This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Our little campaign with EA Sports has now come to an end with the release of NCAA Football 2011 today. Bob and I hope that you enjoyed the stories, I know that we both did. 24 days until camp starts...

When you go to a particular school or grow up around college football, you are more than just a fan. It's who you are. We thought we could leverage this pride in your roots and show that "where you come from" is more than just a statement about geography. By positioning NCAA Football 11 as a game that understands this pride and is authentic to these traditions, the takeaway should be that anything that is in college football is in NCAA Football 11.

And this doesn't just include game play (though that's a huge part of it). It's rivals and mascots; it's legends and stories. It's those things that are at the very fabric of the game itself. Of course the game is great this year as well. With authentic entrances, mascots and specific offenses for each team, the term "where I come from" takes on a much larger meaning. While playing NCAA Football 11 is ultimately a great sports sim, it should also give you a sense of the pride and emotion one has for being a fan of a team they will never not be a part of.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011. We invite you to share your stories about the topic as well. To see the rest of the series,click here.

As our final piece of the "Where I Come From" series, Bob and I were asked to discuss our expectations for the Colorado Buffaloes 2010 football season.  College fans, probably more than any other sport, start each season overly optimistic and, for 90% of the teams in the FBS, with rather unrealistic expectations. It's what makes the sport great, and makes the summer a slow boil, counting down the days until the season starts on Labor Day weekend. To sit down and really think about my expectations I tried (but didn't succeed) to be objective and lay out how I think the season will play out.

Continue reading this post »

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011. We invite you to share your stories about the topic as well. To see the rest of the series, click here.

Continuing with our "Where I Come From" series, next we discuss our top moments as a fan of the Buffs. You know, those moments that define you as a fan, that give you goose bumps when you think about it. Those moments you remember exactly where you were when you saw it and if you were lucky enough to see in person, those events you brag to your friends about with the magical words: "I was there."

Here are my top three moments as a Buff fan:

3) The Pac-10 Move

Memorable moments doesn't have to mean a certain play or game. My third favorite moment happened this offseason with the Pac-10 move. Not just the Pac-10 move but the fact that Texas and Oklahoma stayed in the Big 12, setting up Colorado with a potentially great division featuring the two Los Angeles based teams. It was a perfect move for a program that, in all honesty, has been less than impressive over the past few years. We are hoping that it will rejuvenate the program and bring back the glory. It was an exciting time for the University and it will be a week of events I will always remember.

The fact that Jon and I were around to cover it with the Ralphie Report, go down to the meeting in Downtown Denver with the CU regents and to hear the media press conference announcing Colorado as the newest member of the Pac-10 was very special to me.

2) 62-36 Colorado vs. Nebraska

I wrote this earlier in week and it still applies here. The 2001 - 2002 season will always be remembered by the 62-36 win, not by the Big 12 North championship, the win against Texas or the trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

After the five game winning streak, #14 Colorado traveled to #9 Texas. The Longhorns humbled the Buffs on the back of RB Cedric Benson and the arm of QB Chris Simms. But the team responded again reeling off a nice three game win streak before welcoming the second ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers (Huskers were ranked #1 in the BCS at the time) into Boulder. With the Big 12 North on the line, Nebraska was the favorite to beat the Buffs and contend for a National Championship.

Well, it didn't end the way many thought it would. I will always remember this quote from CU head coach Gary Barnett:

"You never think it will go like this, obviously. But every once in a while, it all works."

"Sixty-two points. That's almost too overwhelming for me. It's going to take a while to sink in."

It certainly all worked that day for the Buffs. I consider myself extremely lucky to have watched that game in person, celebrating with fellow Buff fans like I have never done before. It was at times unbelievable to watch. Chris Brown's six touchdowns was one of the more impressive things I have ever seen on a football field. I shouldn't leave Bobby Purify out of the discussion as the two running backs combined for 352 yards on 44 carries

It was an ass kicking that was beautiful to take in. Colorado rolled up 62 points on the top ranked BCS team. Words could not explain the feeling but I remember the faces on Nebraska fans leaving the stadium and that is how I will remember them long into the future.

1) The Miracle at Michigan - Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook - September 24, 1994

No words needed to describe this one, just watch and listen. Talk about a goosebump moment. One of the greatest plays in college sports history:

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011. We invite you to share your stories about the topic as well. To see the rest of the series, click here.

Some absolute great players have come through Colorado during my lifetime, too many to name here but below are a few that stand out from my era.

LB Jordon Dizon - Absolutely loved watching him play and tracking his story. Not the most physically imposing player but boy was he productive. Linebacker coach Brian Cabral, who has mentored some good ones, called Dizon the most complete every down player he has ever coached. That's saying a lot. Many thought he would be a defensive back coming into college but he started at linebacker as a freshman and never looked back. He was a 2007 All American, 2007 All-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and bottom line, one heck of a football player.

