The dumbest 8 seconds in sports.

[QuickSilver]

Bull riding.

Is there anything more retarded?

It's not a sport. It's an insult to atheletes everywhere.

What are the skills required?

- low IQ
- lack of self preservation insticts
- delight in pissing off a 1,500lb mass of muscle, hooves and horns

The only thing marginally more stupid would be waking a sleeping bear by slapping it on the snout and standing there for eight seconds before trying to run.


Fucking rednecks. Is there anything they won't do after a few beers and a dare by their buddies?

[askeptic]

This is going to go well. ::Rolleyes::

[SmartAleq]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Bull riding.

Is there anything more retarded?

It's not a sport. It's an insult to atheletes everywhere.

What are the skills required?

- low IQ
- lack of self preservation insticts
- delight in pissing off a 1,500lb mass of muscle, hooves and horns

The only thing marginally more stupid would be waking a sleeping bear by slapping it on the snout and standing there for eight seconds before trying to run.


Fucking rednecks. Is there anything they won't do after a few beers and a dare by their buddies?

On the other hand, there's a thread right above this one in which many, many people are riding one single silly ass cow--and it may not be a sport, but it sure is fun!

As for bull riding, I kinda like it just because it does weed out the stupid, and given the nature of the activity itself I'd say that even before death ensues a reduction of fertility is likely, so this is a win/win no matter how you look at it.

Also, I dig any instance when the animals get a free shot and don't have to pay for it. When some dumbass cowboy dies under the hooves of a one ton Longhorn they don't kill the bull--they just change its name to something scarier... Again, win/win.

And no, for the record, there really isn't anything a stupid redneck won't do after enough beer. A good thing, too, or YouTube would fall apart, which would be a tragedy. A lose/lose, if you will.

[DiosaBellissima]

As opposed to bull fighting- which has been around just about forever. You know, where they stab the animal partially to death ahead of time, then a big strong man comes and kills it. Makes way more sense.

Stupid we-- oh wait, the only racial epitaph we are allowed to say here is redneck, I forgot.

They are much stupider, much less athletic "sports" out there to pit.

[Shagnasty]

My best friend growing up was a bullrider (partially crippled in an accident at 18 too). I have been on mechanical bulls a few times. It certainly takes strength and technique. That makes it a sport in my mind. I was so sore after riding mechanical bulls the next day that I could hardly walk. It may only seem like 8 seconds but the time probably goes by faster for marathon runners.

[Dunderman]

Originally Posted by DiosaBellissima

Stupid we-- oh wait, the only racial epitaph we are allowed to say here is redneck, I forgot.

I'm pretty sure you didn't mean "epitaph".

[LouisB]

I don't believe a Longhorn, one ton or not, has ever been used in a professional bull riding contest. I also believe it is a mistake to call a bull rider a "redneck." Bull riders belong in a class all their own.

[DiosaBellissima]

Originally Posted by Priceguy

I'm pretty sure you didn't mean "epitaph".

Wait wait! So you're telling me that's NOT what we're putting on tombstones now? Well, sonofabitch.



Stupid spell check, always misleading me. Of course I meant, "epithet."

[Cowgirl Jules]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Fucking rednecks. Is there anything they won't do after a few beers and a dare by their buddies?

Um, no.

I was all set to defend bull riding, but honestly, that's where the dimmer bulbs in rodeo gravitate. And after a few years of it, those that weren't a little off mentally catch up to the rest.

It does take a lot of skill and a huge amount of strength. I'll give 'em that.

But I date ropers. They're smarter and less damaged. Who needs all ten fingers anyway?

[Leaper]

People do dumber things every day in the name of sport. Bull riding is enough of a tradition so I don't fault it on that end.

Now the whole testicle-squeezing rig to make the bull buck? That I'm kind of squeamish about, in the moral sense.

[SmartAleq]

Originally Posted by LouisB

I don't believe a Longhorn, one ton or not, has ever been used in a professional bull riding contest. I also believe it is a mistake to call a bull rider a "redneck." Bull riders belong in a class all their own.

Saw one my ownself--actually a Longhorn-Brahma cross with a big old hump on his neck and a pretty impressive set of horns. After he tossed the rider on his ass he trotted calmly down the chute, then took a nearly standing leap over a six foot fence and didn't even knock a hoof on the top bar. I've had a ton of respect for them stupidy lookin' cows ever since. I wouldn't mess with one on a bet nor a dare!

