IV posted a video of it with the caption: “Must be close to kickoff if Warren Sapp is kicking pylons,” he wrote. 

This wasn’t some one-time brain freeze from Warren Sapp. He’s been doing this regularly since joining Sanders’ staff two seasons ago, and it showed up earlier this season. CBS Colorado’s Romi Bean, who’s close with Sanders captured the moment on video and posted it to X with the caption, “Warren Sapp’s pregame tradition: Kicking over the pylons.” What made it even more bizarre was what happened next. Sanders himself, hobbled by his well-documented health issues, was spotted limping around the end zone and carefully picking up every single pylon Warren Sapp had scattered.

Bean herself seemed baffled by the criticism the act drew, commenting, “I have no idea why lol” amid the social media firestorm. But the thing is, pylons aren’t just decorative. They mark the four corners of the end zone to identify the goal line, and kicking them over, especially on the road, is widely seen as disrespectful to the opponent and unsportsmanlike. When you combine that with Colorado sitting at 3-5 and 1-4 in the Big 12, it starts looking less like swagger and more like unnecessary distractions.​

The game itself was an absolute bloodbath that validated every criticism about Sapp’s pregame antics symbolizing carelessness. Kaidon Salter was under siege all night. He completed just 9 of 22 passes for 37 yards and an interception while getting sacked five times, all of them coming in the first half. “I watched over 10 hours of film, and a lot of pressures that came up today were nowhere to be found on tape, so I felt like today they schemed up this pressure just for us,” Salter said after the game. 

Fans didn’t hold back in their disappointment with Sapp’s pregame behavior, especially after watching Colorado get destroyed. Social media lit up with criticism, with many calling the act unprofessional, disrespectful, and a perfect symbol of a program that’s lost its way.

Fans aren’t having it

Social media absolutely erupted after the video of Sapp’s pregame routine hit the internet. And the reactions ranged from annoyed to downright furious. The past visual of Sanders himself limping around picking up the pylons his own assistant had knocked over struck a nerve with just about everyone watching. “Then his boss, who just got out of surgery again, picks them up. Says a lot about Sapp and the state of Colorado football,” one fan wrote. 

Another didn’t mince words about Warren Sapp’s priorities: “Instead of this stupid dance he should try coaching because his D line is horrendous.” When you’re getting blown out 53-7 and your pass rush coordinator is focused on kicking over pylons, then the fans have every right to call it out.​

The criticism got even more pointed when people started connecting Sapp’s antics to the team’s actual on-field performance. “Maybe he should focus more on his job so the team can stop getting blown out. Guy is a complete loser,” one particularly fed-up fan commented. That sentiment was echoed across multiple platforms, with Colorado fans themselves admitting the optics were terrible. Some went on to question the whole psychology of it: “Why does Warren Sapp kick pylons? Is it similar to a cat scratching at a roll of toilet paper? Can’t resist?” The fact that this has become a recurring ritual only amplified the criticism that it’s less about motivation and more about ego.​

The harshest reactions came from fans who saw the act as flat-out disrespectful and were ready to see consequences. “I’d like to see someone lay him out for being disrespectful,” one commenter wrote. The overwhelming consensus from fans was clear. Save the theatrics for when you’re actually winning games.​