Iron Cowboy - Part 1

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good:

50,000+ : Bull riding fans invade the greatest stadium in the U.S.

Bull Riders of the past: This weekend was a virtual reunion for riders from the 60's to the 90's. All to see someone win more in one night than they did in their whole careers.

Kody Lostroh: riding for 88 points and showing no signs of pain.

Dallas Cowboys Stadium: Even if it isn't the best bullriding venue, it is impressive.

Location: Having the "Super Bowl" of bull riding in Dallas only makes sense.

Iron Cowboy concept: It needs tweaking, but it can work (I'll discuss my ideas later this week).

Production: This was a step up in production level for teh PBR and it went off pretty seamlessly. There were a couple of issues, but it went pretty well for the first time.

Seeing the Bulls: It was great to be able to take pictures of and watch the bulls prior to the event.

The Bad:

Bulls: They didn't buck very well in the wide open arena

Logistics: Brackets were hard to keep up with since they were bucking in different areas. Each bracket needed to have a corner. More on this later this week.

Riders: With the bulls having "off" days, the guys should have ridden more of them. I think that there were a lot of nerves which is backed up by the fact that, for the most part, the older riders outperformed the "Posse".

Gary Allan: Great songs, hard to look at. Just scrap the concert. We were all there to see the PBR.

Start/Finish Time: Should have started at 7pm, at the latest. Getting back to the hotel at midnight was a letdown. I was beat after driving all day, and didn't get to visit with any of the riders, etc. that were staying at the Hilton.

The Ugly:

No Rerides: Don't know who made this decision. Not good at all. When there is that much money on the line, you can't eliminate guys whose bulls fall down, get hooked in the gate, or the riders who don't get the gate opened when they ask.

Traffic: No explanation needed

No replays: Sorry to all of the Brazilian fans, but Marchi slapped one bull before he fell off and fell of another short of his competitor, only to get a long count from the clock. Both would have been overturned, and it might have changed the entire outcome of the evening.

Kody Lostroh: Not getting to see a guy who made one of the best rides of the night, while several guys advanced multiple rounds without making a ride at all.

The Motorcycles: You know what I'm talking about. It was a good thought, but it was awkward and unnecessary.

As you can see from the list, there were more negatives than positives this go around for the "Iron Cowboy", but I really think it can work and be a great event. More on that tomorrow.

God Bless Cowboys.