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The Governor is making sure the Buffs are shoulder-to-shoulder in 2024
The 2023 Colorado Buffaloes football season was a spectacle. The Buffs were the third most-watched team in the nation, Lil Wayne was leading Colorado out of the tunnel on game day, and the Buffs managed to embarrass their two most hated rivals on national television. Deion Sanders brought the excitement back to Boulder, but the traditions of Colorado football seemed fizzle out along the way.
There was no singing of the fight song in the locker room, as Deion was playing his “theme music” with the team instead of Fight CU. In fact, most of the team didn’t even know the words to the fight song sequence last season. The traditions that have made Buffaloes football so special seemed to have lost their way in 2023, but that won’t be the case this season.
Walk-on long-snapper Camden Dempsey has been with the team since 2021. As one of the 11 holdovers who fought hard to stay when Deion came to Boulder, he’s fostered a special relationship with Colorado’s new coach. Being affectionately nicknamed “The Governor” by Coach Prime, Dempsey is on a mission this season: to bring back the tradition that was missing last year.
“I think the number one thing that fans should expect this season is a return to tradition,” said Dempsey. “After that first TCU game, I think everyone was a little shocked, but I was a little surprised because we weren’t singing the fight song down in the end zone and that kinda killed me as a diehard Buff”
Growing up in Lakewood as a huge CU fan, Colorado football is something Dempsey holds close to heart. He’s been in Boulder to experience the apathetic lows of the Karl Dorrell era and the unbelievable highs of the first three weeks of 2023. As the Buffs get ready for what is poised to be their biggest season since 2016, Dempsey is making sure that CU tradition will be present for the whole journey.
“That’s something that’s changing this year,” Dempsey said. “We’re teaching all the guys the fight song, we’re investing heavily in the community. We want this to be a team that is this town’s team. We want everyone to feel like they’re a part of it.”
While Colorado struggled on the field of play under Dorrell, Colorado had a tight-knit locker room and a strong culture built off tradition. In the first season under Deion, that tradition began to slip through the cracks a bit. Now, aspects of Dorrell’s culture and the excitement brought by Deion are starting to mesh together thanks to the efforts of players like Dempsey.
“Under Coach Dorrell, it was a program that numbers-wise didn’t do great,” said Dempsey. “But it was a great, great locker room atmosphere and I love that team. And then we had a big changeover, but now we’ve got that same team and the same locker room. Now we have a program to back it up and I think that’s just the best.”
The reality of Dempsey’s situation isn’t lost on him. He’s a superfan playing a significant role in rebuilding the culture of the team he loves so much. As the front-runner for the starting long-snapper job, Dempsey is living out his dream.
“This is a dream come true for me,” said Dempsey. “I’ve been coming to Buffs game ever since I was little. I can point out my seats in the stands where we always sat... It’s really special to be here and be able to represent my teammates, and maybe pick up some leadership roles along the way.”
by RylandScholes
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