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

Bull riders may not be the sharpest pencils on the desk, but the stock contractors who provide the bulls for bucking are no fools. In fact a number of them breed for topflight athletes:

Q: CAN ANY BULL COMPETE IN A PBR EVENT?
A: Definitely not. Saying that any bull is suitable for PBR competition is like saying that any human athlete is fit to compete in the Olympic Games. PBR bulls are the highest caliber bucking bulls in the business. Many are products of elite breeding programs that for years have been fine-tuning the important role genetics play in producing great bucking bulls. A majority of PBR bulls are bred and born to compete in the PBR arena.

The best bulls are worth serious money:

Q: WHAT IS THE AVERAGE PBR BULL WORTH?
A: The monetary value of a bucking bull depends greatly upon his proven performance in the arena, however most PBR bulls are worth $10,000 or more. As a PBR bull develops a proven record in the arena, his value increases. Chad Herrington, the 2000 PBR Stock Contractor of the Year, purchased two proven PBR bucking bulls - Blueberry Wine and Red Wolf - for $50,000 each. Berger Bucking Bulls, which owns Little Yellow Jacket, voted best bull of the 2001 Built Ford Tough Series World Championships, turned down a $100,000 offer for the second-generation bucking bull.

[NoClueBoy]

Sure is fun to watch!



So hey, OP, what got under your skin so much about it that you felt the need to Pit it? Did someone say you looked like a bull rider or something?

[SmartAleq]

Originally Posted by NoClueBoy

Sure is fun to watch!



So hey, OP, what got under your skin so much about it that you felt the need to Pit it? Did someone say you looked like a bull rider or something?

You don't understand--a bull rider... KILT HIS DADDY!!!

[Cowgirl Jules]

Originally Posted by Leaper

Now the whole testicle-squeezing rig to make the bull buck? That I'm kind of squeamish about, in the moral sense.

That's a flank cinch, and is nowhere near their testicles. It pisses them off, but doesn't hurt them. Try sliding your rear cinch back too far on your saddle horse by mistake someday - it'll buck too, most likely.

[Cheez_Whia]

I have only seen bull riding once, in person. It was enough for me. I wasn't wondering about the contestants IQ, I was wondering about their sanity. Anyone who gets on the back of one of those things is batshit crazy!

[NoClueBoy]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

You don't understand--a bull rider... KILT HIS DADDY!!!

Smart Aleck!

Wait ...




I don't think they're dumb, per se. But the ones I've met in my lifetime do seem to have a rather aggressive streak to them. Bulls AND riders!

I was working with a restaurant remodel crew that was mostly small town firemen with a second career. And two of them were bull riders. They weren't stupid. They ran their subcontracting businesses quite well, could work off of blueprints just fine, and were fairly successful financially. Their problem? They were adreneline junkies. And ultra conceited ass holes to boot. Now, I won't let them paint a whole group of people for me as ass wipes or anything, but I just have to wonder.

Ever go to a prison rodeo? Listen to the taunting and bragging going on all around the bull riding events. It's ... interesting.

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

The really gutsy guys in bull riding, IMO, are the rodeo clowns.

Rodeo bulls, not known for their gentle nature in the arena, know that the sooner or later what's behind their hump will be on the ground and many will instantly turn on a fallen rider. The one factor that keeps bull riding, the most dangerous event in rodeo, from being the least popular with contestants is the rodeo clown and bullfighter.

Unlike his Latin counterpart who slays each bull that he sees in the arena, the rodeo clown fights bulls that have been there many times — they are arena-wise and know every trick in the book. Not only must the clown be a well-coordinated athlete in superb physical condition; he must be an expert on bovine psychology. Top rodeo clowns and bullfighters must also display a sixth sense that gives them the uncanny ability to be in exactly the right place at the right time. While the matador is concerned only with self-preservation, the rodeo clown operates with callous disregard for the commodity; his one objective is to save the cowboy.

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by NoClueBoy

So hey, OP, what got under your skin so much about it that you felt the need to Pit it? Did someone say you looked like a bull rider or something?

