NOW, THAT'S A LOTTA BULL!

8/8/03

ey, I took a week off last week and treated myself to a non-racing related road trip. The woman of the house and I headed west across Nebraska via I-80, through historic Gothenburg (home of the original Pony Express station), just east of Ogallala (referenced in the TV mini-series Lonesome Dove), skirting the scenic but shallow Platte River all the way to Wyoming. Cheyenne, Wyoming to be exact. By traveling to Cheyenne, I would be killing two birds with one road trip. I had been promising to visit the in-law's Cheyenne home for about ten years (at least), and now seemed as good a time as any. Second bird, I had always heard of the Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration, but had never been to see firsthand. Again, it was about time I did so. So, I did.

Going to the "Daddy Of 'Em All!" as they refer to the Cheyenne Frontier Days experience, got me to drawing some interesting comparisons between CFD and drag racing. Let's look at the venue itself first. I don't know what I expected to see prior to arrival on the grounds -- probably had a mental image of some stockyards with some mildly uncomfortable bleacher seats, all topped off with the usual amount of red, white and blue bunting. My awakening started at the front gate. Nice landscaping, event-themed decorative touches, special sponsor-related commercial displays, and ticket outlets event tourists could understand. First impressions are often the ONLY impression a visitor takes home with him and CFD gets an A+ on that front.

Once past the ticket takers (who were friendly, by the way) I reached the inner layer of merchandising, the CFD Exposition building. Inside were crammed dozens of booths selling everything imaginable, most of which had at least something to do with the "Western" way of life. All sorts of operations, big and small, and all adding something to the CFD atmosphere. I talked to a few of the booth occupants, and most stated the cost of doing business with CFD wasn't all that bad. And it really didn't look as though any of the sellers were knockin' them dead, sales-wise. I am sure none of them was going broke, but for the most part they just seemed to be glad to add a little extra something to CFD.

Anyway, I passed on the "opportunity" to own an authentic Cowboy Roundup Trail Duster coat (CFD special price $149.95), among other things, and headed for the rodeo arena. Guess what? No old bleachers, no splinter experience, no seat all that far removed from the action. Instead, CFD features two modern grandstands with plenty of seats with backs! They could have had a bit more leg room, however, but nothing's perfect, not even the Daddy Of 'Em All!

Looking around the arena, one thing really stood out -- besides all the hot women in western wear. Fully 80 percent of the rodeo fans were seated squarely in the shade. That's right, the grandstands had roofs! In other words, despite Cheyenne's unseasonably hot weather, myself and those around me were able to survive a day's worth of bronkin' and bullin' and assorted calf-muggin' without needing medical attention. One other thing -- I couldn't help but notice what a nice half-mile dirt track circled the rodeo arena floor. Gee, with a little catch fencing, a TV screen or two (the eastern stands block the backstretch view) you could put on a heck of a World of Outlaws sprint car show. But, I digress.

Enough about the facility. As at the drags, the competition is the thing. Not being an avid follower of Rodeo, I had never heard of any of the contestants. Didn't matter; I could see they were guys and gals who loved to compete and weren't averse to taking a risk or two. Sounds like drag racing to me! But what I found most interesting had to do with entry fees.

It goes without saying the CFD itself, with added contributions from individual event sponsors, put up most of the money for the rodeo contestants. But the cowfolks themselves also put up a good sum of money to compete in each event. Now get this. In certain events (Bull Riding and Bareback Bronco Riding), the contestants voted themselves a HIGHER entry fee. Why, you may ask? Simple -- they wanted a bigger prize fund to shoot for! They weren't much concerned about where they had to park or who else was in the field, and they weren't asking for any of some other cowboy's prize money. They were willing to foot the bill, as long as it meant they could do better at the pay window. Now, there's a concept!

Sometimes, a trip outside our usual frame of reference can be very helpful. I don't plan to pick up and move to the West, buy a horse, or strive to master the art of team calf roping, but I did see a lot of things that could be applied to drag racing, at local and national levels alike. Things such as multiple forms of entertainment at the same event or real creature comforts for the paying customer or survivable financial arrangements between track operators and potential vendors (or race car sponsors, for that matter). Why, promoters could even listen to the competitors and agree to a way to boost the payout, without extracting an additional pound of flesh.

From what I saw at the 107th Annual Cheyenne Frontier Days, there are some pretty good ideas out there, if someone is really looking for them.

Later!

racer4339@aol.com