Rodeos and Monster trucks, a match made in heaven?
Written by Michael Vass
When it comes to a fair there are many things you might expect to see and enjoy. Songs from local and/or national bands, perhaps a pageant, a competition of farm animals and biggest pumkin, watermelon, squash or what have you. Lot’s of rides and other such attractions.
So it is no surprise that in the mid-West there would be a rodeo or a monster truck show at a fair. But how often have you heard of both? Call me the cityboy that I am, but I have not heard of it before. Yet in Monroe County, Michigan it’s going to be the 3rd year, in 2009, that both events take place at the fair.
Super Kicker Rodeo and National Tractor Pullers Association are both going to be featured in August 2009 at the fair. Plus an as yet to be announced country music band. Obviously it looks to be quite a time.
But I wonder, do rodeos and monster trucks mesh? Is this something that fans across the nation would enjoy? And is it more common than what I understand?
There is no simple internet keyword to give me that answer, so I ask you readers. What are the answers to my question?
Modern Rodeo - a cityboy’s question
Written by Michael Vass
I was having a conversation the other day with a friend of mine when the subject of cowboys and rodeos came up. Now this is a subject of interest for me in that I love to see if people understand the meaning of the word cowboy.
But the conversation quickly tyurned to the sport of rodeo. And I admit that I was at a loss at this point. Being a city boy, and from the Northeast, there was little chance that I’d ever see a rodeo.
So after the conversation wi went to Youtube, to see what was the interest. And I found this on my first try.
Hardly an inspiring video. It does not bring up thoughts of enthusiasim in my mind, and did not reflect my firneds excitement at all.
So in further looking around I decided to look at Professional Bull Riders (PBR) which I recalled hearing about on ESPN. I found this piece that occurred at Madison Square Garden if you can believe it.
The part that really caught my attention what first the concept that bull riding is an extreme sport. Somehow that connection does not work for me. But I can see how its just commercial enough to try to sell the sport to younger viewers.
The other thing I notice is that the video tries extremely hard to shed the traditional view of cowboys and rodeo, in favor of a more commercial image. The mix of pop music, MTV style editing, action orientation, and celebrity interview all smack of Hollywood polish and drawing ADHD eyeballs.
Is this really the appeal of modern rodeos? Is this the best the sport offers? Because the romanticized image works far better for me. And that at least makes the first video somewhat less …guilty I suppose. Because the PBR seems so brutal in comparison.
But is that just what this cityboy sees?
Animal Rights .vs. Rodeo Rights
For the rodeo enthusiast in you, you might have recently noticed that the rodeo industry is experiencing more of a fight each year from animal rights activists. In my opinion, the animal rights activists do have a point. However, I really wish that the issues could get resolved before a court hearing. As rodeo enthusiasts, we must appreciate the fact that animals are to be respected and cherished. They are not our property. They can’t be just thrown down and if they get injured, we’ll just throw them away. In the same way that we protect humans in baseball and humans in football, we must respect and cherish the safety of all animals. It is about time that we begin to install safeguards for our rodeo partners so that we can increase the safety profiles of all rodeos. That’s safety profiles for both human and non-human competitors. When this begins, hopefully, we won’t have to read stories like this one.