Is the altitude actually a hindrance?

Why can't the Buffs win on the road? What makes leaving the city of Boulder so unlucky for Colorado? Does their bus to the airport put bad mojo on them?

We can rationalize it anyway we like it, and somehow all these profetic solutions make sense but end up dissolving, like a sugar cube in warm mug of coffee, right before our eyes. We need to run the ball more, we do, we somehow lose. We need to hit more three-pointers, swish and swish, but tack on another L.

Here's a thought; could altitude training be our downfall? Can the same physical, and as it turns out, psychological factor that taints our opponents on their arrival in Colorado be also plaguing the Buffs minds and bodies when they leave?

As a Colorado native, and people from this Mile High state can likely attest, I've been far and away immune to the psyche of "altitude". The fact that we have less oxygen molecules (in parts per million with normal, sea-level air) is no longer an interesting tidbit, it's as played out as your third fortune cookie.

So when a player of an opposing color comes in and hears the announcer blurt out the oh-so-common phrase, "Welcome to 5,430 feet of Rocky Mountain High altitude" it has an effect. A sense of doubt, even minuscule can play a factor. One that gives the Buffs an advantage, even if it just for a second or step in Colorado's favor. It's no longer about skill, talent or athleticism but rather an intangible bonus that only the Buffs have.

But when the Buffs leave Boulder they are not usually accompanied by this comfort. They are on their own, without altitude and that edge that makes them so potent at home.

They don't, and shouldn't, think about it. Colorado has trained in a tougher atmosphere, even if a aerodynamics major will tell you otherwise, and that can be an err of arrogance that is their downfall. A placebo that is swallowed without hesitation. But the Buffs are no longer in their element, while it's only a hundred molecules of difference, it is that little bit extra that doesn't exist at sea-level. Colorado can't help them, and in turn they are unable to help themselves.

The Buffs can't win away from home, but away from Boulder and altitude they are actually leveling the playing field.