When you think about sports, what comes to mind? For most it would be the obvious ones like football, baseball, and maybe basketball. These are all great sports, but these are also seasonal sports. There's few sports that don't stop….rodeo is one of them.
PBR
took over Green Bay this past weekend, along with the
WCRA
rodeo.
Rodeo has a very different feel to it than any other sport out there. Not only does it have a different feel because half of your performance is based off of how your animal reacts to the situation, but also because the values of rodeo are different than other sports.
Before every rodeo there's a couple things that happen that set rodeo a part from other sports. Yes, most sports still have someone sing the National Anthem, but then something else happens.
The rodeo crowd makes sure to recognize those that have fought for our freedom because they know that we wouldn't be able to be there without them. After the National Anthem is sung and the cheering dies down, the room goes quiet with a prayer. This prayer sends chills down your back because this is not the common thing to do anymore.
Once the amen's are said and the cowboy hats are back on, it's rodeo time.
PBR brought the best of the best to Green Bay. Some of the guys that came to ride were guys like Derek Kolbaba, Jess Lockwood, Marco Eguchi, Brennon Eldred, and the number one rider at the Green Bay invitational, Cooper Davis.
One of the others on the list, and one of our favorites was Kaique Pacheco. He may not have done too hot, coming in ninth, but who are we to judge someone who's willing to get trampled on by a full grown bull?
That's the thing about rodeo, it's the sport that sometimes seems to get lost because it's not as flashy as the rest of them. These athletes aren't getting paid millions of dollars before the season even starts like Stephen Curry or Russell Wilson, who're paid over $30 million a season according to
ESPN
. Bull riders are the true athletes of the world. To be honest, more sports could learn a thing or two from rodeo. Athletes should be paid by their performance night after night, not just paid ahead of time in hopes that they're good this year.
These riders have no idea how much money they're going to make one year to the next. If they're good, they make money, if they aren't, well then they don't. According to
PBR world standings
, the the bull rider who raked in the most money in 2018 Kaique Pacheco. He made $1,535,094 for the year. The second highest earner was Jose Vitor Leme who made $1 million less than Pacheco.
The good news is that there are more people getting into bull riding, which means more sponsorship's, which means there'll be more money to be made. Rodeo is high stress and ultimately high risk. If more sports mirrored the way rodeo pays athletes, it would be a total game changer. You want to make a lot of rich athletes mad? Pay them by how good they actually are night after night.
Here's a few of the guys that aren't too worried about the bills being paid this week:
#3. João Ricardo Vieira ($17,275)
#2. Jess Lockwood ($19,230)
#1. Cooper Davis ($38,775)
You can get the full list of results
here
.
Check out Davis' last three rides of the event that guaranteed him the #1 spot.
We know how dangerous rodeo is and how with one hoof to the chest, their life could be over. The riders are well aware of that as well. So literally their lives are at steak every time that chute opens and the eight second timer begins. The question becomes, why are they not getting paid like the other athletes whose sports are far less dangerous?
Will we ever see change in the way athletes are paid? We would like to hope so, but wouldn't advise anyone to hold their breath for too long.
