Remembering that day Chiefs’ Dave Toub, then with Mizzou, stared down the buffalo

Editor’s note: Former Missouri Tigers offensive lineman Rob Riti is a 1999 Mizzou grad who now makes his home in St. Louis. He was a consensus All-America in 1999. He wrote and shared the following with The Star.

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It was early November 1997 and the Missouri football team was on its way to a breakout year, and an eventual bowl game, after a 14-year absence from postseason play. The season was in the home stretch, with only a few games remaining, and up next was the formidable University of Colorado.

Game day arrived quickly that week, and after spending Friday night in a Boulder hotel, the team buses arrived at the stadium several hours before kick-off. The pregame drills left us all a little more breathless than usual, since this week’s game was at mile-high elevation.

As the warm-ups were winding down, I noticed what was unfolding with coach Dave Toub. At the time, Toub — now special teams coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, who will play the San Francisco 49ers in the Feb. 2 Super Bowl — was Missouri’s strength and conditioning coach. His job on game day was to lead warm-ups and prepare us to play. As we were finishing with coach’s drills, Ralphie the Buffalo — Colorado’s mascot — was preparing to make his customary rampage around the stadium to the cheering adoration of all the Colorado fans.

Ralphie, the enormous 2,000-pound buffalo, had a team of handlers who ran with him, guiding him along the way. An impressive bunch, wearing full Western regalia, they were a sight to see and only added to the whole Ralphie spectacle. Prior to running the monstrous buffalo, the handler team went ahead and cleared a path as a matter of safety, asking players, coaches and staff to stand clear.

I was in the path, and when asked to move, I did so unquestioningly. Next, the handlers made their way to Coach Toub and gave him instructions to step outside of the buffalo danger zone — I witnessed all of this from my newfound position of safety.

Despite the loud and aggressive commands, Toub didn’t move an inch. He just stood with his arms folded, gazing across the length of the field. They warned him again, this time more abruptly: “Coach, you are in the path of the buffalo!”

Toub then answered the buffalo handler, saying, “I don’t give a damn about that buffalo.” I was shocked. I could not believe that ignoring the buffalo guys was even an option. It seemed like an unimaginable possibility.

Team Ralphie tried one more time to get Toub to move and got an even more surly response.

The moment of truth had arrived. It was time for Ralphie to make his rollicking journey around the field, and I could not wait to see what would happen when it got to Coach. Would he yield in this game of chicken?

Ralphie and his team were off like a shot, rounding the far end of the field and building a full head of steam. The crowd got on their feet and cheered the mighty animal as it charged. I stood watching from my place of safety. Ralphie started to turn the corner, thundering toward Toub.

The time had come: man vs beast.

I could not believe my eyes when I saw that huge furry figure actually yield to Toub. It really happened — the handlers adjusted their path to go around a motionless Dave Toub, and the buffalo missed him. Coach Toub stood like a statue — true grit, raw courage, a little bit of crazy, for all of us to see. I was filled with the tingles one only feels when witnessing unabashed courage.

We won that game 41-31 and went on to an eventual Holiday Bowl selection. I wonder how many guys on the sideline saw Toub and his audacious act of courage that day, as I did.

All these years later, I am not surprised to see all the success Coach Toub has enjoyed in the NFL. After all, if a man can challenge a 2,000-pound buffalo to a duel and win, what can’t he do?

This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 7:39 PM.