DENVER — Colorado Buffaloes fans will have some high expectations for their team next season. Understandably, Coach Deion Sanders' impact in Colorado will likely go beyond the football field.
Derek Friedman is the owner of Sportsfan, a merch store with four locations in the Denver area. He was just as shocked as anyone to hear Prime Time would be heading CU's football program.
"It's unfortunate, but sometimes programs need to go through a bottoming out before they're able to turn it around, and I think Deion is the right guy for that," he said.
The news only means good things for the team and businesses like Friedman's.
"It's an absolute direct impact. It's an injection of excitement. When fans are excited, they run to the stores. They want to celebrate. They want to wear the gear," Friedman said. "As we look at next year, we'll absolutely change how we buy CU Buffs merchandise. We're going to be a terrific place to come visit and grab stuff before you head up to Boulder to watch Deion and his team win."
"Win" was not part of CU's vocabulary this year. The football team went 1-11 this season. That's why Friedman's Buffs inventory was limited this year.
"We were not anticipating big CU sales this year. In fact, we just didn't buy very much, so what we did have we sold out, and we will be getting a ton more," Friedman said. "I think it’s going to be an amazing season next year."
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