Sports
Colorado fans serenade superfan Peggy Coppum on 100th birthday at Folsom Field during win over Utah
Colorado football super fan Peggy Coppom received a touching tribute from Buffaloes fans on her birthday weekend.
First, No. 17 Colorado had a big win over Utah on Saturday. The 49–24 victory moves the Buffaloes closer to a spot in the Big 12 championship game and possible bid in the College Football Playoff.
During the game, Miss Peggy received an especially warm gesture from fans at Folsom Field. The crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to Colorado’s most famous supporter and a cake was brought out to her in honor of her 100th birthday, which is on Nov. 19.
Peggy was shown on the stadium scoreboard and was clearly touched by the outpouring from her fellow Buffaloes fans.
That was the second time that Peggy’s birthday was noted and celebrated on Saturday. During the “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show on Fox, a cake was also brought out for her as Colorado alum Kordell Stewat, the team’s cheerleaders, nearby fans, and the studio crew including Rob Stone, Brady Quinn, Mark Ingram and Urban Meyer sang “Happy Birthday” to her.
Coppum has been a fan of Colorado football since her family moved to the area in 1939. She and her sister Betty began attending games in 1940 and were season ticket holders for decades. Betty passed away in 2020, but Peggy still attends every Buffaloes game that she can.
Since becoming head coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders has made a point of bonding with the program’s biggest supporter. Coppum has received an NIL deal — the first-ever for a fan — involving eyewear company Blenders to create a sunglasses sleeve featuring an image of her waving golden pom-poms.
Sanders has said his goal was to get Peggy to a bowl game. Now that the Buffaloes are bowl eligible and in line for a College Football Playoff bid, those ambitions have been raised.
“She means so much to this program,” Sanders said, via the Denver Gazette. “We just gotta get her a private plane and make sure she’s comfortable on the way there.”
“I wanted to do that for Peggy, so that was kind of me. That goal wasn’t about us,” he added. “That was what I wanted for Peggy because she deserves it. We had to have a rally cry for some rhyme or reason, but we want so much more. That’s why we practice the way we practice, and that’s why we go at it the way we go about it. We want so much more. That was just the beginning of what we desire around here.”
Colorado improved to 6–1 in the Big 12 and 8–2 overall with Saturday’s win. Remaining on the Buffaloes’ regular season schedule and their path to the Big 12 title game in Arlington, Texas is a road matchup at Kansas (3–6) and a home finale versus Oklahoma State (3–7).