Opinion: Hypocritical America and Deion Sanders’ Rise

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Colorado’s blowout loss at Oregon said more about the critics than the actual team themselves. The foolery intensifies.

During Oregon’s dismantling of Colorado, a predictable, laughable, completely sideways thought pattern formed. Granted, the Ducks fairly manhandled the Buffaloes all over the field. Without a doubt, Oregon stood head and shoulders ahead as the better team. If the blowout loss, viewed through the lens of sports subsided, this op/ed would not occur. However, people from all walks of life, from every demographic made the game an indictment of Deion Sanders.

Humble Pie

When Oregon started running up and down the field, social media buzzed with smirking comments from critics. In sports, critique remains a valued part of the game. At the same time, the tweets felt personal. In addition, some ventured into areas that stopped being about being football. Terms like humility flowed. Off the track for a second, when have you read a mass call for a coach to humble themselves? For example, the University of Florida’s championship team boasts bigots and a murderer. Did anyone tell Urban Meyer to check himself? The Buffaloes losing in such a lopsided manner made for the naysayers to jump behind the microphone like this. It is hilarious people want to jump all over ESPN to publicize Colorado, but they let the floppy ducks that Tim Tebow threw in Denver.

Why The Tension?

In a nutshell, it truly makes many White people exceedingly uncomfortable to see a Black person with confidence and sense of self, succeed? But, why? Sports should be a meritocracy, where the talented succeed and others fall by the wayside. Coaching to many is the last bastion of sports that Black people entered, on purpose. If you look at sports history, many ignorant people subscribe in the notion that sports will be overrun by Black people. Remember, baseball, in basic form started in 1749. It took 198 years for a Black player to join a major league team. Bigotry and insecurity combined with large sums of money kept Black coaches from ascending. It’s 2023, the fact that ” first Black” anything in sports is an embarrassment. America should be better than that.

Truth, Part One

Are all critics of Deion Sanders and Colorado football racist? No, they aren’t. There are some that rightfully focus on the fact that CU is woefully weak in the trenches. If you know football, you understand the game is won at the line of scrimmage. Oregon ran for 240 yards. That is all on Colorado’s defense. Additionally, the Ducks passed for 282 yards. Again, all due to Oregon. Despite all of the numbers that paint an accurate picture, how Coach Sanders and his team spoke gained more question than unflinching statistics. Colorado sacked Bo Nix just twice. Meanwhile, Shedeur Sanders hit the turf seven times. Yet, you haven’t read too much about what actually happens in the game.

Truth, Part Two

Without a euphemism to be found, the fact that there are Black people openly rooting against Colorado and Deion Sanders for nothing but bitterness is wild. As mentioned, find constructive critique in game film. Yet, there are pockets in the Black community that want Deion Sanders to fail for a couple of reasons. First, jealousy exists. After conquering the NFL and working in sports media, Sanders found his third career as a head coach. Some in the community internalize that enmity because of their own shortcomings. Next, the antiquated belief that ” certain jobs and status” aren’t for us. Since when? That adjacent thought poisons thoughts and makes some resent those that dare buck the system. Lastly, some with a scintilla of football thought believe that the Buffaloes were affected by the hype. As Black people, we have a tough enough time in sports, no need for our own to parrot idiocy.

Truth, Part Three

Colorado plays USC on Saturday. The Trojans should win that game going away because they possess superior talent from top to bottom. The Trojans average 55 points per game, ranking first. As a result, the Colorado defense will be in for a long day. Also, reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams completed 74. 3 percent of his passes. On top of that, zero interceptions. Under those circumstances, Colorado will need to win a shootout. Unfortunately, USC also boasts the twentieth-ranked defense in points allowed. Overall, this game could veer out of control fast. Does that paint Colorado in a poor light? No, playing Oregon and Southern Cal in consecutive weeks would break even the most talented roster. However, those with an axe to grind will take further shots at Colorado.

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Objectivity

After winning just a single game in 2022, the Colorado Buffaloes sit with three wins. Following the USC game, the Buffs’ schedule lightens. Travis Hunter will return from injury during this stretch. With that, Colorado and Coach Sanders should start rolling again, on their way to a bowl game. If you truly anticipated a national championship run during the first year, football is not for you. Additionally, the Buffaloes will see most players sliding through the transfer portal towards Boulder. If the Buffaloes play things correctly, line help on both sides of the ball will help them immensely.

Lanning’s Speeches

In a vacuum, Oregon coach Dan Lanning’s speeches were meant to fire up his team. That is common. However, some of his words rang hollow. In describing flash over substance, did he forget the hundreds of uniform combinations? Or, the fact that Phil Knight, an Oregon, also Nike founder donated 500 million dollars to the school? Coach Lanning spoke from a place of a school that has not won a national championship in football. In fact, Oregon was Clemsoning before Clemson ever did, as witnessed by their two late-season losses in 2022. More importantly, Coach Lanning has exactly seventeen games as a head coach. Meanwhile, Coach Sanders has thirty-seven. Talking about preening in front of the cameras while preening in front of camera is next-level, Inception type sorcery.

Overall

Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes and how people perceive them area microcosm of America. Everyone usually loves a feel-good story when it looks like them. In contrast, the two Americas showed themselves once again. Now, that should not surprise any of you, but the quickness of the vitriol should.