“The term itself, cowboy, is a direct reference to Black African Americans that dealt with cattle. As time has passed the term has been usurped to become heroes of the Old West, Mr. John Wayne being a popular symbol.”
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?
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