{"id":375,"date":"2019-11-26T07:08:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T07:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/?p=375"},"modified":"2019-11-16T19:40:58","modified_gmt":"2019-11-16T19:40:58","slug":"university-colorado-live-buffalo-mascot-ralphie-forced-to-retire-for-being-too-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/university-colorado-live-buffalo-mascot-ralphie-forced-to-retire-for-being-too-fast\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Colorado football team’s 1,200-pound buffalo mascot, Ralphie V, forced to retire for being “too fast”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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(quote)

\n\nRalphie V, who just turned 13 last month, is in excellent health. The reason she’s being replaced? She’s a little too fast for her human companions.<\/a>
\n“As one of the biggest and fastest Ralphies, her love for running and power was showcased every home game during her career,” said John Graves, the Ralphie Program manager. “It’s almost like she knew she was the queen of campus and she loved to show that fact off when she ran onto the field and at her public appearances.”\n\nThe Buffaloes have used a live mascot for 53 years, with Ralphie V serving the second-longest tenure in school history at 76 games. She’ll make her final appearance — as a spectator — at the Nov. 23 home finale against Washington.

\n\nWith a career record of 39-37, she and a companion buffalo will retire to a ranch maintained by the school’s mascot program, as other former mascots have done. “Ralphie V has served the department and the university well,” athletic director Rick George said. “She has been a very special buffalo and has truly been adored by many.” In recognition and celebration of Ralphie V, those who would like to donate to the Ralphie Program can donate through this link: https:\/\/cubuffclub.com\/.

\n\nOne of college football\u2019s biggest \u2014 and to some, greatest \u2014 mascots is hanging up her harness. She just loves the job too much to keep going.<\/a>
\nRalphie V began her mascot tenure as a yearling in 2007. She weighed 450 pounds, less than half of her current weight. Immediately, one thing was clear: She loved to run.

\n\n\u201cHer personality is very fun and energetic,\u201d said John Graves, the university\u2019s Ralphie program manager and her trainer. \u201cShe really, really loves to run on game day.\u201d A running buffalo, he said, is a buffalo at play. She almost knows, Graves said, that she\u2019s the main attraction, not the football team. \u201cShe knows that she\u2019s a queen, and she knows that everyone in the stadium is looking down on her and filming her,\u201d he said.

\n\nRunning with her are 16 \u201cRalphie Handlers,\u201d students who volunteer to care for the mascot. Five of them sprint around the field with her, holding guide ropes to help her steer and slow down. The rest spread out across the field and keep her path clear of debris \u2014 and humans. It\u2019s a physical job; handlers train and practice five days a week, and they earn a varsity letter from the athletic department.

\n\n(unquote)

\n\nPhoto courtesy University of Colorado<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(quote) Ralphie V, who just turned 13 last month, is in excellent health. The reason she’s being replaced? She’s a little too fast for her human companions. “As one of the biggest and fastest Ralphies, her love for running and power was showcased every home game during her career,” saidRead More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6,8,12],"tags":[53],"class_list":["entry","author-wcp-humor","post-375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-figures-and-facts","category-funny-bone","category-life-nature-society","category-us-and-world","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldculturepictorial.com\/wcp-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}