The Pac-12 Family: Colorado
This is the ninth in a twelve part series on the mythical origin of each Pac-12 school . . . up next: the Colorado Buffalo.
The Longhorn in his domain
Long ago, in a desolate and dusty region far away from what is now known as the Pacific Coast, there was a group people longing for guidance and wisdom. These people, however, were not overly intelligent and were easily swayed by objects and creatures that were large in stature . . . therefore, they decided to start following the first large being that appeared to them: a burnt orange steer. The steer quickly gained power in what is now known as Texas, proclaimed himself the Longhorn, and demanded that all around him submit to his will and those that would question him, would be beaten back into submission. The Longhorn, however, was rather self-conscious (probably because he was a steer), and demanded that all monuments built in his honor be bigger than everyone else's, that he must have the most followers, and most importantly, that he have a ungodly amount of gold and other riches. Because the Longhorn also desired power, he directed his followers in Texas to seek out other great beings throughout the lands and force them to submit to the power of the sinister steer. He quickly gained influence throughout the region, bringing the likes of Aggies, Red Raiders, (normal, not Golden) Bears, Sooners, and Cowboys under his control. The Longhorn's influence was unable to cross the great river to the east and the Rocky Mountains to the west allowing creatures in those regions to go about their business without the Longhorn interfering. The steer did, however, make it far enough into the Rockies to gain power over one more: the Colorado Buffalo.
The Buffalo after years of being under the rule of the Longhorn
For years, the Buffalo had to live under the thumb of the Longhorn of Texas and many Coloradans believed that it would be impossible to break free of his influence. The Texan took advantage of all of his followers and every other great being within his sphere of influence to make sure he had the most riches and was bigger than all the others. Eventually, the Buffalo said enough was enough and stood up to the power of the Longhorn and others in the Texas sphere of influence like the Cornhusker of Nebraska and the Aggie of Texas A&M did the same. While many believed that the Texan would simply quash this rebellion in a violent manner, powers from around the land stood up and offered safe haven for those that rebelled from the Longhorn. The Golden Bear and his compatriots on the Pacific Coast decided to protect the Buffalo from the wrath of Texas just a few short years ago and while protecting the Buffalo, the Golden Bear and all of the others from the Pacific Coast noticed the Longhorn's great riches. They decided to show mercy to the weakened Texan and offer admission to their exclusive fraternity on the condition that all members share the riches that they gain. The Longhorn selfishly rejected the proposal, banished those from the Pacific from his lands, and strengthened his grip on the remaining lands and beings under his control.
Even though Texas began to gain some of its power back, the Colorado Buffalo had been freed and was able to join ranks of the Golden Bear and his peers. The ordeal with the Longhorn, however, had taken its toll on the Coloradan leaving the Buffalo a mere shadow of his once great self. In his first two years since being freed, the Buffalo has only won three times on the field of battle and it will be a long, hard path back relevancy and respectability after the trials that all Coloradans had to deal with. Tomorrow, the Buffalo will lead his warriors out to face the Utah Ute and it is their hope that they will be able to vanquish their fellow mountain-dwelling foe. No matter what happens tomorrow, two simple facts remain: 1) there is still a great deal of work for the freed Buffalo to do and 2) the great Golden Bear of California has defeated the Buffalo on the field of battle their last two meetings and will hope to make it three straight when the Buffalo travels to the Golden Bear's lair in Strawberry Canyon in the coming year.
