last week becca and jason and i got into a debate about whether the houston rodeo (which is the largest in the country, i believe) is something that could be classified as “quintessentially houston.” the basic question was what do non-houstonians and non-texans associated with our city. becca argued that the rodeo is the biggest thing, while jason and i argued that houston is much more likely to trigger images of the space program or the oil industry. jason and i felt like we were on firm ground, having lived in houston longer and having actually been to the rodeo before.
however, after last night, i may have to change my stance. i still think that people from far away will think of the space program and oil if they’re asked to name something about houston, but after getting reacquainted with the rodeo last night, i have to admit that there is nothing that says “houston” like the spectacle that takes place for three weeks every march. sadly, i can’t even really explain it. you just have to go.
we headed up after work for the rodeo portion that started at 7:00. i feel lucky to have been the person who got to sit next to becca as she watched her first rodeo, because the experience was nothing short of hilarious. she alternated between “this is so awesome, i love houston” and “oh my god, he’s going to break the cow’s neck!” i laughed very hard, as of course in the end, the steer is much stronger than any of the cowboys, and it would take more than a good yank to hurt the steer. 😉
anyway, we watched all the events. they started with tie-down roping, followed by bareback bronco, team roping, saddle bronco, steer wrestling, barrel racing, bull riding, wagon racing and finally the always-entertaining kid’s calf scramble. about 9:00, they hauled the rotating stage out into the middle of the arena and tim mcgraw walked out amid much screaming and waving from the female portion of the crowd. he played for about two hours, which ended with fireworks and him driving away in a ford. how appropriate.
