Mark Johnson has had a front-row seat to all the euphoria surrounding the Colorado Buffaloes football team. He's seen plenty of highs and lows in his 19 years as the Buffs' play-by-play announcer.
"When you consider where this team was last season, they were the most irrelevant team in America after finishing 1-11," Johnson said. "Here we are, nine months later, and they're the talk of the sports world."
Colorado is the talk of college football, with NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders leading a resurgence of the Buffs football program. With a 2-0 record, the 18thranked Buffs will welcome in-state rival Colorado State to Folsom Field on Saturday in the teams' first meeting in three years.
And Johnson will be there to call the game as he's done since 2004.
"Touchdown! Touchdown, Colorado!"
It's a signature call that has made Mark Johnson a favorite among diehard Buffaloes fans. He has served as "The Voice of the Buffs", calling both football and men's basketball contests.
Before arriving in the Rocky Mountains in 2004, Johnson spent three years calling the games for Syracuse University football and men’s basketball.
Today, his booming deep voice and enthusiastic description of Buffs football and basketball games are broadcast across several stations in the Centennial State and on satellite radio.
But the hype around this season has been something else.
"What (Sanders) has done in such a short period of time is just stunning," said Johnson. "Colorado has become the hippest program in America, and now everyone wants to be a part of it."
After a successful three-year stint at Jackson State University, Sanders arrived in Boulder last Decemberto take over a program that won only a single game last year.
The Buffs followed up their season-opening upset win over national runner-up Texas Christian University with a convincing win over longtime rival Nebraska last week.
This Saturday promises another huge crowd in Boulder with a large national media presence. The two signature college football game-day shows — Fox Sports' "Big Noon Kickoff" and ESPN's "College Gameday" — will be on location in Boulder. The Buffs were already featured as the actual nationally televised "Big Noon Kickoff" game on Fox for the last two weekends.
Saturday's game against CSU will be televised on ESPN. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.
The Colorado State-Colorado game gained more national interest earlier in the week after Rams head coach Jay Norvell made what many in themedia perceived to be critical comments about Sanders' on-camera appearancewhile doing interviews and attending his weekly on-campus media sessions.
Johnson said he expects the Buffs to use that motivation to continue to prove their doubters wrong.
"The sky's the limit for this team," said Johnson. "Colorado will be in the conversation regarding teams that could make a run at the Pac-12 championship, along with the other good teams such as Southern California and Oregon."
Sanders presence has proven to be a financial boon for Colorado's economy, with local businesses in and around the Boulder and Denver metropolitan areas raking in the profits.
Tickets to home games are also in high demand. According to the sports business journal Front Office Sports, the average secondary market ticket price for Colorado home games is now $517. That's an 11% increase since their win over Nebraska. The university sold out of their season ticket packages back in the spring.
