A Century of CU Spirit from CU Twin Peggy Coppum
Peggy Coppom in her Boulder home.
When I arrived atPeggy Fitzgerald Coppom’s(A&S ex’46) home, I was immediately greeted byEddie Olivari (MPubAd’78), a friend who drives her to and from church daily. He explained that her phone interview withThe Today Showwas running a little long, but he invited me in, offered me a Coke and showed me the ins and outs of her 1940s pink-and-chrome Frigidaire electric stove.
Peggy is perhaps the most unlikely of modern-day superfans. She doesn’t wear face paint and costumes or seek the attention of cameras and Instagram. When Peggy and her identical twin,Betty Fitzgerald Hoover (A&S ex’46), who died in 2020, began cheering on the Buffs in the 1940s, they were just out to have a good time.
“Growing up on Colorado’s eastern plains, moving to Boulder for high school equated to the big city. At the time, high school games and city dances were the common ways to socialize,” said Peggy.
The twins met their future husbands at Longmont High School, where their love of football and basketball took root.
“We liked basketball and football because that’s what we had in high school. We didn’t have anything else,” Peggy said. “And then we said, well, let’s go. We better go.”
When they enrolled at CU Boulder, they found a new love: CU athletics. In addition to football and basketball, Peggy and Betty started following more sports, including volleyball and tennis.
For some years, raising children took them away from their beloved stands. But that break was short-lived.
“Well, Betty and I used to say — and I still do — we pray and play,” she said. “Prayer is first. Play is second.”
Peggy recounted, “My older sonJack (PE’67) played baseball at CU Boulder and was an All Big Eight Player his junior year. So we went to all the baseball games in those days.”
In time, the sisters began faithfully attending football and basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, baseball, lacrosse and track, and they became a staple in the bleachers — easily spotted in their custom athletic gold sweatshirts.
Pray and Play
While Peggy is, there are two constants in her life: church and CU athletics. Raised Catholic, Peggy started attending daily mass in the 1950s.
“Well, Betty and I used to say — and I still do — we pray and play,” she said. “Prayer is first. Play is second.”
Peggy and Betty were known to pray for CU Buffs players, and the list is always growing. Even if Peggy forgets someone’s name, she puts them on the list because “He knows who they are,” she said, pointing upward. Prayer anchors Peggy, and she places it first because it helps her “have good faith, keep a positive attitude and be happy.”
Peggy represents more than CU fandom — she embodies goodness and loyalty. During our visit, I asked her friend Mike Richardson — who is from Estes Park, Colorado, and stopped by with a black-and-gold holiday wreath for Peggy — how they met.
“I was just drawn to her,” he said. “When my kids were little, I’d see the twins at all of the games, and so I finally went up and introduced myself and my kids.”
In November, a packed Folsom Field sang “Happy Birthday” to Peggy on her 100th birthday.
“I just stood there and cried because that’s the way it made me feel — very, very humble,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’ve done anything except be a good fan to CU. [Betty and I] went to so many sporting things. I can’t deny that we have been good fans. We have been.”
But don’t think for a minute that she lacks fire.
When we talked about winning and losing, she said: “If no one wanted the other team to win, it wouldn’t be any fun. It’s a big competition. When the opposing team’s fans come to the game and cheer loudly, those are the games that we get excited about.”
Peggy Gets Her Bowl
“Be loyal. No matter if they win or lose in the end, it’ll make you feel better to be loyal to your school because everyone can’t be a winner every time. And sometimes your loyalty is more important when you lose than when you win.”
The “CU Twins” and their famed school spirit were legendary in Boulder before Coach Prime’s arrival, but Peggy credits him with making her internationally famous.
Reflecting on the press conferences, interviews, photo ops and her own (NIL) deal, she said, “I was thinking the other day, ‘You know, God, I wonder if your part in this was to help me not miss Betty so much. You’re giving me all these things to do now.’” For the past two years, the CU Boulder community has filled her life when she needed it most.
When Peggy and I met, the bowl game Coach Prime promised her at the beginning of the season was 17 days away. She to Texas for the Dec. 28 Alamo Bowl.
Her advice to other CU fans: “Be loyal. No matter if they win or lose in the end, it’ll make you feel better to be loyal to your school because everyone can’t be a winner every time. And sometimes your loyalty is more important when you lose than when you win.”
Photo by Glenn Asakawa