Two blonde Colorado fans spent an entire day planning multiple outfit changes for the evening kickoff, and Deion Sanders could not scroll past it. Before the Buffaloes take the field against Houston, the head coach jumped into their Instagram comments to applaud their dedication.
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“Planning, setting up, preparing for an 815 kickoff,” Patty Backmann, one of the two female fans, posted on Instagram. “It’s gonna be a long day for some of us. But I can’t think of a better person to do it with than my partner in crime. We work hard, but we have fun doing it. Daytime outfits compared to game-time outfits—completely different. Go Buffs”
Most college football fans simply throw on a team jersey and head to the tailgate. Preparing a full schedule with separate daytime and game-time wardrobes for a late-night kickoff takes serious time and effort. That level of commitment turned a regular home game into an all-day event.
Sanders rarely interacts with individual fan posts during a busy game week, which made his reaction stand out. He dropped a prayer emoji and wrote, “You are awesome,” under Backmann’s post, showing how genuinely impressed he was by their energy ahead of facing 7-2 Houston at Folsom Field.
Colorado is 1-5 in the Big 12 and lost 20-10 at Arizona State last Saturday. The Buffs trailed 17-0 at halftime, didn’t record their 1st first down until midway through the second quarter, and saw a 74-yard touchdown pass called back because of a penalty on a tight.
Their lone win in the last seven games was a 27-24 overtime win over Kansas State. They played their fourth-string quarterback. Sanders is 19-27 in Boulder, and 2024, when Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter were in Colorado, was the only winning season.
Sanders signed a five-year, $54M extension in March 2025 that runs through 2029, and he is paid about $10M this year. If Colorado fires him without cause, it owes 75% of what is left. Reports put that at $25.5M this season and $17.25 M in 2027, paid monthly through 2029. Athletic Director Fernando Lovo said months ago that Sanders had his “unequivocal support.” A third losing season in four years is just one more loss away.
After the Arizona State loss with Lovo in the room, he was asked about his job security and turned it back to the players. Sanders put the losses on himself and said he “was not getting it done,” adding that the team is taking it one practice at a time rather than counting the three wins it needs.
“I don’t think about that, man,” Sanders said, according to Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today. “I’m not here for my job. I’m here for these young men. I’m not, I’m not built like that. Like, like, I’m really not. I’m really, really, really not. Like, I want these kids to graduate, to provoke change in their communities and their lives and their families. I ain’t worried about me. I’m good, my brother. I’m not worried about me. I worry about others. That’s who I’m called to be.”
The record gives him little to point to. Colorado averages 19.8 points a game, tied for 123rd among 138 teams, and hasn’t won a Big 12 road game in two years. It has failed to reach 20 points in five of nine games.
Brennan Marion is in his first year as offensive coordinator, and Sanders has changed play-callers before. But when asked this week whether he would do it again, Sanders answered, “No.” He knows the formula isn’t working and that he needs to do better with the program.
What Sanders expects from his team is a balanced attack. The defense has something to build on, with linebacker Gideon Lampron coming off back-to-back Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors. Sanders has also been playing safety on the scout team to keep practice loud.
The kind of loyalty and energy the aforementioned female fans showed matters even more when a program like Colorado is struggling to find wins. Seeing supporters still invest their whole day into game-day traditions gives Sanders a welcome boost of positivity and proves the Boulder fanbase has not quit on his team.