Autumn Spectacle: Colorado runout

The Colorado runout
by AutumnSpectacle.com staff

If a college football fan is looking for tips on what is a must see during a trip to Boulder, Colorado, one of the items that will top the list is the way the Colorado Buffaloes take the field. It is unique. It is intense. And, it’s a little bit scary.

The team, decked out in black and gold, comes together at the northeast corner just minutes before kickoff. The glare of the sun reflects off their helmets and the crowd waits for their entrance. courtesy CU SID

But, it’s not the players and coaches that the fans are anticipating. It’s Ralphie, CU’s 1300-pound live buffalo mascot.

With five handlers hanging on to the reins, Ralphie takes off and the team follows. Simultaneously, the stadium’s big screen shows video footage of a buffalo herd on the loose. The handlers’ cowboy hats start flying off as Ralphie builds speed. It is plain to the human eye that these young men are not so much “handling” Ralphie as they are just trying not to be dragged to their death in front of 58,000 cheering Buff fans.

They run toward the south end zone and then circle back to the northwest corner of Folsom Field. Opposing players have to keep their eyes open as Ralphie heads toward their sideline. Or else, they may find themselves on injured reserve.

The tradition of Ralphie leading the team on the field started in October, 1967. It was then that the handlers began taking
Ralphie out for a two-hour run in order to fatigue the live animal just a bit before game time.

Ralphie is a fixture of CU football gameday and he has experienced his own highlights and lowlights. He was kidnapped in 1970 by some Air Force Academy cadets, but the following year, he was voted homecoming queen by the student body. The average tenure of each mascot is about 10 years and Ralphie IV, the current mascot, started his career in 1998.

The runout lasts 20 seconds or so but it is 20 seconds of pure, collegiate fun. If you missed kickoff, then don’t fret. Just make sure you stay in your seat during the intermission because Ralphie will lead the team again before the second half.

For more Traditions & Pageantry, click on the masthead images and Chris Schenkel quote.

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“Deep inside, we're still the boys of autumn, that magic time of year that once swept us on to America's fields."
- Archie Manning, in "A Tailgater's Guide to the SEC"