Colorado's Deion Sanders on Level of Attention: You Wish You Had a 'Bit More Privacy'
Colorado football head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders has never been one to shy away from publicity, but even he wishes he had a "little more privacy," per comments made to Natasha Dye of People Magazine.
"You always wish that you had a little more privacy," Sanders told Dye regarding the spotlight, "but the same thing that makes you shine will show your blemishes."
"So, you've got to take the good with the bad. You can't just want everyone there when the hype machine is rolling, you have to understand there's another side to this."
There was no bigger story in college football (and perhaps American sports) at the beginning of this season than Sanders after he took over the Buffaloes program and led the team to a 3-0 start. He and the program were getting national recognition, including from non-sports shows such as CBS' 60 Minutes.
The bandwagon got full to start, but the Buffaloes proceeded to go 1-8 for the remainder of the year, and they finished last in the Pac-12.
The 1-8 end to the season was certainly challenging, and that stretch included some very difficult defeats (e.g. 42-6 to Oregon; 56-14 to Washington State).
Still, Colorado did manage to win four times as many games as last year, when the team went 1-11 prior to Sanders' arrival from Jackson State.
Off the field, this hasn't been an easy year for Sanders by any means, as he's dealt with numerous surgeries related to blood clot issues. He and his ex-fiancee Tracey Edmonds just announced the end of their engagement and 12-year relationship as well.
Still, Sanders is an open book and offers his honest opinions at all times. He's done so through Well Off Media, a YouTube channel run by his son, Deion Sanders Jr.
And now the second season of Coach Prime, the Prime Video series, will debut on Thursday. That will give more insight into Sanders and the team, which found itself in the spotlight once again. However, Sanders believes that extra attention is a positive, per comments to Dye.
"These young men, they want the smoke. They want that love, that hype, that attention. I don't know a high school football athlete, or a college football athlete, that don't want attention and don't want more followers. I haven't met one yet."
"You've just got to teach them how to handle it in that moment, but also allow them to understand now what shines — well, that same light gives heat, so it is going to be hot too, now. You're not just going to shine. When you do something wrong, that's going to be illuminated, as well."
The spotlight will be off Coach Prime a bit now with the season over, but the Buffaloes program will be sure to grab attention once again in 2024, when the team opens with North Dakota State on Aug. 31.
