Strong Attendance Shows Colorado Football is Right There
Like just about everything else regarding the Colorado football team, attendance numbers this season indicate the program is right on the cusp of hitting another level.
Colorado is averaging 50,898 fans per game this year at Folsom Field. That's 94 percent of the capacity of Folsom Field, which holds 53,613. Colorado hasn't had a capacity crowd yet this year -- the closest was the Nebraska game at 52,829 -- but for a team coming off a losing season, and one that is currently enduring another one, this is an encouraging sign.
I think their crowds – from what you can see on tape – and that’s a tight venue down there where the stadium is right on you," said Washington coach Chris Peterson. "They’ve had good crowds most of the whole season. I think that helps them. They play well at home. I think that’s another thing. So late, cold night, grass all those type of things. It’ll be a good challenge.”
Colorado's rivals like to say the fanbase is full of fair-weather fans. All fanbases are like that to some extent and maybe in the past Colorado fans have had that tendency a little stronger than others.
But the attendance this year shows that CU fans are into the football program. There was the excitement of having a new coach, and a returning Heisman candidate, and a tantalizing team that seems juuuust good enough to beat anybody.
It has helped that Colorado has been competitive most of the year. The Buffaloes do have three blowout losses, but all of them came on the road. In "home" games (including the season opener in Denver), Colorado is 2-3 with the games decided by a total of 22 points.
For the most part, it's been a good show at Folsom Field this year, even if the results have been mixed.
As Colorado goes into the last home game of the year, it can feel pretty good that the fan support is there going into this offseason. With a big-time recruiting class coming in, the program shows all the signs of having momentum, even if the win-loss record doesn't really show it.