I'm watching Giro d'Italia and every other commercial on OLN is this stupid bull riding crap. Every time I see it I find myself rooting for the bull. Cycling is a sport with over a hundred years of history, skill, endurance and nigh superhuman performance. Bull riding is what Bubba, Cleetus and Billy Bob do on a slow weeknight with too much beer in their gut and not enough brains in their head.

As for skill.... meh.... if I was sitting on the back of a monster like that, I'd be hanging on for dear life as well. If there is skill involved, it evades me. It looks like survive as survive can.

Fun? It looks like something that takes place immediately after the phrase, "Hey guys! Watch this!!!"




Yeah... I'm a bit of an elitist snob. What are you gonna do about it?!

[Jaade]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

I'm watching Giro d'Italia and every other commercial on OLN is this stupid bull riding crap. Every time I see it I find myself rooting for the bull. Cycling is a sport with over a hundred years of history, skill, endurance and nigh superhuman performance. Bull riding is what Bubba, Cleetus and Billy Bob do on a slow weeknight with too much beer in their gut and not enough brains in their head.

As for skill.... meh.... if I was sitting on the back of a monster like that, I'd be hanging on for dear life as well. If there is skill involved, it evades me. It looks like survive as survive can.

Fun? It looks like something that takes place immediately after the phrase, "Hey guys! Watch this!!!"




Yeah... I'm a bit of an elitist snob. What are you gonna do about it?!

~sigh~ Yeah, I managed to stay out of this the first time it topped the page but I cannot let it go.

EddyTeddyFreddy is right, rodeo clowns are the gutsiest (is that a word??) and PBR bulls are some fantastically expensive creatures.

Does being an elitist snob really mean that you get to slam something you obviously know *nothing* about? What happened to fighting ignorance?

Yes, bull riding does take skill and it takes a lot of nerve. And yes, it's a valid sport, moreso than bowling. However, not many bull riders self-identify as athletes, so that's not really a big deal.

Bull riders do not ride bulls drunk. That is the height of stupidity. When riding a bull, one has to be extremely alert and ready to move when he or she is thrown.

There are points awarded in bull riding - 50 to the rider and 50 to the bull. The combined score is their total and the closest to 100 is, of course, the winner. Points are awarded based on the way that someone rides - where their hands are positioned, how they move while the bull is bucking and how well they spur. The bull is rated basically on how well he does his job. Does he spin? Does he stay lively through the entire 8 seconds? And Cowgirl Jules is right, too. They don't actually tie anything to the bull's testicles. The flank is just lowered into the chute and tied around the back..close to the end of the stomach of the bull, and then the cowboy's rope goes around the bull's chest. Sometimes they tie the tail up in the back flank so it doesn't get in the way.


I guess that the history of bull-riding eludes you as well? It may not be as refined as cycling but all the elements of cycling that you mention are present in rodeo (and bull-riding) as well - history, endurance, skill and "nigh superhuman performance". Bull-riding may seem to be a dangerous, dumb thing to do in your opinion, but since you don't get to decide what we all do for fun, watch your boring cycling event and just ignore the damn commercials.

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Cycling is a sport with over a hundred years of history, skill, endurance and nigh superhuman performance. Bull riding is what Bubba, Cleetus and Billy Bob do on a slow weeknight with too much beer in their gut and not enough brains in their head.

Cycling's hundred years of history is piffle compared to the antiquity of bull-riding and unarmed bullfighting.

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by EddyTeddyFreddy

Cycling's hundred years of history is piffle compared to the antiquity of bull-riding and unarmed bullfighting.

Yeah? Don't see many Minoans around. Do you?

From article:

There has been considerable debate over the practicalities of bull-leaping. Its depictions are probably idealized, and it has been pointed out that bulls tend to sweep their horns from side to side in order to impale anything within reach. Having said that, the ancient long-horned Cretan bull almost certainly had significant differences from modern bulls and may be been bred specifically for tractability in the bull-leaping ritual. It may also have been drugged to slow its reactions.

Pussies.


In cycling, the athlete use the drugs to enhance performace.

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by Jaade

EddyTeddyFreddy is right, rodeo clowns are the gutsiest (is that a word??) and PBR bulls are some fantastically expensive creatures.

Have you checked out the price of an elite level race bike? Bet you it's more expensive per pound.

