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How the Internet has changed us
13 December 2004LAS VEGAS - For the past 20 years, the National Finals Rodeo has called Las Vegas home.
Since it moved to Sin City, the NFR has grown in popularity to the point that tickets are hard to come by. Some say the 17,500-capacity Thomas & Mack Center has become too small.
"The first year they had it here, you could shoot a shotgun into the stands without hurting anyone," said Mark Calabria of Dallas, who has attended every NFR since it moved to Las Vegas from Oklahoma City. "I think the stadium could be a little bigger. The arena is a little small for team roping. If they had more seats, they would fill them up."
The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo can be described as the Super Bowl of the sport. It is the championship event of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The top 15 contestants each year qualify for NFR in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding. Winning the NFR could propel a cowboy or cowgirl from the middle of the pack to world champion.
Each day the winners receive a gold buckle and a check for $14,448. Season champions are given the coveted PRCA saddles at the conclusion of the NFR.
When the NFR first came to Las Vegas, the atmosphere was far more subdued, Calabria said. He said there was a lot of excitement at this year's NFR, noting the electric atmosphere outside the arena before Saturday's ninth round as an example. The NFR sports 10 rounds.
A dozen hospitality tents were packed with rodeo fans before each round. Cowboys and cowgirls were being thrown off a mechanical bull in the Jack Daniel's tent. A roping machine at the Pace Picante tent showed novice ropers and onlookers how tough it really is. "The City Cowboys" played country and rock covers on the stage outside the arena on Saturday. A plume of smoke rose from the Smokin' Sam's barbecue stand. Everything outside the arena was a celebration of the rodeo lifestyle.
The Las Vegas Strip, with its brilliant neon lights, set the backdrop three miles to the west.
"I think the best thing that happened to the NFR is the day it moved to Vegas," said Chavet Sikes, a six-time NFR attendee from rural Nebraska. "Most of these people come from small towns with nothing to do. It's like an amusement park."
Television coverage was at an all-time high for this year's NFR. For the first time in its 46-year history, parts of the rodeo aired live on national television. The second, ninth and 10th rounds were live on ESPN and ESPN2, while same-day replay coverage was broadcast of the other seven days. All told, there were 44 hours of coverage on the ESPN channels.
The Thomas & Mack Center, which sits on the campus of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, was sold out for each of the 10 days. Tickets were going for at least $100.
"It's always sold out," said Diana Kirkbride of Cheyenne, Wyo., who said she acquires her tickets from scalpers. "We buy our tickets up front."
Kirkbride said Las Vegas is a good setting for the NFR. Her friend, Nancy Prosser, also of Cheyenne, agreed.
"It's the best thing that ever happened to the NFR," Prosser said. "It's really fast-paced, and they have the best athletes in the world."
Source: Daily Record
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