The man of the hour, the talking point of every ESPN segment, and the coach driving people to either watch Colorado games, or, up a wall.
Deion “Prime Time” Sanders.
The former cornerback and return specialist was hired as Colorado’s head coach in December, and since then, he’s made as much noise as, well, a Led Zeppelin concert.
Saturday night’s game against Colorado State was the most streamed college football game in history, and according to Fox Business, the company Blenders has brought in $4.8 million in Prime sunglasses revenue (72,000 pairs).
I tried to think back to other college football sensations this big. Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel, maybe? I’d say Namath, but his Alabama career was before the fur-coat days.
No, there hasn’t been anything this big in the history of college football – at least from revenue and publicity standpoints.
Sanders is outspoken, loud, opinionated, cocky at times, and, most importantly, himself.
That begs the question: is he good or bad for college football?
People have been debating this at kitchen tables and water coolers, but I have no idea why.
Deion Sanders is incredible for college football.
To play devil’s advocate, part of me agrees with Colorado State Coach Jay Norvell. My father would kill me if I wore sunglasses during an interview, and I’ve always preferred when coaches wear suits, not sweatshirts.
But we’ve got to use our heads here.
When 9.3 million viewers tune into a college football game, the NCAA and all affiliated organizations skyrocket in popularity. Heck, it’s only Week 3 of year one.
There’s an economic perspective here. If more people can design his merchandise, work on game production, ask him questions in interviews, tweet about his every move, and cover him like a blanket, the economic landscape of college sports is going to be incredible.
He’s got that LeBron James, Floyd Mayweather, or Tom Brady effect. People hate him, because he’s good. And, more importantly, they’re going to tune in to watch him lose.
Also, he’s adding pizzazz and storylines to an otherwise stale world of college football – one that sees Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State competing every January.
What’s Alabama up to, and who’s Ohio State’s quarterback? No, that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about Deion Sanders – aka, something new.
Then there’s the dirty little secret no one wants to talk about: the guy knows what he’s talking about. Sanders is one of the best players of all time, and now, 100 kids and a handful of coaches are learning from him and bettering themselves.
Lastly, it’s someone being himself, you know what I mean?
I’m not going to buy his sunglasses and look up to the guy, but I respect him for doing – and being – something new.
Coach Prime, keep it up.