Originally Posted by Jaade

Does being an elitist snob really mean that you get to slam something you obviously know *nothing* about? What happened to fighting ignorance?

Sit on bull. Hang of for dear life for 8 seconds. Get off without having your arm ripped off, be gorred or trampled in the process. Run away.

How much more do I need to know before I can comment?

Originally Posted by Jaade

Yes, bull riding does take skill and it takes a lot of nerve. And yes, it's a valid sport, moreso than bowling.

Better than bowling? You don't say? There's an endorsement to be proud of.

Originally Posted by Jaade

However, not many bull riders self-identify as athletes, so that's not really a big deal.

That's all I'm saying. Not athletes. Entertainers, sure. But not athletes.

Originally Posted by Jaade

Bull riders do not ride bulls drunk. That is the height of stupidity. When riding a bull, one has to be extremely alert and ready to move when he or she is thrown.

A natural desire to stay alive and the ability to run away is a sport now?

[Jodi]

Wait, wait, wait -- You're denigrating the "sporti" of bull-riding and the sport you're measuring it against is cycling???

Where TF is the skill in cycling? I mean, once you've figured out how the whole "riding a bicycle" thing, it's basically a race, right?

Not that I'm invested in defending bullriders. As a group, bullriders are crazy as a bunch of shit-house rats. You ride a bull for fun or money, there's pretty much nothing you're not willing to do, especially after a few beers. Rodeo cowboys, but especially bull riders, make shitty boyfriends and shittier husbands, because they are hard-headed adrenaline junkies who think manliness is measured by the ability to risk your life and disregard serious pain, preferably in a different town every night. But if you think there's no skill in bull-riding, let's see you do it. Heck, even I can ride a bike.

The average bullrider could kick the shit out the average cyclist before the cyclist had time to adjust his padded spandex shorts.

[NoClueBoy]

Chicks dig bull riders.


I was about to ask if anyone knew the history of bull riding as opposed to general rodeo. I see I've already got psychics working on that. Rodeo skills related to real life in many ways in the past. Anyone with even a tiny brain can see that. Skill competitions among ranch hands evolved in modern (ish) times to become what we now know as Professional Rodeo.

But bull riding never seemed to relate to any farm/ranch need that I could see. Yeah, I could always see the skill and athleticism involved, I just didn't see any purpose. Other than crowd pleasing and proof of machismo. Some further enlightenment, please.

As for rodeo clowns, I respect them, but I've never known any. So, I can't even extrapolate from the bull rider firemen I mentioned earlier to form any opinion of basic demeanor.

And I must ask these in the know women, does my perception of those two ass holes hold true to the general population of pro bull riders? Or are they really no more arrogant than virtually any other pro athelete?

BTW, just throwing this out for no good reason, I like riding my bike. It's fun and it's good exercise. I like riding horses, too. But, I wouldn't even ride a bucking bronc by choice, much less an elitist bull.

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Yeah? Don't see many Minoans around. Do you?

Funny you should mention that.

In cycling, the athlete use the drugs to enhance performace.

Yes, it's become painfully obvious that cyclists have to dope themselves to the eyeballs to be competitive.

For those interested in actually learning about bull-leaping, rather than sneering at it, here's an in-depth article.

As to [url=

[Moe]

Incidentally, if anyone is wondering what truly is the dumbest few seconds in, well, not exactly sports, but some type of competition, I bring you db drag racing. If you have 15 minutes to spare (begins about 6 minutes in) give this a listen for a good laugh. In summary: cars that you can't drive, with stereos too loud to hear music on, compete to see which stereo is the loudest.

[Auntbeast]

Hey, I heard more about Curling in the last Olympics than any other event.

How wrong is the world that a man sweeping is an Olympic event?

Kudo's to the clowns. They are some gutsy folks. I have to say, comparing bull riding to bicycling just cracks me up. I'll hop on a bike any day. Get on a bull? Not on your life.

Take a gander at show chickens. Look at some of the prices they bring. We rednecks may do crazier things sober than most can do drunk. But we do a damn fine job of amusing ourselves.

Let's talk about how much money folks driving around in a circle brings in a year. I believe I heard that NASCAR is more popular than pro football.

We are fun to watch at weddings too. For many reasons.

[Jaade]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Sit on bull. Hang of for dear life for 8 seconds. Get off without having your arm ripped off, be gorred or trampled in the process. Run away.

