NILE Rodeo

I went to the Nile PRCA rodeo last night and got home a few hours ago, have to get hustling and help a neighbor ship today, and I have a few thoughts about the rodeo event.<br />n<br />nThis year they had a big instant replay screen for the event. First year for that, I go every year to this rodeo. It was amazing to watch the people and the number of them that watched the rodeo on the big screen instead of watching it in the arena. Why go to the rodeo if you're going to watch TV? I will admit I did watch a couple of replays, but not every one of them, just the good ones. The real beef I had with the replay screen was, of all damn things, the commercial they showed before the rodeo. Yes, just like the movie theaters they showed a commercial before the event on this big screen. You should have seen it, almost everybody there, mouths hanging open, watching the commercial on the screen, it was sad. I will not mention who paid for the board and advertised on it. I will just say that "cowboy Ted" was <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?display=rednews/2005/10/14/build/local/60-rodeo-tobacco.inc">urging the Nile</a> to drop them as a sponsor and I readily agree.<br />n<br />nAnother question I have is what is the deal now days of The Star Spangled Banner being an acappela solo? It used to be they played an instrumental version of the music and the crowd could proudly sing along with the song. Now they have some soloist who butchers the classic until it's unrecognizable, and you're supposed to feel proud of this. Bunch of bullshit if you ask me.<br />n<br />nThey had a salute to the Armed Forces at the beginning of the rodeo and I was going to tease the Army that it didn't seem very appropriate that there flag was a <a href="http://www.qmfound.com/flag_army_color.jpg">white flag</a>, we all know what that means, but I decided not to. My pride of having served in the US Navy wouldn't allow it.<br />n<br />nThere was one thing that really marred the whole night for me though. <s>Our</s> Your, I didn't vote for him, [sarcasm] Esteemed Junior Senator[/sarcasm] Conrad Burns gave a presentation and while maybe Pat Goggins deserved it, I don't know, the sound of Burns voice was more than I could handle and marred the whole presentation.<br />n<br />nExcept for the one above exceptions, it was a good rodeo and I enjoyed it. The line of the evening though was when the announcer explained the Mutton Busting Competition. <br />n<br />n"That sport where we strap our young children to farm animals and call it entertainment."<br />n<br />nI thought I would bust a gut on that one. <br />n<br />n<b>Most men are within a finger's breadth of being mad. Diogenes</b>