Once again the Spurs have been booted out of their home and sent out on the road so that the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo can invade the grounds of the AT&T Center. Now most sports fans in the area would say that the next 18 days are the year’s low for the Alamo City’s athletics scene.

I, sadly, was once of the same mindset. In fact it wasn’t until February 2004 that I changed my mind. My best friend and I, depressed that we couldn’t go see the Spurs play, decided instead we could find some positive in the situation.

Both of us, being the HUGE country fans we are, bought tickets to go see Brad Paisley in concert. Now anyone who is an avid “rodeo-goer” would know what my best friend and I failed to consider when buying the tickets.

When you buy tickets to see someone perform at the rodeo you are actually paying to go see THE RODEO that lasts about two hours. The entertainment is more of an extended halftime show. Needless to say my best friend and I were slightly caught off guard when at 7:30 p.m., instead of Brad Paisley coming on stage or there even being a stage set up for that matter, cowboys came out and set up barrels in the dirt that was covering the floor of the then-SBC Center.

What began after that was barrel-racing, followed by mutton bustin’ (which is super cute!...a bunch of little kids with helmets climb on the back of sheep and hang on for dear life as the sheep are sent running from one side of the arena and back), and, in conclusion, bull riding.

With no other options, my best friend and I reluctantly sat in our seats and watched the rodeo events. However, as the night and rodeo went on, our opinion of the rodeo began to change, especially when the bull riding event began.

These guys, well more correctly these athletes, are some of the most daring athletes IN THE WORLD. Come on, what other sport asks its athletes to climb on top of a massive animal, like a bull, that has its man parts all tied up, is more than angry and vicious, and you must sit on it and hold on for eight seconds? NO OTHER SPORT!

I know that eight seconds may not sound like a lot of time, but, when you watch the way in which the bulls are bucking and kicking to try and get the rider off their backs, well eight seconds seems like an eternity. Those who are lucky enough to survive the eight seconds then must jump off the bull and make a run for safety.

However, the majority are thrown from the bull before the bell alarms signaling the passing of eight seconds. This is where the most danger lies. As the cowboy lands on the hard grown, he must immediately worry about being crushed by the hooves of an angry bull or being mauled by the animal. Both can result in serious injury.

In fact, probably the most serious injuries in sports happen to bull riders. Well, there’s also the bull fighters…hmmmm…OK, the most serious injuries in American sports belong to the bull riders.

So if you have the time and the cash (but you can go see the RODEO, not talking about admission to walk the grounds and the stock show part) go check out one of the nights when Xtreme Bullriding is happening. Even if you aren’t a fan of country music; nobody said you had to stay to hear the music.