How much more do I need to know before I can comment?

At least a working knowledge of what is involved in the "sport".

Better than bowling? You don't say? There's an endorsement to be proud of.

I'm not calling bowling a sport. I don't even consider bull riding a traditional "sport", but the men who do it certainly must be athletic to compete at the PBR level. We are talking about years of practice and probably thousands of dollars just to even consider being in the "big league" of rodeo.

That's all I'm saying. Not athletes. Entertainers, sure. But not athletes.

Say whatever you like. Doesn't make it not true.

A natural desire to stay alive and the ability to run away is a sport now?

Would have helped a whole bunch of Young Virgins TM in the Friday the 13th movies, wouldn't it?

Originally Posted by NCB

And I must ask these in the know women, does my perception of those two ass holes hold true to the general population of pro bull riders? Or are they really no more arrogant than virtually any other pro athelete?

Oh no, they are jackholes, to be sure. Bull-riders do tend to have enormous egos.

Originally Posted by Jodi

Rodeo cowboys, but especially bull riders, make shitty boyfriends and shittier husbands, because they are hard-headed adrenaline junkies who think manliness is measured by the ability to risk your life and disregard serious pain, preferably in a different town every night. But if you think there's no skill in bull-riding, let's see you do it. Heck, even I can ride a bike.

Truer words may never have been spoken on this board.


I'm not trying to defend what bull-riders do, either. For the record, I do know several bull-riders. I do know what kind of personality it takes to get on the back of a bull and I know what the dangers of the sport are. I've even "worked the chutes" at a rodeo and helped pen the bulls. I'm not claiming that bull-riders are Harvard material but they do have a skill, as ridiculous as the skill may seem to some.

[NoClueBoy]

I'm studying to be a race car passenger. I'll learn to say things like,

"Say man, can I turn on the radio?"

"You should slow down."

"We ever gonna turn right?"

"Man, you really like Tide..."

[Jodi]

NoClueBoy --

But bull riding never seemed to relate to any farm/ranch need that I could see. Yeah, I could always see the skill and athleticism involved, I just didn't see any purpose. Other than crowd pleasing and proof of machismo. Some further enlightenment, please.

AFAIK, having grown up around rodeo (but not from a rodeo family), bullriding doesn't have a utilitarian history. It was invented by cowboys wanting to show each other how tough they could be.

And I must ask these in the know women, does my perception of those two ass holes hold true to the general population of pro bull riders? Or are they really no more arrogant than virtually any other pro athelete?

Bullriders (heck, most rodeo cowboys) can be real jerks, but not IME in the sense of being arrogant "I'm a pro athelete" kind of jerks. Rodeo began (and largely remains) a rural sport, and most rodeo riders I've met cultivate that sort of down-home, modest, "I'm just like all y'all" demeanor. Rodeo fans would not appreciate riders who were pretentious or "uppity." While some of this folksiness is artificial, a lot of it is genuine -- good riders tend to have been up on horses since the age of 3 or 4 and to come from small western towns. Look at the current PRCA bull-riding standings and you'll see the leaders are from places like Wills Point, TX, Payson, UT, and Sweet, ID. The jerkiness, IM years ago E, is in personal relationships. They tend to be stubborn, hard-headed, insenstive, and are notoriously unfaithful.

BUT, if there's any more fun than being in Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo, I don't know what it is.

[Denis]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

It looks like something that takes place immediately after the phrase, "Hey guys! Watch this!!!"

Damn! I'm still chuckling 5 minutes after reading this. I salute you, sir!

[Rick]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Sit on bull. Hang of for dear life for 8 seconds. Get off without having your arm ripped off, be gorred or trampled in the process. Run away.

So to win the Tour de France you A) climb on a bike. B) ride for 6 hours or so, and C) finish in front of about 200 other guys. Lather rinse repeat for the next 28 days.
Easy right?
You know it's not that easy, I know it's not that easy.
Bull riding ain't that easy either I'll bet.

-Rick
Who doesn't have a bull in this race.

[Muffin]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Bull riding.

Is there anything more retarded?

A large group of people riding horses down a very steep hill.

A large group of people riding a large log down a steep hill.