QB Kordell Stewart - He is going to be on a lot of people's lists. When he was playing at Colorado, I was 10 and 11 years old. He was the guy that you always tried to emulate in the park playing pick up football. Just a special talent that won a lot of ball games and was on the throwing end of Colorado's great play - "The Miracle at Michigan."

RB Chris Brown/RB Bobby Purify - I always think of these two as a combo just because I remember how nasty they were in 2001-2002 against Colorado State and Nebraska. Chris Brown ran for 6 touchdowns against the Cornhuskers in the 62-36 game while Purify proved to be just as much of a load for the defense. These two made the Buffs offense go the year they went to the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon.

LB Jashon Sykes - I can still hear the PA system when Sykes made a tackle - JAY SHON SYKES on the tackle. He finished his career 10th all-time in tackles (330). Great Buff, now works on the staff up in Boulder.

KR Roman Hollowell/CB-KR Ben Kelly - Electric players who made special teams fun for a fan. Would love to have someone back there now like these two returning kicks and punts. Small in stature but both made some big plays and were absolute fan favorites.

K Mason Crosby - for the same reason I have Hollowell and Kelly on my list, I have Crosby. He annihilated the ball when he kicked (remember the sound of the ball you could hear from the stands?) and his skills are obviously unquestioned. He is still playing for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL and is considered one of the best kickers in the league.

Those are a few of my favorite Buffs, what about yours?

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011. We invite you to share your stories about the topic as well. To see the rest of the series, click here.

Nothing beats a good tailgate in preparation for the Buffs to take the field on a Saturday afternoon. Good friends, good people, good eats and good drinks make the game that much more special, even if Colorado has struggled over the past few years. Its hard to imagine a better backdrop anywhere in America, lighting up the grill with the mountains in the background on a typical 60 degree Saturday in late September.

Our crew usually has a pretty great tailgate going Saturday afternoons. A friend of mine has a spot right across from Franklin Field in a church parking lot on Folsom Street. Absolutely great access to Folsom Field. We also know most of the people in the tailgate area so it makes for a great party and we are never short of great food & adult beverages.

A couple years ago for the Texas game, the tailgate crew went all out. One member of the tailgate area has a homemade pig roaster. The roaster latches onto his pickup, can hold up to three pigs and runs on both propane (if needed) and charcoal fire. Needless to say, it is one of the best additions to a pregame party that you can get. Of course, we were cooking longhorn that day. The game didn't turn out as well as we all wanted but a good tailgate can sure make even the toughest games a little easier to swallow.

Drinking games and a football are also a must for any good tailgate. Cornhole, red neck golf, washers...one or all are always featured. A little pregame competition always gets the juices flowing for the game. And if the drinking games don't work, a good game of catch with the ole' pigskin always gets me jacked up for the game. 

Bottom line, big or small, expensive or inexpensive, you can't go wrong with a good tailgate.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011. We invite you to share your stories about the topic as well. To see the rest of the series, click here.

Very tough choice on this one. I certainly could pick a mid '90s team where Colorado played in the Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl and Holiday Bowl but I was too young to remember the details of many of the games like I do the 2001-2002 season. Yes, the famous 62-36 year. A game that will go down as one of the greatest games in Colorado history. 

That season started off extremely gloomy. I remember sitting in the Dal Ward end zone watching Fresno State quarterback David Carr torch the Buffs in the first quarter of the Colorado season. QB Craig Ochs led CU back only to miss on the two point conversion late in the fourth quarter and threw a devastating interception in the end zone. Turnovers ended up killing the Buffs that day as Fresno State took advantage of the CU mistakes to pull off a pretty big upset.

The Buffs season could have went south. After a 3-8 season the prior year, many thought the black and gold were headed that way again. We were wrong. Colorado responded after the tough home opener loss by blowing out Colorado State 41 - 14 to jump start a five game win streak. The CSU game was a thing of beauty and the day the rest of nation got a good look at Buff RBs Bobby Purify and Chris Brown do work. The two combined for 312 yards rushing on 42 carries for three scores.

After the five game winning streak, #14 Colorado traveled to #9 Texas. The Longhorns humbled the Buffs on the back of RB Cedric Benson and the arm of QB Chris Simms. But the team responded again reeling off a nice three game win streak before welcoming the second ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers (Huskers were ranked #1 in the BCS at the time) into Boulder. With the Big 12 North on the line, Nebraska was the favorite to beat the Buffs and contend for a National Championship.

Well, it didn't end the way many thought it would. I will always remember this quote from CU head coach Gary Barnett:

"You never think it will go like this, obviously. But every once in a while, it all works."

"Sixty-two points. That's almost too overwhelming for me. It's going to take a while to sink in."

It certainly all worked that day for the Buffs. I consider myself extremely lucky to have watched that game in person, celebrating with fellow Buff fans like I have never done before. It was at times unbelievable to watch. Chris Brown's six touchdowns was one of the more impressive things I have ever seen on a football field. I shouldn't leave Bobby Purify out of the discussion as the two running backs combined for 352 yards on 44 carries

It was an ass kicking that was beautiful to take in. Colorado rolled up 62 points on the top ranked BCS team. Words could not explain the feeling but I remember the faces on Nebraska fans leaving the stadium and that is how I will remember them long into the future.

