Deion Sanders – Source: Dustin Bradford / Getty
The Rocky Mountain showdown between Colorado and Colorado State University has officially become ESPN’s most-streamed regular season game of all-time.
We are rolling into mid-week and the talk of the sports world is still Deion Sanders and Colorado’s win over Colorado State. Trash talk between Coach Prime and Coach Norvell over manners, upbringing and shades helped attract nationwide attention, and it apparently added up to record viewership.
According to Sports Illustrated, the off-field beef helped elevate the Rocky Mountain Showdown to become the most streamed ESPN game in the history of the network.
The game reportedly averaged 9.3 million viewers despite its 10 p.m. kickoff on the East Coast. The game didn’t end until after midnight, but viewers stayed glued to the screen until early Sunday morning.
At its peak, the game held 11.1 million concurrent viewers across ESPN’s networks.
Perhaps the most impressive stat from the game didn’t happen on the field but in the ratings. Sports Illustrated reports that on the all-time list, the game has become the fifth most-watched college football game “on record.”
People have been well aware of Deion Sanders’ “Primetime” nickname, but that was from an era most fans didn’t get to witness. Now, however, they’re seeing it first hand even if it’s at 1 a.m.
This weekend, the Buffs will play Oregon and the following week they will face off against Heisman winner Caleb Williams and USC. Unfortunately, Colorado will be missing a key player in both games as Travis Hunter is out for four weeks after suffering a liver injury from a late hit Saturday. If anyone thought the star power at the game last weekend was insane, just wait until the USC game when power from all industries and political parties is in attendance.
