By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
It wasn’t an easy life growing up on the Eastern Plains of Colorado, Sen. Byron Pelton recalled Monday for the Colorado Senate.
He became a fan of the Colorado Buffaloes and almost no one then was on the Eastern Plains, and still isn’t today. Colorado State? Yes. Nebraska Cornhuskers? Yes. Oklahoma Sooners? Maybe. But, Colorado Buffaloes fans were few and far between, he recalled in memorializing legendary Colorado Buffaloes coach Bill McCartney, who died Friday.
“It’s a sad day in Colorado that we lost him,” Pelton said. “I’m so thankful for having him as a part of this great state.”
In 13 seasons, McCartney compiled a record of 93-55-5, won three Big Eight championships and earned the co-national championship in 1990 in a split with Georgia. Colorado defeated Notre Dame, 10-9, in the Orange Bowl that year — Colorado’s first bowl victory in 19 years. His 93 wins were a school record.
“It was always my dream to wear the CU jersey with Colorado across my chest,” Pelton said. “I never got to realize that dream, but when my friends were all wearing green and gold, I was probably the only one wearing black and gold on the Eastern Plains.”
He also noted McCartney’s faith. He founded Promise Keepers in 1990.
“He was a prime example of living his life by the word of God,” Pelton said. “He was a leader among men.”
But, as a kid growing up on the plains of Sterling, it was football that grabbed his attention.
“I was fortunate enough to be a kid at a time when we didn’t have a lot of good football in Colorado,” Pelton recalled. “To watch him come in was amazing — the way he led these young gentlemen who came from all over the country to our state.”
McCartney suffered with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and died Friday at age 84.
“He meant so much to me,” Pelton said on the floor of the Senate.