Warren Sapp has turned pregame antics into a recurring nightmare for Deion Sanders. And fans have had enough. Before every Colorado game this season, the Hall of Fame defensive lineman performs a tradition that forces Coach Prime to physically fix an issue that his assistant creates.

Just moments before kickoff, Warren Sapp walks into the opposing team’s end zone and kicks over all four pylons marking the goal line. Then Deion Sanders, dealing with blood clots that make every step painful, limps behind him to pick them all back up. This has become a recurring pattern throughout the 2025 season. And the symbolism isn’t lost on anyone watching.  CBS Colorado reporter Romi Bean, who also hosts Coach Prime’s Playbook with Deion Sanders, captured the bizarre ritual on video and posted it to social media.

She wrote in her caption, “A unique pregame tradition: This happens before every game. I still don’t know if Coach Prime knows that Sapp is the one who kicks the pylons … and does Sapp know that Prime picks them up?!” Bean wrote alongside footage of Sapp casually strolling through the end zone, knocking down each orange marker one by one before walking away like nothing happened. The video shows Sapp with headphones on, bobbing his head to music, completely absorbed in his own routine while the cameras catch every second of it.​

In reaction to the video, criticism has mounted across all social media platforms. But the issue was what happened next that made people uncomfortable. Multiple videos from different games have now captured Deion Sanders himself, clearly struggling with mobility issues, carefully bending down to reset each pylon Sapp knocked over. The fan reaction has been swift and merciless toward Sapp.

Social media erupted with criticism after the most recent incident, before Colorado’s 53-7 blowout loss to Utah. The criticism intensified when people connected Sapp’s focus on pregame theatrics to Colorado’s actual on-field struggles. The team sits at 3-5 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 play. Multiple fans labeled the act as disrespectful, unprofessional, and symbolic of a program that’s lost its way, especially when it keeps happening on the road at opposing stadiums.​

Pre-game ritual doesn’t produce the desired results

Fans demand that maybe Sapp should spend less time on his pregame routine and more time actually coaching his defensive line. And for all the right reasons. Colorado’s defense currently ranks 87th nationally in stop rate, which means opponents are marching down the field and scoring without much resistance. The Buffaloes are giving up 210.38 yards per game on the ground. Saturday’s 53-7 blowout loss to Utah exposed everything wrong with Colorado’s front seven.

The Utes ran for 422 yards while Sapp’s defensive line got absolutely bulldozed for four quarters. Fans watching Sapp and his ritual with the pylons before kickoff had to be wondering why he wasn’t using that energy to prepare his unit for what was coming. That sentiment has been echoed repeatedly as Colorado sits at 3-5 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 play. The defensive breakdowns are happening every single week. 

Even Deion Sanders admitted after the BYU loss that “we’re not doing our jobs” on defense, specifically pointing to the inability to stop mobile quarterbacks. Sapp can kick over all the pylons he wants, but it won’t matter if his defensive line keeps getting pushed around once the ball is actually snapped.​