Colorado Honors Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders by Retiring Jerseys, Plans Bill McCartney Statue

Okay, so picture this: Colorado’s out there doing its thing at Folsom Field, and suddenly — bam — they decide to retire the jerseys of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. I mean, Saturday’s spring game was like a mini-festival or something. But wait, there’s more! They’re also memorializing the numbers, whatever that fully entails. Kind of epic, right?

Now, while everyone’s still buzzing about that, here comes the big reveal: a statue’s being planned for Bill McCartney, the legendary coach who led Colorado to glory in 1990. Yeah, he passed away in January. And people have been cooking up plans for this statue for over a year. It’s like, why did it take so long? Deion Sanders (the man, the myth, the legend), he got all fired up about this. “Why wait?” he said. Personally, I think he’s onto something. Why not let people see their tributes when they’re still around to appreciate them?

So, bit of a bittersweet commentary from Sanders about waiting so long. And talking about former stars like Rashaan Salaam — another great we lost, back in 2016. It begs the question, like Sanders said: “Do we really gotta wait until someone’s gone to honor them? Let folks smell their own flowers!”

But back to something lighter — Sanders wants to channel McCartney’s spirit by wearing the man’s signature jacket and hat for the season opener. A touch of class or back-to-the-past, call it what you will.

Then — controversy alert! Retiring Hunter’s and Sanders’ numbers sparked some eyebrows. Like Chad Brown, a linebacker from their 1990 title team, he’s all like, “Hey, don’t forget about us.” Seems fair. But then again, others say it’s all part of CU’s legacy’s rich tapestry. Athletic dude Rick George stepped in, adding that honoring these modern stars doesn’t erase history — it’s kind of like adding threads to a never-ending quilt.

Interesting side note: CU hasn’t been jersey-retirement-happy. Hunter and Sanders’ accolades seem to yell “do it now!” – y’know, live fast or regret never.

The spring game itself was quite the spectacle. The timing was insane too; a snowstorm had dumped inches of snow, yet like magic, it was all cleared before kickoff. Talk about commitment. And even with the white blanket, they still attracted over 20,000 souls to cheer on — granted, the smallest under Sanders’ tenure, yet still impressive.

Sanders had hoped for a crowd surge, maybe play against Syracuse, but no go there. NCAA stuff messing around with their plans. Boring, right? Yet, he’s got a message: just imagine if fans treated these gatherings like a full-on game day. I’m thinking more people, more energy, more everything. But alas, maybe next time.

Ah, randomness and sporting legacy — keeps life interesting.