[Trunk]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

I'm watching Giro d'Italia and every other commercial on OLN is this stupid bull riding crap. Every time I see it I find myself rooting for the bull.

Absolutely.

That's part of the fun. People hold up signs for the bulls. Some of those bulls have buck-off percentages of like 98%. If you like a bull, you don't want to see him ridden.

If the roots of this sport AREN'T two guys leaning on a fence and one of them saying, "I bet you can't stay on that sonofabitch for 8 seconds" then I don't want to know about it.

It's hilarious to watch. By the time you get to November, pretty much 100% of the riders have been injured. This guy has a broken hand. This one tore his knee up. Broken cheek bone. Dislocated shoulders and elbows.

There was a guy at the championships in Vegas last year, that IIRC, was riding with a broken fuckin' leg. Talk about a tough guy.

(I don't have OLN anymore. I'm mainly upset about missing the cycling season, but I miss the PBR too).

[raindog]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Yeah... I'm a bit of an elitist snob. What are you gonna do about it?!

You know, I am born and raised in the city, a yankee at that. Never been to a Rodeo, have little interest in them, and never watch them on TV. And, I don't know anything about how they work including scoring etc.

But for some strange reason I have this burning desire to to see one of these cowboys smack you in the mouth. Maybe it's the utter lack of knowledge in your posts. (after all, you seem to have no more grasp on the sport than I do)

I'm not sure I'd pay good money to see a Rodeo, but I sure would to see you call one of these guys "pussy".

[Clothahump]

Let's not omit the dumbest 30 second event- the string grab.

Now, not all rodeos do this, but a LOT of them do it, or something similar. You pay $10 for a chance. The rodeo managers tie a string around the bull's neck, then turn him loose at one end of the arena and turn all the entrants loose at the other end. If someone manages to yank the string off the bull's neck, he wins the entries for that evening.

Back in the days when I was an EMT, the ambulance company that I worked for provided contract coverage for a small weekend rodeo outside of Houston. One night, they let a guy that was so drunk he could barely stand pay his $10 and get in the ring. And the bull got him. Fortunately, he didn't get him with a horn - it was a straight head shot, folded him right over the skull between the horns, then threw him about 20 feet into the wall. I just knew that stupid asshole was gonna be dead. But he got up, shook himself off, puked, then went back out after the bull again.

We used to have to patch the clowns up on a regular basis. Cuts, contusions and bruises were SOP, but every once in a while, we'd get a dislocation or a broken rib to work on. And gawds, were those guys scarred up!

The only good thing about working those events, other than the extra pay, was ogling the hotties in their tight jeans. And they thought it was soooo funny to come up to us and tell us that they had a boo-boo and could we fix it, because they knew we would promptly tell them to step into the ambulance and undress so we could conduct an examination.

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by the raindog

But for some strange reason I have this burning desire to to see one of these cowboys smack you in the mouth. Maybe it's the utter lack of knowledge in your posts. (after all, you seem to have no more grasp on the sport than I do)

I'm not sure I'd pay good money to see a Rodeo, but I sure would to see you call one of these guys "pussy".

First, look up satire in the dictionary.

Second, lighten up Francis.

Third, this is the pit, not GD. This is where unsupported rants based on pet peeves go.

Finally, WTF would me taking a shot in the mouth prove? Would the fact that I can take one (and return one in kind) improve my standing in your eyes? Would it make my argument stronger? Would my broken jaw suddenly elevate PBR in status as a more gentlemanly pursuit? And what sort of idiot stand there and takes a shot in the face without protecting himself? (The sort that gets on a bull, I suppose.)

Or would it simply satisfy your morbid desire for violent response when somebody challenges your delicately balanced point of view?

[El_Kabong]

Bull riders, bah. What a bunch of pussies. Let me see them ride a bucking rhino, then we'll talk.

[Jackknifed Juggernaut]

Just a quick q re: bullriding: Is using only 1 hand to hold onto the rope a rule, or is it more beneficial to have free arm for balance transfer?

Also, I used to be a huge fan of bicycle racing until I found out that it's really just a competition on who can best hide drugs in their body. So, now I respect bull riding more.

[crowmanyclouds]

Originally Posted by NoClueBoy

...But bull riding never seemed to relate to any farm/ranch need that I could see...

Bull riding>bronc riding>horse breaking

Originally Posted by Jodi

...It was invented by cowboys wanting to show each other how tough they could be...

