FORT COLLINS — Colorado State coach Jim McElwain Monday made it clear that he was bothered when Denver Mayor Michael Hancock butchered his name in the post-game Centenntial Cup ceremony at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
After CSU’s 31-17 win over Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Showdown, Hancock stumbled and stammered over McElwain’s name during the presentation, calling him “Mac” a few times, which is also the nickname for CU coach Mike MacIntyre. The Rams’ coach took the microphone and corrected the mayor before handing it back.
McElwain had concluded the formal portion of his Monday news conference when he brought up the subject himself before he got up and walked away.
“I will say one thing,” he said. “I do understand where we are on the food chain from a relevance standpoint because the mayor doesn’t even know my name.
“The guy needed help, man. Somebody pointed that out, that nobody thinks much of us, even though how many alums do we have in the Denver area? Like the most of any university there is? And yet the mayor doesn’t even know the head ball coach’s name.
“I guess that really shows where we are and where I am as a program. . . Boy, that makes a guy feel good. Guy giving you the trophy and can’t spit your name out. Shows you how much they care about Colorado State, right?”
Updated Sept. 2 at 6:46 p.m.The following corrected information has been added to this article: Because of an error by a reporter, the way in which Denver Mayor Michael Hancock mispronounced CSU coach Jim McElwain’s name was incorrect. He called him “Mac” several times.
