Deion Sanders Talks Takeaways from First Buffaloes Season: ‘Faith…Can Move Mountains’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Deion Sanders went into his first season as the Colorado Buffaloes’ head coach with high expectations, but after disappointing losses, he’s reflecting on some lessons he’s learned.
The Buffaloes jumped out to an incredible 3-0 start, but after Colorado’s fourth game loss, the team struggled throughout the rest of the season.
Sanders told Fast Company, “You gotta realize that everybody in here hadn’t had this type of attention in their lives. And this attention, sometimes, is intoxicating. Some of these [coaches and players] hadn’t been in a situation where you’re on television every weekend and you got to put up or shut up…they’re getting to see that. And they’re getting to see themselves.”
For the first time in Colorado history, the stadium was sold out for every home game.
“Ticket revenue jumped $14 million from 2022, helping the school exceed its $37 million goal. The team’s Instagram account went from 63,000 followers to more than 1 million. Merchandise sales rose 892%. The Colorado sidelines looked more like a red carpet some nights, with celebrities like the Rock, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and Michael Irvin making appearances,” Fast Company reported.
Despite the setbacks and successes, Sanders isn’t finished and remains dedicated to “mak[ing] it happen.”
“Everybody around this inner circle is gonna believe,” he explained. “If you don’t believe, you’re gonna get up out of here, because we have the faith that can move mountains…that’s just the way we function. That’s the way we move. That’s the way we think. And we don’t fluctuate with that thought. We don’t procrastinate with that thought. We go get it.”
The coach focuses on more than just winning on the field. He’s also dedicated to helping his players find victory in their lives.
“Winning has so many different variances in my book,” Sanders stated. “I would love to be undefeated right now…but when I sat at the head of the table and I said, ‘We’re gonna win, and we’re gonna win right now,’ it’s not just about the games. It’s about the GPA. It’s about the lifestyle of these kids. It’s about them not being incarcerated. Them not impregnating young women without being married to them. It’s so many things that involve winning other than the scoreboard.”
After the team’s final game of the season, Sanders left optimistic.
“We getting ready to start cookin’,” Sanders expressed. “I could not grow if I didn’t go through what we’ve gone through. I could not prosper if I did not glean from what transpired this season. I could not be who I am if I did not have these tasks at hand. I’m truly thankful. This is not the first challenge I’ve had in my life, but I know how I finish. I know how this is gonna end. I promise you.”
Since the end of the season, the coach has been reflecting on patience on social media.
“They’re [sic] 2 things we need to work on. The 1st is our Patience and the 2nd is being on time! God is Patient with u but u ain’t Patient with NOTHING!…You want your blessing on time but u ain’t go[ing to] be there to receive it,” he wrote on Instagram.
“Have Patience with all things but 1st with yourself,” he added in another post. “I’ve read 1 minute of Patience, 10 years of Peace. With Love & Patience nothing is impossible. Let’s try our best to exude Patience with every opportunity we get. Let’s change the world little by little.”
Movieguide® recently reported on Coach Prime’s Sportsperson of the Year award:
Even though the Buffaloes finished 4-8 this season, Sports Illustrated named Sanders the “Sportsperson of the Year.”
Coach Prime’s impact on Colorado so far has been incredible.
“There are numbers that define the Prime Effect upon the University of Colorado in Boulder, a place that hasn’t always had a chummy relationship with football,” Sports Illustrated wrote. “First-year applications are up 26.4% year over year; Black or African American applications are up 80.6%; nonresident applications are up 29.8%; and international applications are up 38.4% from 97 countries, including 16 that didn’t have any applications last year. While those numbers cannot be definitively linked to Sanders, others can be: September sales at the school’s online team store were up 2,544% over the same month in 2022. Every home game in 50,183-seat Folsom Field was sold out for the first time in school history.”