Ya think that horse was a mean ride, watch this...
Now mutton busting, that makes noo sense!

CMC fnord!

[Mellivora capensis]

Originally Posted by NoClueBoy

I'm studying to be a race car passenger. I'll learn to say things like,

"Say man, can I turn on the radio?"

"You should slow down."

"We ever gonna turn right?"

"Man, you really like Tide..."

Maybe it's the Aspirin on top of the other stuff I swallowed in a blur this morning to kill my headcold, but man NCB, that's funny shit right there.



"We ever gonna turn right..." heheheheheh....sniff....hehehehe

[UncleRojelio]

Having grown up with friends who rodeoed I can state unequivically that bull riding is NOT the dumbest rodeo event. The absolute dumbest rodeo event is Bareback riding. It is the dumbest because it involves horses. I've never seen a rodeo bull run itself into the end of the area thereby commiting suicide. I have however lost count of the number of horses I've seen killed in this manner. Bull riders may be dumb, but bareback riders who have a ride die beneath them and then come back the next weekend knowing full well that it could happen again, give a brand new definition to the word.

[Ellis Dee]

Originally Posted by Auntbeast

I believe I heard that NASCAR is more popular than pro football.

You heard wrong, or you heard NASCAR propaganda. The only thing NASCAR has bigger is the venue, so more spectators can fit around it. The NFL dwarfs NASCAR in every meaningful aspect of popularity.

As for the OP, before I opened the thread I was thinking along the lines of an extra point kick in football, the batter stepping out of the box between pitches in baseball, fights in hockey, or tennis players slamming their racket on the court. I detect no actual sports mentioned anywhere in this thread.

As for competitors being athletic, so are astronauts. That didn't make the race to the moon a sport.

Human-only head to head competition, active defense in the field of play, and objective scoring without judges. That's what makes an activity a sport. Races, fights, and competitions are their own class of event.

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by Ellis Dee

Human-only head to head competition, active defense in the field of play, and objective scoring without judges. That's what makes an activity a sport. Races, fights, and competitions are their own class of event.

Wait a second.... that would make most events in the winter and summer Olympics, NOT a sport, while most war battles (the nasty killing bit aside) a damn good sport.

[lieu]

I've got a couple of aquaintences on the Professional Rodeo circuit now, one as a bull rider and one a retired bull rider turned rodeo clown. While neither has much of a formal education, neither is in any way, shape or form "stupid."

What they do is a logical consequence of the environment in which they were raised; born on a ranch, worked as cowboys, looked for a more glamorous life with maybe some money to boot.

They're definately not beer charged rednecks. They most definately are athletes. Braver 'n shit athletes I might add.

While they were roping steers and bustin' their asses on working ranches, you were pedaling a Schwinn. Tell you what, they won't refer to your lack of will to get on a bull as chickenshit if you'll in like fashion extend them the courtesy of not calling them stupid. Seems fair since neither of you apparently has any real sense of the other.

[Cowgirl Jules]

Originally Posted by Jackknifed Juggernaut

Just a quick q re: bullriding: Is using only 1 hand to hold onto the rope a rule, or is it more beneficial to have free arm for balance transfer?

Yes, it's a rule. They can't touch the bull at all with the free hand or they're disqualified.

[Ellis Dee]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Wait a second.... that would make most events in the winter and summer Olympics, NOT a sport, while most war battles (the nasty killing bit aside) a damn good sport.

There are precious few actual sports in the Olympics. And combat isn't a leisure activity.

[NoClueBoy]

crowmanyclouds, as my post implied, I know the real life use of breaking in a horse. It was the bull question that got me. But thanks for the extra info. Always useful stuff that extra info.


Mellivora capensis, thank the late great Mitch Hedberg. A stoner comedian that was actually very intelligent, making his routines funny as shit.

[Necros]

Originally Posted by NoClueBoy

I'm studying to be a race car passenger. I'll learn to say things like,

"Say man, can I turn on the radio?"

"You should slow down."

"We ever gonna turn right?"

"Man, you really like Tide..."

Hey now. Some "race-car passengers" are actually very valuable. The guy sitting next to you helps a lot if you hope to go 130 down dirt roads through the woods doing things like this.

I love my codriver!