Saturday night was the biggest Colorado State home game of my lifetime. With the Buffs in Fort Collins for the first time in more than a quarter of a century, and the game nationally televised for a prime-time audience on CBS, the 2024 Rocky Mountain Showdown was more than just a non-conference matchup. It was an opportunity for the Rams to lay some of their demons to rest and make a statement in front of the entire world.
Coming off of the heels of the Pac-12 announcement, had CSU been able to win a rivalry game with fans in the stands for the first time in nine years, much of the misery that’s been synonymous with the program for the better part of a decade would have felt like it was being left in the rearview. After losing by double digits in their own building though, it feels like the weight of the world is once again on CSU’s shoulders.
Going back to the start of 2014, the Rams are a combined 5-22 against Air Force, Colorado and Wyoming. Making things worse, the only win in the last five years was the 2020 Border War, when the stadium was empty due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The last non-pandemic-era rivalry win was a 26-7 victory over the Pokes in Laramie on Nov. 7, 2015 — one of my favorite trips up North with my dad. But the last win in Fort Collins was a 38-23 victory over Air Force on Oct. 17, 2015.
It’s been over 3,200 days since the Rams have lifted a trophy in front of their fans in their own stadium. If you were 10 years old in Hughes that afternoon, you would have gone all the way through middle school and high school without witnessing CSU win any of the games that matter most, and you very well may be on a college campus yourself now.
I was 21 years old that day. And there is a possibility that I will go into my thirties having only seen one total rivalry win since. A weird win over Wyoming where the only sound we heard from the pressbox was the fake crowd noise blaring from the speakers.
I’ve been a CSU supporter since the day I was born. My childhood idols were guys like Bradlee Van Pelt and Kyle Bell. The first time I went to the original CB & Potts felt like a pilgrimage after hearing so many stories about it over the years from my dad, who is also an alum. As is my brother, four different cousins, and the majority of my best friends.
I remember UNLV in 2002, and I watched live as Tristan Walker got tackled short of the goal line in Boulder in 2004. In a lot of ways that game taught me what heartbreak is all about.
The Josh Allen game in Laramie, the Boise State collapse, the 2023 RMS, I’ve been there for it all. So believe me when I say the 28-9 loss to Deion Sanders and the Buffs this past weekend was far from surprising. I’m no stranger to CSU coming up short when the lights are brightest. And I think that’s what feels the worst about this whole ordeal.
It was an all-too-familiar feeling in Canvas Stadium on Saturday night. By the end of the first quarter, I was already thinking about how I’d have to talk about this game, how to try and calm everyone down after yet another gut-wrenching loss.
I truly don’t know what needs to happen in order for the Rams to finally shake the monkey that is rivalry games off of their backs. This is an issue that goes back to multiple staffs, generations of players, etc.
I do know that with a move to the Pac-12 looming though, something has got to change in these games that matter the most to the fans. It was an electric atmosphere in Canvas Stadium on Saturday night, however, it’s hard to keep filling the seats or generate consistent support when the fans are so scorned that these types of results just start to feel like the status quo.
Contrary to popular belief, the worst thing that a fanbase can be is not upset, because that shows that they still care. Right now Ram fans are upset. But the longer CSU goes without winning a trophy game, the more apathetic fans become as a whole. And as someone that used to love the Colorado Rockies more than just about anything in the world, and now couldn’t name more than a small handful of players, I know a thing or two about how quickly someone can lose their drive to support a team.
The Rams cannot go into 2025 without adding a trophy to the Hall of Champions. This cannot continue.