Photo by Paul Aiken

Dee Anne Menzies is a fan of the University of Colorado sports, despite her background at Colorado State University.

Erin Cunningham hopes that either the CU Buffs or CSU Rams win this weekend's rivaled football game.

That's a diplomatic answer from Cunningham, an academic counselor who works with University of Colorado athletes. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Colorado State University, where she proudly wore a green-and-gold uniform as a four-year letterwinner on the cross-country and track teams.

To borrow a line from Kermit: It's not easy being green. In Boulder. Right around Labor Day.

The Rocky Mountain Showdown, now in its 80th year, pits the Buffaloes against the Rams at Denver's Invesco Field on Sunday. And some CU employees who work with athletes have CSU roots -- causing some confusion over who to cheer for this weekend.

Cunningham, the assistant director for academic and career development in CU's athletic department, said her co-workers give her a hard time, but it's nothing she can't handle. She won't be going to the game this weekend, she said.

"I'm removing myself from the situation," she said. "I'm going to remain neutral. I'm just rooting for good performances."

Nancy Kyle, a 1971 CSU graduate and accountant for CU's athletic department, follows a rule: "I follow the Rams, and I back them every game. Except for when they play CU."

Kyle said her CU roots are deep. She went to Boulder High School, and followed nearby CU long before she rooted for the Rams.

Dee Menzies, CU's director of eligibility certification, graduated from CSU in 1977, and worked for that school's athletic department, as well as for the Western Athletic Department to which the northern university belongs. The Rams' fight song is forever in her memory.

She admits it was difficult to transition to Buffalo-hood when she start working for CU in 2005, but professes she's a true Buffs fan now.

"My check says Bruce Benson on the bottom," Menzies said, referring to CU's president. "I know exactly where my loyalties lie."

And to prove she has a heart of black-and-gold, she poked fun at her alma matter.

"I'd rather watch the buffalo run than the poodle, I mean ram," she quipped. "It looks like a poodle."

Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at 303-473-1132 or anasb@dailycamera.com.