Photo by Joshua Lawton

University of Colorado junior Jesse Karlin, of Californis, has his face painted by fellow junior Katie Walch, of Texas, while tailgating outside Invesco Field for the Rocky Mountain Showdown against Colorado State in Denver Sunday afternoon.

Photo by Marty Caivano

University of Colorado junior Matt Zolnick, a Boulder native, is well-prepared for the start of CU’s football season today. He’s been a Buffaloes fan since age 5, and has plenty of memorabilia to show for it.

Summer is ending, the days are getting shorter, balmy weather is on its way out -- and that means, to a certain group of hard-core football fans, that life worth living is about to begin.

More precisely, it begins at 5:30 p.m., at the kickoff of today's showdown between the CU Buffs and the CSU Rams, and the start of the college football season.

From here until the New Year, Saturday isn't just the first day of the weekend anymore.

"Once the season begins, Saturday is sacred to me," said Matt Zolnick, a 20-year-old University of Colorado junior who puts the "Oh dear, he really might have a problem" in "fan."

Attending all home games and driving to away games? Yes. Lightweights do that.

Hard-core fans attend every single practice in the summer before the season starts, and, by Zolnick's definition, "have all the players' names memorized by number and position before the first snap of the college football season."

Hard-core fans don't have much room in their closets for non-CU-related clothes. Hard-core fans have a special game-day hat -- "a Ralphie hat with fuzzy hair, a good-sized nose, and of course horns" -- that can only be worn on game day. This is important.

"I have never, and will never, wear this hat for any other purpose," Zolnick said.

Zolnick, a Boulder native, says his dedication to the Buffs started young. His first car in high school was painted gold. As a Boulder High School student, he took advantage of Halloween to let his fan's freak flag fly.

"I took a plastic garbage can, cut a hole in the bottom, spray-painted it black with the CU logo in gold, added some straps and wore it to school," he said. "As per Barrelman tradition, I went topless and brought my cowbell to school ringing it through the hallways as I sang along to the CU fight song."

"Head over heels"

For Chris Rebich, summer's end means four-hour tailgating parties on Saturdays. It means bringing a hand-made helmet he crafted as a 12-year-old fan along with him to wear to all of the games.

"Fall is my favorite time of year -- and the Buffs have a lot to do with that," he said.

Sometimes, dedication to the team isn't as elaborate -- but still a powerful force. On most weeks, Matthew Jenks, a 22-year-old CU junior, keeps his pre-game rituals simple -- he's content to go downtown to watch the Golden Buffalo Marching Band play on Friday nights before home games.

Occasionally, however, inspiration strikes during game-time, Jenks said.

"During the Buffs' 62-36 rout of Nebraska in 2001, I would jump and yell with each CU touchdown and then roll head-over-heels on the floor for good luck," he said.

Jenks said there's no way to know for sure whether getting rug burn for his team made a difference. All he knows is: "They kept on scoring."

"Dedicated soldier"

As a Nebraska native, hard-core fan Jordan Ochoa came to worship the Buffs the hard way.

Now living in Northglenn as he attends Front Range Community College before enrolling at CU, Ochoa still enjoys watching fellow-motorists do double takes when they see the black-and-gold Buffs stickers on his car -- which still bears Nebraska plates.

That car will rack up another 1,000 miles when Ochoa and his friends make the trip back to his home-state to watch the Buffs battle the Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Neb. on Nov. 28.

"We'll be jumping in the car and driving the eight hours to Lincoln," he said. "It's a very emotional commitment. I'm a dedicated soldier."

Of course, the battle between CU and its neighbor to the north wouldn't be a storied rivalry if Colorado State fans didn't show up, too. Nick Florek will be in the parking lot of Invesco Field with his friends, wearing his Rams jersey. They'll be tailgating outside their own head-turning ride.

"My friends and I purchased a 1977 RV and had it sticker-wrapped in green and gold," he said. "The Ram Wagon is in attendance at all games."

Contact Camera Staff Writer Ryan Morgan at 303-473-1333 or morganr@dailycamera.com.