ProRodeo Sports News | 2020 Year-End Edition | Dec.18, 2020

DIRECTOR’S CUT SCOTT KANIEWSKI

Wrangler NFR in Texas offers a different feel I f you’re looking for an example of change being good, look no further than the 2020Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Sometimes different is good.

Now imagine that the arena could hold 20,000, 25,000, maybe 30,000 fans rather than what it was limited to because of COVID or because it’s only built to house 17,000. If Globe Life Field, which has a seating capacity of 40,000, didn’t have to limit tickets, it would have had significantly bigger crowds. The Finals in Vegas is one of the hardest events to get tickets to. That means demand is higher. It’d be fun to hear a crowd of 30,000 cheering on Tuf Cooper’s next run of 6.9 seconds. The event was also a reminder that things don’t have to be done the way they’ve always been done. That was evident during Round 7 when contestants walked into the arena. No one was certain, but it was believed to be the first time that the grand entry did not welcome the competitors in on horseback. And – surprise, surprise – the roof didn’t fall in. One complaint about it not being in Las Vegas – and being in the middle of a pandemic – was the lack of things to do before and after the rodeo. But that meant that contestants stuck around their families more or their friends who were inside their bubble. Like all of us, it was something they adapted to and dealt with. And then moved on. Don’t worry, assuming this whole pandemic thing gets cleared up by next fall, the Wrangler NFR will be back in Las Vegas. Amember of the media, Ted Harbin, offered this about the Finals: It was different. It wasn’t better, it wasn’t worse. It was just different. Agreed, it was different. But different in a good way. A very good way.

I anticipated throughout the 2020Wrangler NFR that there would be plenty of complaining or contradictory tones about having the Finals in Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. That wasn’t the case. It was quite the contrary. Every competitor I visited with or overheard in interviews was more than happy to be at the Finals – for a Finals even to be happening. Knowing they had a chance to perform and earn big money and to be onThe Cowboy Channel so friends and family could watch provided them a great opportunity. And they liked the setup. Many veterans of NFRs past pointed out that, no, it wasn’t theThomas &Mack Center in Las Vegas, but it was a Finals. The gigantic size of the arena gave it more of a feel like the AT&T Center across the street, home of RFD-TV’s The American. And that was just fine. Because of the size of Globe Life, the crowd wasn’t sitting on top of the contestants, and that took away some of the intensity of the rodeo. But the contestants didn’t mind that either. They were over the moon to have a crowd, to hear the fans inside scream and cheer for their favorite cowboys and cowgirls and applaud for some of the impressive rides and runs that happened over the 10 days. It was a good reminder that theThomas &Mack and its aging confines have a long ways to go to catch up with the technology newer stadiums are equipped with. It also reminded that extra space means extra activities.

Scott Kaniewski is the Media Director at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. He previously served more than two years as the editor of ProRodeo Sports News. He has nearly two decades of experience in sports journalism, with the last few being consumed by ProRodeo.

ProRodeo Sports News 12/18/2020

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