The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 02, 1978, Image 6
Page 6 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1978 focus Star-spangled Houston Rodeo return! Does keep (li cite the Bagf Does Popcorn, kids, cowboy blend for the big showl BY PAIGE BEASLEY a $275 certificate is awarded to each Cows and st t‘ers, four tintofe ing al in the s tone it < month? | Does §igh sc Hunior 1 "regnai A gei ers tt ould 1 Battalion Staff Cowboys ride into town dressed in faded jeans, chaps and spurs. Their jeans, tucked down deep in their tooled-leather boots, are decked by silver-buckled belts adorned with fancy engraving displaying their names. Businessmen put on western hats and boots to join the newcomers in celebrating the 46th annual Hous ton Livestock Show and Rodeo. The eighth wonder of the world, the Astrodome, attracts the world s greatest cowboys, who come to claim of the 12 tired winners. A few bets are being made in the audience, as the next event draws closer. And they re off. Three colorful chuck wagons pul led by teams of four ponies race around the arena, bringing spec tators to their feet as they cheer their favorite team to victory. ifes; Ye si/.e of their young owners,J Butt sluggishly toward the arenajLvers t( showing, while being tuggedagjte, di pulled at full force. To thinksaalws, ai these young 4-H inembersandi |ut stu< tore Farmers of America wanttoi a herd, when one seems tobec ing difficulty. Studr feet, th; lent la ndadr They have one more lap to go...and it’s a neck-and-neck finish. Popcorn, chewing and 23,000 animals — Ho# !alifon ton Livestock Show Cowboys decked in silver- buckled belts adorned with fancy engraving displaying their names — join busi nessmen in new western hats. the coveted title of Houston’s ’’All Around Cowboy.’ The most rugged and vigorous tests await the chal lenge of champion cowboys during the week-long extravaganza. “I win, yells a middle-aged lady as she throws her arms — and pop corn — in the air. 1 win, I win the bet, she say s. “My team won. She grabs a dollar from the man behind her, and runs to the concession stand to replace the bag of popcorn. Lights in the Astrodome dim, and the star of the show rides toward the center of the arena in a freshly waxed pickup truck. Flash bulbs light up the entire building, as some of America’s thirst countn and western entertainers come on stage. Nerves start twitching an drops of perspiration form c«| foreheads of each contestant a moment some have waited allil for approaches. Tension moimj they search the judge’s face y sign showing approval oftheireJ ig on ' Lead jnabh :hool | The children’s barnyardgivesl youngsters the opportunity,to(| farm animals. Touch in this cm chides pinching, grabbing,pell poking and hitting. “It s show time, cries the an nouncer in a reverberating voice. Who’s tired. There is a lot of excitement going on at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. With all the excitement several animals give birth unexpectedly, as was the case with the cow on the left. Delivering this calf kept this couple up early Saturday morn ing but all three seem to be “sleeping it off” well. Flashing billboard lights spell out the names of cowboy s willing to prove their strength and endurance by tackling anything from bronc rid ing, steer wrestling, calf roping to bull riding. Commercial the figure of cl billboard. Spt music, sing th blinking lights form apping hands on the etators clap to the ;* verses they know. and mumble the ones they don't. Hoopla ... but where’s the rodeo? By DOUG GRAHAM Battalion Staff Enormous is the word for the Houston Rodeo. No other word fits. It offers the largest purses and the finest cowboys and riding stock in the country. Add country singers and the modern tech no-wizardry of Houston’s promoters, and you should have the finpst. rodeo any where. ’ i Which is what I expected at my first Houston rodeo and my first trip inside the Astrodome. But what I found was that in concentrating all the glory of rodeo under that vault ing dome, something was lost. What was lost? I’m not sure. Perhaps it was transplanting rodeo from its dirt roots to slick profes sionalism, that did it. Houston’s rodeo had lost something basic. Two impressions hit me as I watched .steerwrestling. The first was the dome s vastness, and how far away and small both the men and steers seemed. The second shocker was the speed. The bulldoggers were quick. One second the steer was up. The next he was down. There was no collision of flesh, no bone-jarring planting of the heels as cowboys leaped from their horses. Instead of drama, one got the feeling that the event was somehow....an- they' slewed sideways in the dirt — their matched teams of horses strain ing in their traces. The drivers were western chariot racers. Next came a piece of Houston space-wizardry. Below a central screen that read: the obvious bit of promotion hurt, rather than helped, the show. But then, I came for a rodeo, not a varietv act. WELCOME TO THE AS TRODOME EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD. | $ { Mac Davis, Uui ' s f|e a t.ri red- entertainer, rode triumphantly into the arena on a shining black and silver pickup bed. He met his band which was pulled into the arena’s center on a portable rotating stage. All around the dome yvas sterile red, white, and blue bunting stretch ing in fringed streamers over the cat tle chutes. I savy rodeo cloyvns submerged by the vastness. Their skits, gestures, and expressive faces yyere quaran tined by the distance between them and their spectators. BiiU-.riding is the inOslcxcitingamd dangerous event. BiYIls nbt only throyv a man offhis back, but unlike the bronco, yvill sometimes turn to destroy their erstyvhile riders. The danger to the men yvas real, but the brilliant lights, and the distance from the action, made it seem as if you d have seen it just as yvell if you d yvatched it on television. What I got is yvhat I deserved, I guess. Though for the men and ani mals competing there yvas nothing artificial, but for the spectators something didn t ring true. Big bucks breed big promotion. Big promotion needs to reach huge audi ences, audiences that might ordinar ily not care to see a rodeo. Hence, it yvas too smooth, too polished, and too slick. Instead of rough fence there was smooth painted bars. In stead of crummy arena-side bleachers there