Getting up at 7 a.m. is not what sportswriters like to do.
We don’t wear cowboy shirts, boots or buckles.
But when there is free food involved and you can spend a full day at the Calgary Stampede and call it work, then we’re all in.
A hearty pancake breakfast at the Rocky View County office began my July 12 full-day excursion to the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. This was far superior to the standard pancake breakfast, where you usually get two cold cakes and maybe one dried out sausage link.
At the RVC office, they loaded me up with heaps of hot cakes, French toast, non-dried out sausage, ham and eggs. It was the perfect start to the day – cheers to the staff.
Next stop was at Sunridge Mall where Airdrie City View photographer Covy Moore needed to pick up some overpriced rain sleeves for his overpriced camera gear.
Off to the Stampede grounds to rendezvous with fellow City View scribe Trevor Bacque and work on gathering some of the feature content found in this week’s paper, before heading to the rodeo grandstand for the afternoon’s action.
Airdrie’s Todd Maughn and Cochrane’s Straws Milan, both steer wrestlers, and Balzac’s bareback rider Matt Lait were the main draws for me to cover.
Milan’s time of 6.5 left him less than thrilled, although he said he was happy to escape injury – his steer’s head and horns nearly caught him in the face when he dismounted his horse.
Maughn had a better performance with a 4.5 – good enough for fourth on the day and $2,000 in his pocket. I wish sportswriters got paid $444 per second.
I actually missed Lait’s ride as I was talking to Milan and Maughn, but he placed second with an 84.5, which may take him into the weekend.
Good luck to those three for the rest of the week.
It’s no secret that rodeo isn’t my favourite sport, or favourite event to cover, but I have developed a new appreciation for it during the past few weeks. Talking to these cowboys and seeing the commitment they put into it, moreso outside of the arena than inside (especially with all the long nights driving from rodeo to rodeo), really made me understand what they do.
Lunch was now necessary. At the Stampede, there are limitless options of unhealthy deep-fried foods to indulge in. Although the new doughnut burger, which has been turning heads (and likely guts) all week, or the pizza-on-a-stick, I opted for the $10 burrito.
For those who try to eat healthy at the Stampede – good luck – I heard a rumour there is one place that has garden salads. I’m unsure if they are deep-fried or not.
A little bit of writing in the makeshift media lounge (literally in the corner of the Big Four casino), a trip out to watch the chuckwagons (with Cochrane’s Grant Profit) and a quick stop at the beer gardens en route to the Coca-Cola Stage to see the free Finger Eleven concert.
Better than most people’s 14-hour work days.
