- Deion Sanders says he saw a homeless person watching a 50-inch TV under a bridge in LA
- He used this example and a pot pie analogy to teach youth about perseverance
- Sanders spoke to youth organizations for about 45 minutes in a discussion about ‘the power of purpose’ with BLK & Bold co-founder Rod Johnson.
Homelessness in the United States can be a divisive issue. Some cast blame on individuals for their lack of housing. Others want to help and solve the roots of the problem.
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders had a different reaction to homelessness recently on a trip to Los Angeles. He saw an example of ingenuity in a desperate situation and found it inspiring.
“I just seen something in L.A. that I’ve never seen in my life,” Sanders said on a Zoom webinar Wednesday, Aug. 13 to a group of youth organizations. “I was there to shoot a commercial … and they were taking me to the set. And we went up under this underpass. And I seen like this homeless population there, and the dude had like a 50-inch TV. I had to stop. I mean, I ain’t never seen nothing like that in my life. First of all, how is the TV working? Dude, he was watching the morning news. … How?”
Sanders said it was a 50-inch flat screen television on top of a basket under a bridge.
“Blew my mind,” Sanders said. “And it encouraged me. Because I said, ‘If he can do it, we can do it. If he can do it, we can do it.’”
Sanders brought this up in the context of teaching lessons to youth on behalf of his coffee brand BLK & Bold, which he co-owns. To Sanders, this example showed resourcefulness in an environment that otherwise lacked resources.
Deion Sanders uses pot pies as a life lesson
Taking some time out of preseason camp for the Buffaloes, he spoke to the youth organizations for about 45 minutes in a discussion about ‘the power of purpose’ with BLK & Bold co-founder Rod Johnson.
In another lesson, Sanders told the audience he grew up in the “pot pie” generation, referencing the savory oven pies often filled with chicken and vegetables.
“Follow me now,” Sanders said. “Pot pies. See, I grew up in the pot-pie generation. The pot pie, you put it in there for 45 minutes. That’s what the thing say. They didn’t tell you when you take it out, you got to poke holes in it (to cool it). They didn’t tell you after you poke the holes in it and you take it out, now you’ve got to blow it for about five minutes until it get cool. They didn’t tell you all that. But it’s a process. But when it’s done, oh baby. You do all that for about an hour and 15 minutes and you eat the thing in four minutes. That’s a pot pie.”
Sanders said “that’s who we are.”
“They gonna poke holes in you, OK,” he told the audience. “They gonna try to blow your light out. They gonna try to blow it until it’s cold. … But then they’ve got to leave you alone for a minute and let you just simmer. And when you simmer and get that ready, now it’s time. It ain’t time yet. It’s gonna be there, though. For some of y’all, it is time. And it’s coming. I can’t believe I just gave you the analogy of a pot pie. … See, you can take the man out of the ‘hood but you can’t take the ‘hood out of the man. I’m still there.”
Sanders recently recovered from bladder cancer and bladder surgery in May. His Colorado team opens the season at home against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
