Buffalo E-Mail

My parents grew up in Colorado and my dad was a good Colorado Buffaloes and still is a Denver Broncos fan. When we lived near Waco, we got tickets to the Baylor - Colorado game one time and watched Kordell Stewert when he was the QB for the Buffs back then. The cool thing is that we were sitting next to a couple of guys that worked for the team and traveled with them, and we got to see a National Championship ring from back when they were the Co - Champs along with Georgia Tech, back in 1989 - 1990. It was probably the coolest thing that I have ever seen at that point. Through the years I grew to become a pretty big Buffs fan even through college. They had some good years, like when Rashaan Salaam won the Heisman in '94, and then some really bad ones like the current Dan Hawkins era. And part of the reasoning behind their current downfall is due to an incident that happened back in 2004 and kinda opened everybody's eyes to what really goes on on recruiting trips. It also took me away from the Buffs.

In 2004, word started getting out that they were using drugs, alcohol, and sex to lure recruits to the school. When I first this during my senior year in college, I lost it, I was down and denying any wrong doing for my beloved Buffaloes. But as the days went on, more and more information started coming out. So I did what any loyal fan would do in a moment like this, I wrote Coach Gary Barnett, then the Head coach of the football team, an e-mail. And here it is. No joke this is for real.

Dear Coach Barnett,

this is Brad Austin,

I'm a senior at Harding University in Arkansas, and I'm also a huge a CU fan, I've always been one. i was raised watching them play. even through the rough years like this past one, i still cheered for them. and i know that you have probably gotten a lot of negative e-mails here lately and probably lost a lot of potential players and maybe even a lot of respect from other coaches. but not from me. ever since i heard about the allegations that was brought against you and your team, I've been praying for you and your staff to make the right choices. it's not because I'm a big fan, but because I'm a christian before I'm a fan, and i want you to know that God forgives you and the other players for the mistakes that they've made. everybody sins, nobody is perfect. i know that you will probably be going through some rough times now or in the future, but God loves you and he always will love you and His Grace is amazing. ans He is always with you throught your good times and bad. I'm not really expecting you to respond to this e-mail, in fact, i don't even know if you will read it. but just in case i want to share with you one of my favorite scriptures from the book of Colossians. it's Colossians 3:23 " Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men." i know being a head coach for a major college can go to get stressful and that you may sometimes lose focus on really matters in life, it's not the national championship, although that would be nice, or winning the big twelve, it's about loving our Master and our Creator.

In Him,Brad Austin

I wrote this e-mail without the expectation of getting a response, but you can only imagine how big my eyes and how fast my heart was beating when I checked my e-mail a few days later and saw this. Once again this is for real.

Brad,

Thanks for your note. We have been falsely accused......however, when you build your house the right way...on the rocks and with love, compassion and discipline it can withstand any storm...fire or otherwise. YOung people make mistakes....we do not live in a one strike and you are out world....neither spiritually or mortally...

Thanks again Gary Barnett

I couldn't wait to tell my friends what had happened, but most of them had no idea who Coach Barnett was. I know that it turned out that they weren't falsely accused, it turns out that Coach Barnett knew of several drinking parties where the recruits were going to and that he somehow knew of the strippers that were hired for some of those parties. I lost some respect for him and for the team after more and more stuff kept coming out. I did pray for the team and their problems. It was just one of those moments where I felt that God wasn't listening to me and made me wonder if He really ever does. I know it may not seem like a downhearted storey to you. But it infected me in a way that even I couldn't have predicted. It also led to my faltering prayer life for the last months of my school year. I didn't mean for it too, but it just happened. The Buffs were a big part of my life and I let something small effect me the way that it wasn't meant to.