Colorado coach Deion Sanders brought out his mother to give a pregame speech Saturday before the then-No. 18 Buffaloes’ 43-35 double-overtime win over Colorado State. While standing in front of The Rock, one of countless celebrities in attendance for the Week 3 matchup, Sanders handed the microphone to Connie Sanders in response to comments made by Rams coach Jay Norvell.
Coach Prime’s mother had plenty to say in front of the large group that included players gathered in the Buffaloes’ locker room.
“I raised him right!,” Connie Sanders said. “I also told him to always be yourself. If you have to kick ass, kick ass!”
Norvell poured kerosene on a rivalry game with Colorado during an appearance on his coaches’ show. Norvell took a shot at Sanders’ propensity for wearing sunglasses and hats during media appearances.
“I don’t care if they hear it in Boulder: I told them, I took my hat off and I took my glasses off and I said, ‘When I talk to grownups, I take my hat and my glasses off,'” Norvell said. “That’s what my mother taught me.”
Sanders jumped on the moment in a major way, especially as he launched a sunglasses collaboration with Blenders. He gifted a pair of sunglasses to every member of his team and reportedly sold $1.2 million worth of sunglasses on Friday alone.
Amazingly, the Rocky Mountain Showdown rivalry game actually lived up to the hype. Colorado State jumped out to a 28-17 lead in the fourth quarter, but Colorado stormed back to win 43-35 in double-overtime. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders posted 348 yards and four touchdowns in another standout performance.
The Deion Sanders effect has been real over the first three weeks of the season. Colorado put together three of the four top watched games of Week 1 and 2, according to Sports Media Watch. Despite a 10 p.m. ET kickoff, Colorado’s win over CSU was one of the most talked about moments of Week 3, with everyone from LeBron James to Michael Irvin to Lil Wayne checking in.
However, the real work starts next week as the Buffaloes head into Pac-12 play. The No. 19 Buffaloes travel to No. 10 Oregon for Saturday’s game at 3:30 p.m.
