BOULDER, Colo. — Peggy Coppom is 98.
She’s arguably Colorado’s most famous fan, but she’s also quick to offer an apology for her declining eyesight and hearing. So she had to make sure she heard correctly when Colorado athletic director Rick George told her in late January that she’d have a guest the following day: Deion Sanders.
Advertisement
“Tomorrow you’re bringing him?!” she asked of Coach Prime.
George said yes. Coppom has a habit of making root beer floats when George has visited her in the past, but on this winter day, it was chilly. So he suggested they pass on ice cream for the morning visit.
The new Colorado football coach drinks only Pepsi anyway. Coppom had some, and she baked cinnamon rolls instead. And put out a tray of praline pecans.
George and Sanders arrived as planned, and George let the two get to know one another as Coppom, anything but shy, helped educate Sanders on the history of the program. They sat together at the dining room table topped by Coppom’s pink tablecloth.
“She is just a breath of fresh air. She just breathes life into everyone that comes close to her. She’s a godsend, man,” Sanders said Saturday, months after the initial meeting and hours after surprising Coppom with a ceremonial honor in Colorado’s spring game. “She’s un-dern-believable.”
GO DEEPER
'Something to behold': Sights and sounds from Coach Prime's snowy, sold-out Colorado debut
Coppom moved to Boulder in 1940 after growing up in Haxtun, Colo., a small town on the northeast plains of the state. Together with her twin sister Betty Hoover, who died in 2020, they gained local celebrity as the “CU Twins” who attended tons of Colorado sporting events and, as a point of pride, refused to ever leave early.
So with 80 years of Buffaloes fandom alongside her sister and late husband, who was an airline pilot, she had plenty of stories for Sanders. The coach passed on the cinnamon rolls but downed his Pepsi as predicted and began a love affair with the praline pecans she’d laid out.
“They were glazed or caramelized or something,” Sanders said. “I was just killing those things.”
After their meeting, Coppom sent Sanders a bag.
As their time together came to a close, Sanders grabbed her hand and gave her a hug.
“I thought he was going to lift me off the ground,” Coppom said.
Advertisement
Read more: Deion Sanders’ roster purge is part of tradeoff of player empowerment in CFB’s NIL era
But before he left, Sanders had a request. Would she be up for walking out on the field with him at the spring game in three months?
“I said, ‘OK. But I’m 98 years old. I’m not gonna run,’” Coppom said. “I said OK then and thought, ‘Oh, he’ll forget about this. He’s got 100 kids to take care of up there.’ But he didn’t forget about it.”
Anything but.
Sanders brought Coppom down to the field for Saturday’s snow-filled spring game. Before, she got to see a host of Colorado greats on the field.
(Courtesy of Sean Coppom)“I was really glad to see them and get hugs from them. They had to tell me who they were when they said hello, because my vision isn’t great,” Coppom said. “But they’ve all changed so much since they were here I’m not sure I could recognize them anyway.”
Read more: Deion Sanders’ extreme Colorado makeover has coaches buzzing: ‘It’s a tremendous risk’
They all posed together for a photo with Coppom on the field, too.
Sanders came and got her as the players began to come on the field for the opening kick, and cameras swarmed the duo. Sanders walked her from the 20-yard line to the 30, and Coppom got curious.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He told her she was going to begin the game with the opening kickoff.
“I said, ‘What!?’” Coppom told The Athletic at her home after the game, where she also produced some of the famous pecans. “I prayed to Jesus, ‘Help me get through this. Help me get through this.’ My balance isn’t very good anymore. My eyes aren’t good anymore. Nothing’s good, except my mouth.”
Coppom picked up speed as she approached the ball and gripped Sanders’ arm to maintain her balance as she booted it in the air a few feet down the field to applause from the crowd.
“Peggy balled. Peggy was the MVP of the game. She was quick. Her first step was unbelievable. She was very physical when she grabbed me to make sure I held her arm,” Sanders said. “She made a big play. Her kickoff was phenomenal. Went through the uprights and everything.”
Advertisement
Added Coppom: “I’m just glad I got through it and didn’t fall down.”
Coppom made her way to her seats in the Flatiron Club upstairs, and just like any other game, she refused to leave early, despite the game being a snowy exhibition.
Colorado drew attention this weekend with ESPN choosing to air the spring game, but when it began, viewers saw a 98-year-old superfan kicking off the Coach Prime era.
“There has never been this much excitement about any sport at CU like this,” Coppom said, adding she’s hopeful the Buffaloes can make a bowl game this year after going 1-11 last season. “I can’t believe one man has brought us all this attention.”
For a moment, Sanders made sure some of that attention was directed toward Colorado’s most loyal fan.
“She was thankful and appreciative,” Sanders said. “She really was. She’s hilarious. I mean, the little quick comments that she may have out there? Unbelievable. I’m pretty sure they caught it in my mic. But she’s fun, man. She’s good. I wish to God — I just want to make it that far and have the same smile and energy and love, just for life, as she does.”
(Photo of Deion Sanders and Peggy Coppom: Ron Chenoy / USA Today)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k21ramlkZnxzfJFsZmlsX2eAcLDEoqanZaOWu6Wx0axknKecpL%2BisM5mqq6olaezorqMqZygn6lisLC8z6ikaA%3D%3D