by Name a team more hot and cold than Colorado this season. I’ll wait.
While Deion Sanders has brought a breath of fresh air to college football and injected life into a once dead program, it’s evident that the wheels are beginning to fall off the hype train. If you’ve been rooting for the Buffs, their journey is like falling for someone who eventually love bombs you out of the blue.
For those of you who are unaware of the phrase ‘love bombing,’ here’s an urban dictionary definition:
This is Colorado football to a T. We’re the victim, they’re the lover. Let me explain why.
Sociologically speaking, there are four stages to love bombing. Each of them sums up the first five weeks of Colorado’s regular season thus far.
Stage 1: Love Bombing (Week 1 at TCU, Week 2 vs Nebraska)
“The love bombing stage involves showering the recipient with gifts, compliments and commitment… this makes the other person feel great.”
All the preseason buzz lives up to the hype. Deion and the Buffs roll into the reigning national champ’s stadium and win a thrilling shootout over TCU. The following week, they throttle longtime rival Nebraska in a sold-out home opener. Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter catapult to the top of the Heisman race, media headlines continuously suffocate you with the whole Colorado narrative, and the playoff hopes are already rattling off. It took them just 14 days to become America’s team. Deion/Colorado fans are love struck. They think they have found the one.
Stage 2: Devaluing (Week 3 vs Colorado State)
The devaluation stage “can happen through withholding love and affection, put downs, gaslighting…”
The Buffs welcome in-state rival Colorado State to town with College Gameday paying a visit to Boulder, followed by a record-breaking TV audience tuning into the game that kicked off at 10 PM ET. Colorado entered the night as 23.5-point favorites against a Rams team that finished 3-9 in 2022. The Buffs play flat and escape with a narrow 43-35 OT victory to move to 3-0 on the year.
Colorado fans begin to realize that the illusion that they have found their “soulmate” is suddenly slipping away and they’re on the brink of emotional devastation. This team has “fraudulent” written all over it. Just not who we thought they were after all.
Stage 3: Discarding (Week 4 at Oregon)
The discarding stage kicks in when “the narcissist suddenly removes themselves from the relationship or does something that makes the other person leave.”
Colorado is tempting you to take that massive +19.5 spread and make you believe that they’re going to potentially pull off a huge upset in Eugene. Oregon punches them in the mouth from start to finish and reminds fans who the top dogs of the Pac 12 truly are. Colorado suffers its first loss of the season behind a 41-6 beatdown. You’re about to break up.
Stage 4: Hovering (Week 5 vs USC)
“The hovering stage involves the narcissist trying to maintain contact and stay close to their partner… using manipulative methods to suck them back into their lives.”
At this point America knows what to expect and they are through with the Colorado hype. USC dominates the first half as expected, but Colorado tries to draw you back in and shows some hope by making a late-game comeback to lose 48-41.
It’s still not enough to win America back over and the relationship cycle ends.
