Cheering on players amid sun, rain, snow and bitter cold, 87-year-old twins听Betty Fitzgerald Hoover听(A&S鈥46) and听Peggy Fitzgerald Coppom听(A&S鈥46) may hold the record for attending the most CU sports games ever.
They鈥檝e only missed one home football game since 1957 because one of them was ill.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what it takes for us to miss,鈥 says Betty defiantly, to which Peggy adds, 鈥淎ll weddings have been planned around CU football.鈥
Wearing matching gold Buff sweatshirts and waving pom-poms, the sisters have been season football ticket holders since 1957 and men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball season ticket holders since 1979. As a result, they cannot tell you what their seat numbers are. They just know their seats when they see them.
After attending Boulder High School 鈥 where they were cheerleaders 鈥 they came to CU and fell in love with the university. Their passion for the campus has never left. To them, the CU community is family. They also are members of the听Buffalo Belles booster group.
For home football and basketball games, an entourage of no less than a dozen family members follows them to after parties at Peggy鈥檚 house to savor the excitement of each game. Peggy says that they also try to become personally acquainted with everyone involved with the teams. They traveled to Miami for the Orange Bowl national championship in 1991 where they say they bonded with the grandmother of听Eric Bieniemy听(Soc鈥01), the current offensive coordinator and running back coach for the Buffs.
Despite being miniature in size 鈥 both stand just under five feet tall 鈥 Betty and Peggy are giants in the CU sports realm, says athletic director Mike Bohn.
鈥淭he twins represent the pinnacle of our class, pride and enthusiasm that is so vital to any university,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hey inspire us all and provide a wonderful guide to the ideal fan.鈥
Their most memorable games? The football team win over Nebraska in 2007听and when the men鈥檚 basketball team beat Kansas in 2003.
Regardless of any disheartening losing streaks, they always have faith in their Buffs.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been through some pretty low times [at games] with not much to cheer about,鈥 Betty says. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e always thought, 鈥業f the team has to stay, then someone should stay with them.鈥欌
Photo by Glenn Asakawa听