“We Drove Her”: Handlers of the Colorado Buffaloes Mascot, Ralphie, on Their 16-Hour Journey From Denver to San Antonio, Texas

For the Colorado Buffaloes, the Alamo Bowl was a forgettable outing in every sense. The performance from Deion Sanders’ team was so underwhelming that the major highlight of the matchup for fans came from their mascot, Ralphie, who surprised everyone with a sluggish run on the field.

Ralphie had zero interest in running tonight pic.twitter.com/O3YEzlNysQ

— DNVR Buffs (@DNVR_Buffs) December 29, 2024

While Shedeur & Co. had no valid reason for their performance issues, Ralphie did. The Colorado Buffaloes’ mascot had to travel 16 hours and 938 miles in an open-air trailer to reach the game venue. Yes, you read that right.

For those unfamiliar: Ralphie is a bison, native to Colorado, where the Buffs are based at. Considering the occasion and importance of the matchup (first Bowl Game since 2020), Taylor Stratton, director of the CU’s mascot program, decided to drive her from Colorado to San Antonio in a 16-hour-long journey.

According to Taylor, her team loaded Ralphie into the vehicle on December 22nd and arrived in San Antonio by December 23rd. Interestingly, Ralphie and the team took just one break halfway through to relax before completing the second half of the journey.

“We drove her… loaded her up on Sunday morning the 22nd, and got here the night of the 23rd, stopped halfway so that everyone could get a break, and she could unload and relax a little bit. But it’s been a really great drive and a really fun experience so far.”

Based on the run seen on the field, it didn’t seem like Ralphie enjoyed the environment at San Antonio. But if director Taylor Stratton’s words are to be believed, the CU mascot had a blast traveling along the scenic routes.

“She’s definitely been enjoying the sights of the road trip. It’s her first time crossing state lines and going on an adventure,” explained the mascot program director. 

Thanks to the vehicle being an open-air traveler, Ralphie was able to make the most of her first-ever cross-state travel experience. Additionally, the agricultural communities along the route provided overnight accommodations for the travel party. So, not only did Ralphie see new sights, but she also seemingly made new friends.

“So we’ve been really lucky along the way. I reached out to a couple of the members, like our agricultural community, and we’ve had so many people volunteer to give us locations to stay overnight. So, we’re really grateful for that.”

Unfortunately for Ralphie, her travel efforts didn’t get a fairytale ending, as the Buffs suffered a blowout loss. Luckily for the mascot, she has a return trip to look forward to. Moreover, with her first cross-state trip being a success, who knows—this could be just the start of many travel escapades!