were tiers of com fortable' individual seats. Add re freshments, hoopla, and a concert, and you have it. Coyvboys yvait for their chance to explode from the chute riding some of rodeo’s toughest stock. Each con testant matches his skills against a clock that keeps ticking away s ale able time and prize money. Music, animal sounds and thousands of voices become a giant blur. Hilarity breaks the seriousness of the contest yvhen a yvhite-faced clown yvith a feather in his cap and wearing a pair of oversized patched overalls yvalks into the arena to direct a monkey perched on a dog s back attempting to jump several hurdles. The shoyv ends, and people ru e ramps to beat the croyvd. th unfortunate same idea. everyone* had ;h to but the The Houston Rodeo. More than a odeo, and much, much, less. What happens yvhen 24 boys and a fdozen calves are turned loose in the* same arena? There is definitely' a scramble — a calf scramble. Twenty-f’oiir screaming boy s follow the calves, leaping and tugging at them yvhenever possible. The calves never knenv yvhat hits them, but sud denly they are tackled (tyvo, three, or even more times), then haltered and dragged across the finish line, yvhere Thousands of people, dressed in the typical attire of tight pants, and boots and hats, stomp across the street to the Astrohall to see more than 23,000 cattle, syvine, horses, rabbits, poultry, goats,and sheep. But the animals don't lurv e to be seen .to be believed — just smelled. Observers trample popcorn, cheyving tobacco and paperclips as they walk doyvn the aisles of animals. There is no problem until someone steps on a piece of gum, yvhieh strings along behind them for a feyv yards. ti septic. Saddlebronc riding was next. Each man spurred his horse to wilder bucking, but were so far away the nuances of their style could not be discerned — the style which gar nered points for both man and ani mal. Where yvas the dust? The smell? The syveat and noise? The chuckwagon races inspired the most audience participation as Mac Davis sang a song about how he really was a cowboy despite his fancy clothes, pickup, and money, but I didn t believe him. He was like too many of the people I saw who yvere wearing suspiciously new western wear. When the TV-trained mass was urged to clap along, tyvo ghost hands appeared on the central screen as prompters. But the hollow crackle of clapping soon died, shaming the applauding screen into darkness. Another screen flashed MAC DAVIS red-green, red-green. Be side it, and its twin, yvere tyvo huge illuminated signs: Marlboro, and Coca-cola. Above the central screen a huge nylon American flag formed the third member of the American triad — the real thing in the United States of Marlboro countries. The “country” concert was aimed for a slightly western Donny and Marie set of older folks. It had little to do with real rodeo, and I felt that “Hi, cow, saysafour-year-oldl as she fearf ully reaches out totod nexpe calf . She takes a quick step In keif, yy ards though, when thecalfiiq | Stud his long wet tongue annuullieta brch hand. | prsity Beer, barbecue, popcornW w e cotton candy, sausage, bedfl 1 ?. s . e c stop. Rodeo fans try it all. Slcsl ,^ t take a beating and so do them f c “ es books. rick, y Money doesn't stop many pi i latfon They just move from one bws ap, on another, registering hr fm « flhat eating, or drinking and SMpIJnder products. Iispec A pot-bellied old tinier the corner of the building, avicio,, the crowd. When he stuffstlidl j dog into his mouth, mustard. over his bottom lip and drips shirt ■elta Music, animal sounds «•$. ( thousands of voices become ajg To £ blur. None distinguishable. » ex as „ i .ii B var d( But the room is arso a/««//m g q sh e blur of people cramniidljj; res( by-side y\ith little room to Tired aching feet slow doviN the ] traffic at the end of the day. C«“ 00r si go home to rest for tomorrow.Molifu nessmen to soak their blistendf^ntr “Oil pat a falk f kid. Ags help rodeo (Continued from page 1) “This is the king of kings as for as livestock shows. It’s the biggest and most prestigious show. The experi ence and benefits outweigh the pay, said John Fischer, an animal science major, yvho yvas yyorking at the Hous ton shoyv for the first time. Bill McCoy, a senior animal sci ence major, said that by yvorking the show be got to meet the most impor tant people in the breed organiza tions and livestock industries. “Just being in an operation like this, there’s no way you can do any thing but learn. It’s so beneficial to be around such top-notch jour nalists, said Linda Norman, who worked in the press room. “When I first got in Ag-Journalism I wasn’t sure I really wanted to go into this field, but working down here convinced me that there was an interest in this for me, said Susie Williams, a senior working in the shoyv for the second time. “It provides you with such an opportu nity' to see what you’re getting into before you graduate. Jimmy Guillot, editor of the Gulf Coast Cattleman magazine and 1977 graduate of Texas A&M said that by working at the show for three years yvhile a student gave him a realistic view of the journalism field. “I got hired as the editor of the Gulf Coast Cattleman while yvorking at last year’s show,” Guillot said. “I was talking to the publisher of the magazine and at that time he only had a part-time editor and was need ing someone for full time. So, yve got to talking and I was hired to be the full time editor when I graduated. The Houston shoyv was real impor tant in my getting a job. ” “Most of the things Ive learned up to this point has been in theory but now I’m getting to put these things into practice. I ve ney'er worked on a job that has been so much fun but yet where there has been so much pres sure. It’s just like the real world, said Mark Herron, a junior working in the press room for the first time. All the Aggies talked to said that the experience, was one to always remember. Underclassmen said that they were already looking foryvard to next year. Battalion photos by Paige Beasley A mass of Aggies and would-be Aggies enjoyed balloons, ani mals and companionship at the Houston Livestock Shoyv and Rodeo this week. Right, Texas A&M students Kathy Wolfe and Nancy Strickland, both seniors, line up for a souvenir. Top. four Houston wranglers gang up to see the show. Lower left, Ralph Herron, 4, sizes up the livestock.