ProRodeo Sports News - October 16, 2020

& Then Now BY TRACY RENCK T he grand entry at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is a euphoric, emotion-filled experience cowboys don’t forget. Next to winning gold buckles and capturing NFR go-round victories, riding in the grand entry at theThomas &Mack Center in Las Vegas is something contestants covet. Tuf Cooper is a four-time world champion – winning tie-down roping titles in 2011-12 and 2014 and an all-around title in 2017. But his first grand entry stands out. “To me, going through the grand entry (for the first

Grand entry in Thomas & Mack vs. Globe Life Field

Saddle bronc rider Isaac Diaz, another cowboy who will be at the Finals for the seventh time, echoed Eldridge. “The grand entry is when it all sank in for me,” Diaz said. “Going through the tunnel when they are playing ‘Viva Las Vegas’ is when all the nerves hit me and when you realize you’ve made it. It is so electric. That’s a special feeling.”

NEW ENTRY, NEW EMOTIONS

The first three NFRs were held in Texas at the Dallas

State Fairgrounds, the last one in 1961.

The plush amenities and the configuration of a rodeo arena at Globe Life Field will be woven into the production of the grand entry for 10 rounds. Competing there is new territory for 2020 NFRWrangler qualifiers and something Cooper, a Texas native, welcomes. “It’s going to be pretty awesome,” said Cooper, who lives an hour away in Decatur. “The first time carrying that Texas flag at the Texas NFR is going to be pretty sweet. It’s absolutely cool every time you get to go through the grand entry, but there’s nothing like the first one I went through in Vegas. It still should be great at Globe Life, and I’m excited to see how all of it is going to happen. I always bring one of my young horses for the grand entry. With the NFR being this close, I may bring a different grand-entry horse every night.” Eldridge believes the grand entry at Globe Life Field will be one to remember. “With that kind of building and as proud as Texans are about rodeo, I think it will be just as electric as Thomas & Mack,” he said. “It might not feel as electric just because it (Globe Life Field) is so big, but heck, it might be even more electric. I’ve competed at The American (in Arlington) several times at AT&T Stadium (next to Globe Life Field), and when you’re in a place that big it’s a different vibe, but it’s just as breathtaking. You’re in awe of how big it is. You still feel the energy without the fans being right on top of you, compared to theThomas &Mack. “The production teams do a great job, and I think that is a lot of it. When you go to those big facilities, the production of the grand entry with songs and fireworks are all part of the build-up that make it special, and I’m sure they will do a great job at Globe Life Field.” Diaz, who lives in Desdemona, which is 90 minutes fromArlington, is excited to be part of the latest grand entry. “I think it’s going to have a whole new feeling,” said Diaz, 34. “I’m not going to say you could ever replace the feeling at theThomas &Mack, but I think for first-time qualifiers they are going to get that feeling they always hoped for, and I think it’s going to be electric. As far as the rodeo and the way the arena is set up, I think it is going to be the best rodeo that the NFR has put on. It’s going to be cool to be part of something like this that I can tell my kids about one day.”

time) in 2008 was honestly probably cooler than winning a world title because it came first,” said Cooper, who will be making his 12thWrangler NFR appearance in December. “I was in the stands when I watched guys like my uncle Stran Smith and brother-in-law Trevor Brazile go through the grand entry. When I was a little kid sitting there, I was mesmerized. I thought it would be so cool to do that someday. “Then, when that moment actually happened, it was the coolest thing ever. It blew my mind. It was a dream-come-true moment. There’s nothing like it.” Cooper and his fellow competitors who ride in the grand entry this year won’t be doing it at Thomas &Mack. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wrangler NFR will be at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Dec. 3-12. Globe Life Field, home to MLB’s Texas Rangers, opened July 21 and is a $1.1 billion facility. The Wrangler NFR will be the inaugural rodeo held at the facility. It’s hard to predict what the grand entry will be like at Globe Life Field, but cowboys like Sage Kimzey, the reigning six-time world champion bull rider agreed with Cooper about riding through the opening ceremony. “It’s hard to even find the words to explain it,” said Kimzey, who has won a world title every time he’s made the Finals. “It’s the most surreal, eye-opening thing. It was the first time I realized that I had made my lifelong dream a reality. There were a lot of emotions that were going on just because it was that moment for me.” Steer wrestler Dakota Eldridge, a native of Elko, Nev., had similar thoughts to Cooper’s and Kimzey’s. Eldridge, who will make his seventh Finals appearance in December, competed for the first time at rodeo’s most prestigious event in 2014. “Until you actually ride in there and feel the energy of theThomas &Mack, that’s when it hits you,” he said. “That’s what dreams are made of right there. That’s why you put in the miles and hard work to get in that building and go through the grand entry and compete.”

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Clay Guardipee

ProRodeo Sports News 10/16/2020

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