BOULDER, Colo. — Whether it's the view of the Flatirons or the running Ralphie, there's something special about the University of Colorado's Folsom Field.
Now, the stadium where Deion Sanders' Buffaloes play, one of the oldest in college football, is marking its 100th season.
Originally named Colorado Stadium, it was renamed Folsom Field in 1944 in honor of legendary football coach Fred Folsom.
Folsom Field was built in just 271 days in 1924 at a cost of $65,000. In the decades since, several upgrades have been added, but the spectacular Flatirons view remains the same.
Fans and players alike know it can elicit a feeling all its own.
Darian Hagan was quarterback from 1998-2001. He was recruited by Coach Bill McCartney.
“Coach Mac used to always say when he was recruiting me, 'You know you’re coming here to God’s country,' and that’s what it was like," Hagan said.
Jim Kelleher was a fullback on the team from 1972-77.
“It’s a very intimate setting. I don’t know if that’s the right word for football. When you’re running behind the buffalo, that’s just -- I don’t even know how to describe it. It was just so exciting," he said.
Sean Tufts had two experiences on the field at Folsom. He was a linebacker on the team from 2001-03, then went on to play for the Carolina Panthers for three years. After an injury, he returned to CU for his MBA and became a Ralphie handler.
Tufts met his wife at CU. They take their kids to home games. He vividly remembers the football games he was part of, and has plenty of memories about running Ralphie.
“So we were playing Georgia in this stadium and we beat the dog out of Georgia and we are coming around the curb and I hit a wet spot on the field, lost my grip and wiped out. I fell into the bench and A.J. Green, NFL probably Hall of Famer, he picks me up and says, 'You need a new line of work, kid.' And that was one of my favorite memories of running Ralphie.”
Coming from Detroit, it didn’t take much to impress John Meadows when he came to Boulder in 1960.
“If you’re in Detroit, you don’t see the sun from about November to about April. We looked and we could see the Flatirons and I said, ‘I’m coming here.’ It’s a magic place. Colorado is a magical place," he said.
Chad Brown played linebacker for 15 seasons in the NFL, but many of his best memories began in Boulder.
“My dad thought it would be good for me to leave southern California and grow up," Brown said. "Coach Mac came in and did what Coach Mac did back in that time. He sold my parents on me being a Buffalo, and used phrases like, 'Chad, you’re going to become an All-American,' which I did. 'You’re going to win a National Championship,' which I did. 'You’re going to meet your wife here on campus,' which I did. 'Your kids are going to become Buffaloes,' which they did. So it doesn’t become more true than that vision he laid out for me, on my parents’ couch in 1998.”
All of these former players believe Folsom Field is a magical place -- for its beauty, the crowd and the view. Yet they all say it was the brotherhood they found here that made all the difference.
“Me and my brothers, we did amazing things out there," Brown said. "Buffalo greatness. We came together to do things no other Buffalo teams had done before, and those guys who I did it with are a part of my life forever.”
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