OutKick In Boulder: Colorado Fans Flock For $34 Cowboy Hats, Spike Sales At Dispensaries As Deion Effect Spreads

BOULDER, CO- The store wasn't set to open for another 45 minutes, but that didn't stop Colorado football fans from lining up to get their hands on their own piece of Prime material. After two home games, and nine months of buildup, Deion Sanders is delivering, even in the hat business.

Namely, his signature Cowboy hat.

That particular bit of headgear obviously wasn't invented by Boulder's new favorite son, but the way Deion Sanders has sauntered around town in his white hat while reinventing the Buffaloes program has made that particular accessory a hot-ticket item in and around campus.

Standing out in front of the campus clothing store, looking at folks itching to drop $34.99 on a cowboy hat or any other Coach Prime-related items, you could sense a change in more than just campus styles.

"There haven't been people waiting to get inside our store 45 minutes early since I've been here," one employee noted. "Look at this, we've got folks from all over flocking to Boulder to get a piece of the Deion craze."

If Deion Sanders is wearing it, the campus bookstore is selling it. Kansas City has -- apparently -- Taylor Swift, but Boulder's got Prime. With the amount of celebrities scheduled to be at the game on Saturday, business will only pickup, especially if they win.

Now you can own a Deion Sanders inspired cowboy hat, which is nor for sale inside the campus gear shop.

If they do top USC, the store will probably need another batch of cowboy hats.

"We just put these on-sale this morning, and I'd imagine we're sold-out by Saturday morning," the bookstore employee said. ". "We've become a tourist attraction for college football fans, which only helps us."

Boulder has that mix of college students and lifers, both trying to live in the same world. But when it comes to Sanders, there aren't many folks who don't know the name. Whether it's jerseys or sweatshirts, students have bought into the craze, not even a year into Coach Prime's tenure in Boulder.

Now you can own a Deion Sanders shirt or sweatshirt which is now for sale inside the campus gear shop.

Prime Time Bring High Times for Pot Dispensaries

It's not just the obvious campus bookstores and sports-related retailers that are enjoying the city's new-found fame. Local marijuana dispensaries are feeling pretty good about it too.

You also don't have to travel far to find your local marijuana dispensary, but the one's I happened to walk into (It's part of the job) were not selling any Coach Prime edibles. But, one of the local store owners did mention an uptick of traffic for Colorado's two home games this season.

'We had a bunch of folks in here during the Nebraska weekend, dabbling in some fun," one dispensary owner mentioned to OutKick. "We've seen a 35% jump in our sales over the two weekends Colorado has played at home this season, compared to last year. So, I guess we have Deion (Sanders) to thank for that.

"There was plenty of red in here three weeks ago, but it's also illegal in the state of Nebraska. So, let the folks come in and shop around. Hopefully it put those fans in a relaxing mood after that loss."

In all, businesses are reaping the benefits of a 3-1 start for Colorado. Hotel prices are through the roof, and you better have a reservation for fine dining. Just for the Nebraska game alone, two local hotels were charging $900 a night, which is a 60% uptick in prices from last season.

The Colorado merchandise is flying off the shelves from the Deion Sanders collection.

This is a massive swing from where these same businesses were last year, with to much to celebrate in-terms of wins. Also, folks stopped traveling to game, which hurt the hotel business on key weekend days in the Fall.

As for Deion Sanders and Colorado, the local growth over the last two months has been huge for the economy. It was estimated that the Nebraska game bought in nearly $17 million for the city of Boulder, which could potentially be higher this weekend with USC coming to town.

In all, from Cowboy Hats to local hotels, all the way to the dispensary's, the university of Colorado and Boulder are profiting mightily from the 'Coach Prime' era for the Buffaloes.