Kiz: CU football stinks. The attendance at Folsom Field stinks. The latest recruiting class of coach Mike MacIntyre stinks. So, looking for a distraction, athletic director Rick George went off on a rant, yelling at the Rams to get off his lawn and threatening to cancel the Rocky Mountain Showdown when the contract expires in 2020 because CU wants the game back on campus sites, not in Denver. Pardon me while I laugh at George. You mad, bro? Settle down.
Hooch: Yeah, I thought George came off sounding like a “studio gangsta,” which we in the hip-hop world — Hooch, of course, is also my rapper name — call someone who acts hard-core in the studio, but not in the streets, so to speak. He’s sounding all haughty, but we can’t forget that he’s looking out for CU financially. He’s a businessman, and intercollegiate sports, to paraphrase , is a business, man. And CU needs more home games.
Kiz: CU likes to think it is far too cool for CSU. Since joining the Pac-12, however, the Buffs have been found wearing socks with sandals at the beach, getting sand kicked at them by the conference’s football bullies. With a new stadium on the way in Fort Collins, CSU football could have a better won-lost record and better home attendance than CU by 2020. I don’t need George walking in from a baseball team in Texas to tell us what’s best for football in Colorado.
Hooch: Hate to say it, but even if “your guy” MacIntyre gets CU to a six-, seven-, eight-win level each season, they’ll still probably be better than a seven-, eight-, nine-win CSU team in a much weaker Mountain West. Ifs, I know. But conferences rule, and the Pac-12 is a power five conference. Cash rules. Forget the idea of losing to CSU. George feels he’ll lose money if the game stays in Denver, instead of CU getting to host the game every other year. Or, if the rivalry were dissolved, it would give CU an extra home game each year against Cupcake State. It could use that victory, and hometown merchants would like the business around Folsom Field on game day.
Kiz: If the Buffs really want to take their ball and go home, CSU could instead play one home game a year in Denver against a legit football power. Like Nebraska. But the annual CU-CSU game is what’s best for two universities that serve the people of this state. Don’t bury the Rocky Mountain Showdown yet. Six years down the road, there’s a better chance the Rams and Buffs will still be playing in Colorado than MacIntyre still be coaching in Colorado.
Hooch: Our pal Woody Paige is vehement that the game must forever stay in Denver. I love his passion. For alums of both school who live near Denver, it’s an ideal setup, especially if the teams improve and the place fills up. But it sounds like King George is going to ruin the fun.
