STORY: Joel Klatt Reflects on Historic Colorado Season
DENVER-- For the first time in his career Fox Sports 1 analyst, Joel Klatt got to attend a recruiting luncheon. Why was this is his first time you may ask, well the answer is simple, Klatt was a walk-on at Colorado in 2002 after attending Pomona High School.
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Klatt took full advantage of hosting the Colorado recruiting luncheon, he rattled off stories and made comical jokes about Colorado State. He said we all have a lot of common with CSU because we all got in there. The crowd at the luncheon loved that joke and all laughed hysterically at Klatt.
But he also used this event as an opportunity to remind people about how special this season at Colorado really was. The seniors who are leaving the Colorado football program had an internal standard to strive for, to leave a legacy and set a foundation for many years to come. Klatt said this team achieved that, followed by "The pride and tradition of the Colorado Buffaloes will not be entrusted to the timid or the weak." Klatt emphasized this many times during his speech not just because he's a former Buff but for future Buffs to know what they are walking into too.
Colorado Football is about whatever it takes, it's a game of wills, can you break the opponents will? Colorado showed that this season they can bend but not break and it all started with the Colorado State game, that's when Klatt knew something special was on the horizon.
Klatt continued to talk about other games this season, he vividly remembers calling a game in Baylor while Colorado was playing at Oregon. While he was in the booth he was watching the Buffaloes on his phone and his partner Gus Johnson asked "are you going to pay attention and he said yes to this" while pointing at his phone while he watched Ahkello Witherspoon seal the deal with his interception.
Colorado would then start to go on their winning streak after USC and fortunately for Klatt he was able to call one of those games. Instead of watching on his phone, this time he was in the booth during Colorado and Washington State.
"That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my professional career," Klatt said about calling a game at his alma mater. As he choked up he continued to say "I've been bleeding black and gold for my whole life. It's always been my dream to put on the helmet and run behind Ralphie."
The tradition of Colorado Football is something special and Klatt knows that because he was a part of it. Before Klatt gave the floor to Rick George, he said he has a Mt. Rushmore for Colorado Football and he said the first person he is going to put on it is Sefo Liufau, "I just want to tell him thank you, he made me incredibly proud." Liufau and Klatt share a special bond, not just because they both played quarterback but because they both received the Buffalo Heart Award while they were at Colorado
The crowd at the luncheon were enamored with Klatt and his speech, as the day closed Klatt walked up the podium and said.
"The Colorado Buffaloes ladies and gentleman are just getting started."
