98-year-old Colorado superfan Peggy Coppom is college football’s Sister Jean

If you ask any sports fan what or who they think of when they think of Loyola Chicago, they’d likely reply with 104-year-old Ramblers superfan Sister Jean; who rose to prominence during Loyola’s Cinderella run to the 2018 Final Four. Now, when you ask anyone the same question about the University of Colorado Boulder, they’re likely to respond with Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders — but college football’s Sister Jean equivalent is undoubtedly Buffs superfan and viral feel-good sensation Peggy Coppom.

Coppom has been a faithful fan for over five decades and has endured as a symbol of Boulder’s resilience; through brutal winters and through a decline in athletic success over the last several decades after being a powerhouse on the gridiron in the 1990s. Not to mention, the loss of her twin sister Betty, who she attended every game with and was known in tandem as “the twins”, in 2020.

“I was asked if I would come without Betty, and I said ‘absolutely’ — she’d want me to, and I’d want her to,” Coppom told 9News in 2021. Peggy is keeping her sister’s legacy alive, having made it to the “Prime Time” era and now serving as one of the defining symbols of the greatest show in college football, the 2023 Colorado Buffaloes, to a national audience who is learning of her lore; just as they did with Sister Jean in 2018.

Colorado football superfan Peggy Coppom lived her best life at College GameDay

The vibes for future College GameDays will have a tough time matching the party in Boulder, Colorado on September 16, 2023. Coppom’s presence was a major reason why, with the 98-year-old looking limber dancing with Rob Gronkowski just as she did previously with Coach Prime at a CU event in the summer.

Stories like Coppom’s go untold without a coach like Sanders bringing the Buffs into the limelight and his players keeping them there.