Deion Sanders and his Colorado football team have received widespread praise for their accomplishments during the 2024 season, with an 8-2 record and an inside track at the Big 12 championship game following a 49-24 victory Saturday against Utah at Folsom Field in Boulder.
Among those spreading kind words is arguably the most famous living athlete in American sports.
Following the No. 20 Buffaloes’ triumph over the Utes, which was their seventh win in their past eight games, NBA superstar LeBron James shouted out Sanders and Colorado on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“I don’t hear non (sic) of those @CUBuffsFootball @DeionSanders HATERS being up front and loud!” James wrote in his post. “They’re in hiding now. Coach Prime said “We Coming”. Well it’s “We Here” now. Love what’s going on there in Boulder.”
The Buffs were the subject of persistent criticism for much of Sanders’ first season in 2023, between Sanders’ unconventional and cutthroat roster-building philosophy that purged basically the entire squad he inherited and the breathless national exposure the team received after a surprising 3-0 start.
After going 4-8 in 2023 and losing eight of its final nine games, Colorado was picked to finish 11th in the 16-team Big 12 heading into its first season in the conference. Instead, the program is off to its best 10-game start since 2016 and is among the top 20 teams in the country in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and the College Football Playoff rankings.
James isn’t a total stranger to the Buffs’ football program. He was rumored to attend Colorado’s home game last season against USC, though he ultimately didn’t make it to Folsom Field.