SOME BULLSHIT The rodeo comes to NYC
In Manhattan, cowboy hats, chaps, and cowhides are almost exclusively the domain of gay pride week, but this weekend, at the Versus Invitational bull-riding competition at Madison Square Garden, exceptions were made for professional bull riders and the fans that love/fear for them.

Neon cowboy hats and enormous mustaches reigned—and not just on the out-of-towners. Graphic designers, Yeshiva students, and lawyers from the greater metropolitan area happily hushed for the opening prayer, saluted a huge American flag hanging from the ceiling, and cheered the supreme cheesiness of a team of rodeo clowns. In a quick minute, New Yorkers became common cowpoke. One particularly excited Manhattanite wearing a five-gallon number put it best: "I think it's offensive to not wear a cowboy hat."

New Yorkers may have occasionally botched the dress code, but they certainly made up for it with enthusiasm. A particularly vocal foursome sat near the bull pens cheered in their Rangers jerseys. One man traded his trusty No. 1 finger for a gynormous orange foam hat to win a pair of free cowboy boots as "fan of the night." Another wandered into the dirt to assert New York's drunken dominance over the sport. Even PETA couldn't fail to ignore the event's charms.

A smattering of five sign-carrying members of the animal rights group passively tried to thwart the crowds of spectators heading to watch rabid sides of beef eject men from their backs. One protester explained to Radar that bulls don't get asked if they want to participate, but watching the main event up close, it seems like a group arguing for the ethical treatment of bull riders might get a better following. This is a sport, after all, where rag dolling (dragging the human) and hooking (spearing the human) are merrily noted by the announcers.

The 45 riders competing this weekend escaped with only one lacerated eyebrow and a few bruised ribs, but the chance of violence is clearly a primary draw. Bull riding is illogical, terrifying, and sometimes silly—of course making it undeniably fun to watch.

The event left little room for that trademark NYC cynicism. As one man with a 917 area code put it on his way out of the arena: "I gotta get me some cowboy boots."

(Photos: Jesse R. Quinn)