Joannie the Buffs buff knows her stuff
Published: 9/27/2007 4:43 PM
Last Modified: 9/27/2007 4:43 PM
BOULDER, Colo. -- Colorado football fans take a lot of abuse in the Big 12.
Not as classy as Nebraska. Not as loyal as Oklahoma. Not as fanatical as Texas. Not as cultish as Texas A&M. Not as crazy as Texas Tech. Not as angry as Missouri.
With the Broncos holding at least a piece of virtually everyone's heart here, plus the Nuggets, Avalanche and those Driller-fed Rockies having success, Colorado football is, to an OU fan, inconceivably low on the entertainment totem pole. (If Matt Holliday doesn't win the National League MVP award, voters are clueless.)
But I must say, I'm impressed by the one Buffs fan I've met so far.
Joannie, our server at a downtown Denver burger dive called 1515, could tell we were from out of town. She asked where we were from, and we said Tulsa.
"Oh, you're here for the football game Saturday?"
Impressive start.
Joannie, without knowing we worked for a newspaper, then went on to tell us she would love it if OU would let Colorado score just two touchdowns. Maybe three. But she harbored no thoughts of her team actually winning.
She talked about Dan Hawkins, and his son Cody Hawkins, and about how the offense definitely worked better this year with young Cody under center.
She talked about Bob Stoops' press conference on Tuesday, at which he suggested, half-jokingly, that can't-miss kicker Garrett Hartley has missed three extra points already this season because he's having to run out on the field so often, kicking PATs and kickoffs. Darn those high-scoring offenses.
She said she was impressed by the Buffs' defensive effort against Florida State, a 16-6 loss.
Joannie told us she used to be a season-ticket holder but wasn't any more; but she wanted to see where coach Hawkins had the program going, so she was going to be at Folsom Field on Saturday, her first to see the Sooners in person.
She said she expects a blowout, what with OU a 22-point favorite and all (I swear, she brought this up, not us), but she was still going to cheer for her team.
And then she brought out one of the best burgers I've ever had. Their half-pound burger was voted best in downtown by the Rocky Mountain News, but it couldn't be better than the 1515 burger, with Gorgonzola cheese, hickory smoked bacon and sauteed mushrooms.
Joannie definitely represented. So did the 1515 burger. Now, if the Buffs hold up their end, the Sooners will have a fight on their hands.
– John E. Hoover
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
