The dumbest 8 seconds in sports.

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

Woot! I found a video of the run online at Charmayne’s website, complete with her commentary, here. They won the round, all right – at the NFR!

I’ve never been to a live rodeo – we don’t get 'em much here in the Northeast. But I used to watch Mesquite Championship Rodeo a lot. Got to run barrels a few times vacationing at a dude ranch. What a blast! Although those dude plugs weren’t a patch on a real barrel horse.

Somehow, I don’t think my 16.1 hand TB would do very well at the sport.

[Unregistered_Bull]

@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.

My favourite roughstock event.

Big fan of steer roping too. They don’t even have that event in Vegas. Too many bunny hugging pussies. :mad:

[Barrels]

Thanks for the Video, everytime I see that run it gives me goosebumps!

There is a rodeo in NJ that happens a few times a summer. The website is www.cowtownrodeo.com

Not sure if it is close to you or not, but it might be worth checking out

Barrels

[LouisB]

@SmartAleq

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. :eek: 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!

Well----okay, I’ve learned something. But it was a crossbreed? As to pure Brahmas, I used to regularly dream that I was in a pen with one and had no way out. Scary beasts.

[alice_in_wonderland]

1. Bull riders aren’t stupid (or at least not all of them are). The one and only bull rider of my acquaintance is also an MD. He had a 3.9 GPA in his undergrad degree, a 4.0 for his MSc and I assume he did pretty well with the MD (they tend to grade on a pass/fail basis - he passed). So, he may be a lunatic, but he certainly isn’t dumb. Or a redneck for that matter – he used to be a competitive tennis player, summered with his family in Europe, and comes from – as they say – “old” money.

2. Bull riding is as much a sport as anything else. The riders have to be in excellent physical condition, practice their sport, and do associated training. Again, they may be lunatics, but they’re also quite sporty.

3. Quicksilver, who I usually think is kind of swell, looks like an ignorant poopie head in this thread. Guy, I assume you were trying to be funny, but you actually just sound sort of dumb and uninformed. While rodeo may not be your cup of tea (do you prefer Polo? Golf?) slagging off its proponents makes you look like an intolerant tit.

That is all.

[threemae]

Hey, I’ll agree that it’s a sport but I think it might be slightly more enjoyable (to me, at least) if getting seriously injured was a risk rather than a virtual certainty.

The fact that everyone breaks something by the end of the season I frankly find a bit off-putting.

[raindog]

@QuickSilver

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?

Actually, I am puzzled as to the popularity of both Rodeos and Nascar. But that’s probably a result of my urban yankee upbringing.

But, still I’m hard pressed to see all of them as stupid rednecks.

But rereading my post, it reread a lot snarkier than I remember typing it. (That’s what I get for not thinking it through before hitting “submit”.)

I apologize.

–Francis–

[Jaade]

@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.

Bareback is a rough sport. I’ve heard that it’s the roughest on the cowboy’s body and that most of those boys end up with serious spinal injuries.

[QuickSilver]

@the raindog

But rereading my post, it reread a lot snarkier than I remember typing it. (That’s what I get for not thinking it through before hitting “submit”.)

I apologize.

–Francis–

I accept your appology Francis.

I feel like I should appologize for painting the entire PBR crowd with one big brush. I thought my light (half) hearted approach at pitting the commercials was self evident but it seems like you’re not the only person who interpreted my posts as being far more serious than they were ever meant to be.

So I’m sorry I’ve put noses out of joint. I thought my self effacing comments about being an *elitist snob * along with enhancement drug quip were transparently humorous.

[Cowgirl_Jules]

I won’t take you too personally, QuickSilver. Hell, come out this way come December and I’ll take you to the World Series and Superbowl of rodeo, all rolled into ten days of giant belt buckles, F-350 limousines, and a whole hell of a lot of beer. We can take my truck! It has cupholders on the tailgate!

Well, if I have vacation time saved up and can find my usual scalper, that is. NFR is expensive…

[QuickSilver]

Hmmmm… hot girls in fitted jeans, tanks, cowboy boots and hats… I’m there!

[Jodi]

I didn’t take you too seriously, QUICK. Besides, I wouldn’t worry too hard about offending the Straight Dope Rodeo Lobby; looks like it has – what? – five people in it?

[Gary_Robson]

Make it six, Jodi. A few points to add to the thread:

1. Comments about rodeo cowboys and beer are the quickest way to show your ignorance. Balance and reaction time are critical for a bullrider. Nobody who competes drunk stays in the game for long, and it’s an easy way to win a trip to the hospital. Many rodeo cowboys won’t even drink the night before an event.

2. Leaper’s, you’ve been drinking the PETA cool-aid. Take a peek under a bull sometime. Then take a quick peek under a bull wearing a strap. It doesn’t even come close to the testicles.

3. This is related to point 2. Bulls are chosen for bull-riding events because they buck. They’re bred to buck. They’re worth a lot of money because they buck. Taking Ferdinand out of a field and tying a strap around his waist isn’t going to make him a PBR bull.

@Barrels

Can anyone get on and hang on? No, you will get launched like an illegal lawn dart. Strength is not what keeps these guys on the bulls.

I’ll agree with you if you amend that last sentence to say “Strength is not the only thing that keeps these guys on the bulls.” If you don’t have some serious muscles, you’re not going to be able to hang on. Balance may be more important, but you really need strength to go with it.

@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?

This being the Pit, you don’t have to know anything whatsoever about professional bull riding to comment on it, and you clearly don’t. I’ve known a lot of bullriders and most of them are adrenaline junkies that take crazy risks with their lives, but they’re definitely athletes. They train and practice just like practitioners of any other sport.

Just for the record, I’ve never ridden a bull, but I have competed in other rodeo events and I used to raise roping cattle.

[Muffin]

@lieu

. . . looked for a more glamorous life . . .

YMCA cowboy?

[enipla]

I met my Wife at a County sponsored rodeo.

I’m a County employee. A programmer.

They ran out of wranglers or what ever the heck the folks are that ‘take care of things’. I got volunteered.

Now I’ve ridden and taken care of horses, but I was hardly ready for this. I was wearing shorts, running shoes and a tee-shirt.

My job was to line up/get the next calf for the ropeing part. I’m 210 lbs. All these ‘calfs’ where in the 400 lb range. There where about 20 of them in a 30’x 30’ pen.

OK, I can do this.

Except…. I did not know I had to go get #23 back in the corner there. I did not know that the cowboys picked specific ‘calfs’ to rope.

Enipla : “Ummmm. How?”

Some person that did not what to do this : “Here’s a 2x4. You can push him and prod him with that.”

Got kicked pretty good that night, just on the inside of my upper thigh.

The real ‘kicker’ that night is that after I was kicked, the ambulance folks would not help me out. I went to them for a little anti-biotic ointment, and they wouldn’t give me a thing. I was scratched up pretty good from a kick from a hoof full of dung, and I just wanted to wash it off and fix it up. I’m still pissed about that.

They sent me on my way. Not a bad enough injury to warrant their attention. I would have fixed myself up.