Can I get a SKO FREAKING BUFFS?!?! If you weren’t at last Saturday’s game, you MISSED OUT! After four years, the century-long rivalry between Colorado and Colorado State returned with a 43-35 double-overtime Buffalo win. Becoming the 5th most-watched college football game on ESPN ever, peak viewership of this game reached a massive 11.1M people across the country, shattering the previous ESPN late-game viewership record as well.
Where was I you may ask…? The. Sidelines. I love my job!! This blog post covers my day from start to finish as a Marketing Intern at the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Spoiler Alert: I SAW THE ROCK!!
PREGAME - 3:45 pm MST
Call time for this game was a whopping 4.5 hours before kickoff at the lovely Folsom Field. Before football games, each intern is given a staffing sheet with a play-by-play of everyone’s duties for the night and where they need to be at any given moment. After making sure everyone had a good understanding of where they needed to be, we split up to set up for the game. While most interns were in charge of setting up Chip’s Kids Club at Fan Fest (an experience meant for junior Buffs) outside of the stadium, I headed to the marketing office to bring all of the in-game materials down to the field.
6:15 pm MST
After the pre-game clock started and doors opened for fans to come in, I was able to watch the players warm up from the sidelines while testing our headsets to make sure the Press Box could hear us speaking at any location on the field. This ensured that all marketing staff had the ability to check in on each other throughout the game when handling promotions and making sure activations ran on time.
7:45 pm MST
Before I knew it, pre-game festivities began as the Golden Buffalo Marching Band took their places on the field for their show. During this time, I tracked down Chip, the CU mascot, to make sure he was ready and in the right place for his on-screen recognition in the first promotion of the night. Sko Buffs Kid is an activation we do in partnership with Scheels where Chip and a lucky fan are shown hyping up the crowd and our chosen kid gets to say the first “Sko Buffs!” of the night over the speaker system.
8:05 pm MST
After a successful on-screen promotion, I quickly headed to the tunnel where I was in charge of triggering the smoke machine when the team and Coach Prime ran out onto the field. This was one of my favorite tasks of the night as I was able to see our special guest, Lil Wayne, up close as he surprised fans by walking the team out with a special pre-game performance.
KICKOFF - 8:15 pm MST
Despite what you may think, pre-game was the hardest part of my night as there was a lot of running around making sure every promotion happened smoothly in order for kickoff to start on time. Between the first and second quarters, all I needed to do was make sure our cheerleaders and dance team were prepared with the t-shirts they needed to throw to the crowd during the third media timeout of the second quarter. That being said, here’s where I got to reap the benefits of a sideline position as I was able to witness every touchdown up close and personal from a perspective that not many people get to see. And yes, this did mean standing precisely one foot away from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson himself.
HALFTIME - 10:00 pm MST
After a few more promotions in the first half, it was time for me to leave the sidelines (don’t worry, it didn’t last long) and head to Chip’s Kids Club in order to give the interns posted there a chance to be on the field. However, after quickly realizing that it was too dark and too late for any kid to be out playing, we were given the okay to clean up early and head back to the field.
SECOND HALF - 10:30 pm MST
Because of the early shutdown, there thankfully wasn’t much left to do in the second half as many other interns were handling the remaining promotions. However, I still was left with one of the most difficult tasks of the night: maintaining my composure. As someone who is fortunate enough to work so many professional game days, I try my hardest to fight my competitiveness and maintain professionalism from the sidelines as an employee representing my team. But HOLY COW was it hard to stay calm when I was right in front of CU making the comeback of my dreams. I’m not gonna lie, there were a few plays where the other interns and I couldn’t keep ourselves from jumping and screaming.
BUFFS WIN - 12:30 am MST
If you haven’t figured it out by now, the Buffs won in double overtime and I was able to watch the sold-out stadium flood the field as this crazy night came to an end.
As a major sports fan, it is my goal to follow a career path that allows me to be a part of moments like these where I am able to play a small part in creating lifelong memories for deserving fans. I am so grateful for the experience I am able to get from watching these historical events from the sidelines and putting on an amazing show for thousands of people.
If you’re interested in seeing some video content from my perspective of the Rocky Mountain Showdown, follow along on my social media! Stay tuned for next week’s blog post following my experience even further in this role. Until then, Sko Buffs and I hope to CU from the sidelines.
Works Cited:
All photos taken by me
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