Deion Sanders was not happy after his team lost to Stanford on Friday night. Everything was going right in the first half and the Buffaloes went into halftime with a 29-0 lead. The second half was a nightmare. Stanford sent the game into overtime on a last-second field goal and then ended up winning after Shadeur Sanders threw an interception in double overtime. After the game, Sanders questioned his team’s love of the game in a postgame rant.
Deion Sanders Questions His Team After Loss To Stanford
The minute-long clip has Sanders challenging whether his team really loves the game or whether they just like it.
“What I just said to the team in the locker room to the team, they’ve gotta make up their mind. Are they in love with this game, or they in like with it? When you love something, you give to it unconditionally. You give everything you’ve got, without a shadow of a doubt.”
“I am truly 100 percent in love with this thing. And I just want people to match me. Just match my passion, match my heart, match my love, match my consistency, just match my mannerisms, just match every darn thing I give to this game.”
Coach Prime wants his players to have the level of passion that he has for the game and so far he is not seeing that. He was visibly upset with his defense on the sidelines late in the game as the lead was being blown.
It Takes More Than Passion
It is hard to criticize what Sanders is doing at Colorado. Like it or not, he has put a program that was nothing on the map. The team has shown poise, playmaking, and an ability to win close games. However, a loss like this is not just on the players. Any time a lead like this is blown, there is some blame on the coaching. What I find confusing about the comments by Sanders is it seems like the only thing standing between success and failure is wanting it more. Teams have to execute and be put in positions to win. It is troubling that Sanders does not seem to own up to the mistakes in managing the game and simply attributes the loss to the players not caring as much as him.
There is no doubt that Deion Sanders is a coach who can attract talent and win games. However, there is more to coaching than getting talent on the field. Managing the game is crucial and if Sanders thinks that passion and caring is all it takes to win, he is going to have a tough time getting this team to the next level.