Next, Colorado went on to avenge the mid season loss to Texas in the Big 12 championship game. Chris Brown did it again, running for three touchdowns as the 9th ranked Buffs turned Texas quarterback Chris Simms' four first-half turnovers into 26 points to win Colorado's first Big 12 championship.

My family and I road tripped it out to Arizona to take in the Fiesta Bowl. CU's hot streak ran out as QB Joey Harrington, RB Onterrio Smith and the Oregon Ducks handled the Buffs. Harrington threw for 350 yards in his final collegiate game.

But it wasn't my favorite team because the Buffs went to the Fiesta Bowl or even beat Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game. Like most CU fans, that year was defined by what took place that special day in November. Say 62-36 to a Buff fan and they will know what you mean.

The 2001-2002 season was a special one for sure.

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011. We invite you to share your stories about the topic as well.

For me, it was easy to be a Buff fan.

Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, I grew up as many young boys dream of growing up. Football came first, weekends were 48 hours of college football and pro football. In 1965, my grandpa purchased what has become one of the highlights of my life every year: Denver Broncos season tickets. For the past 45 years, my family has owned season tickets and in the 26 years of my life, since the age of five, I have only missed a handful of games cheering on the Blue and Orange.

At an early age, I knew I wanted to be around football as much as possible.

I also had the great fortune of my father owning a large sporting goods wholesale company where he was one of the leading providers of Russell Athletic gear on the West Coast. Before Nike came into the picture, my pops supplied Russell Athletic gear to the University of Colorado and United States Air Force Academy. I spent many years of my childhood in the Colorado equipment room hanging around the athletic buildings in Boulder. I would get old Buff jerseys, old Air Force football shoes, enough shirts, hats and helmets to outfit the entire neighborhood for pickup football games whenever we wanted. Every time the Buffs went to a bowl game, I was getting a new jersey with a logo on the sleeve. Like I said, I was a fortunate one.

Throw in my love for football and growing up with a father who had some serious athletic connections its easy to see how I became a Colorado Buffaloes fan.

I attended every single Colorado Buffalo youth camp I could get into. I mean who wouldn't when Rick Nueheisel knew my name in quarterback drills at the age of 10 because of my father's business connections to the school. I can still remember wearing my black cleats, decked out in Buffs gear out on the astroturf of Folsom Field with Rick Nueheisel yelling, "Way to go, Bobby."

At the age of 10, that's pretty cool.

Those Buff youth camps were amazing. Those Buff teams were amazing. I remember watching Kordell Stewart throw the ball to Michael Westbrook while standing on the sideline in Folsom, Christian Fauria trying to teach us how to block on the Buff practice field, Chris Hudson running sprints and people around us saying he will be playing in the NFL one day.

Check that, those were some ridiculously amazing teams. I would come home from camp with the who's who of autographs: Kordell Stewart, Christian Fauria, Michael Westbrook, Ted Johnson, Matt Lepsis, Rae Carruth, Rashaan Salaam, Lamont Warren, Koy Detmer, Deon Figures, Chris Hudson, Leonard Renfro, Matt Russell, Ron Woolfork.

I have at least five footballs covered in autographs from top notch Buffs like the ones listed above.

Watching Colorado play in the Fiesta Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl and then get taught by them in the summer at camp as a kid was special.

I always wanted to attend the University of Colorado but I was lucky enough to have a sliver of athletic talent to play a little lower level college football. Like I said before, my goal was to stay around the game of football.

A few years out of college, with my playing days behind me and unfortunately too old to go to Buff football camps anymore, I was as far away from the game as I had been in my life.

In comes The Ralphie Report. This blog has become an avenue for me to stay close to the game, something I had the great fortune of growing up with and something I hope to be a part of in some fashion for the rest of my life. Whether it is breaking down games, watching films of the Buffs, writing post game reviews...I love it all.

Every year about this time, with pro football training camp about a three weeks away and college two-a-days starting in a couple months, I become extremely anxious and filled with optimism about the Buffs and Broncos. Sure, at times it hasn't been easy to be a Buff fan, especially recently, but I have some great memories of past Buffs and a hope that the future Buffs will bring us some of those great on the field performances we remember.

Fourth of July has come and gone which means we are nearing the beginning of college football season. Preseason rankings, optimistic fan bases and high expectations accompany this time of the year when we begin to crave the sight of Ralphie leading our Buffs onto the field. 

If you are like me, you also circle the date when the new EA NCAA Football game is released. We are excited to announce that EA Sports is sponsoring a week's worth of Ralphie Report posts leading up to the release of 2011 NCAA Football next Tuesday, July 13th. There only requirement of the posts: celebrate diehard college football fans!

We will be posting a series of stories about what it means to us to be Colorado Buffalo fans. We will be starting in a few minutes with the first of the series -- "Where I Come From: How I Came To Be A Diehard Buffs Fan. From there, the series will unfold as follows: