My first rodeo experience consisted of wine and rock music
“This isn’t my first rodeo,” I said to my friend when we arrived at NRG Stadium. This statement caused my friend to laugh since she knows I’m a liar. The 2017 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was my first rodeo experience. During the three nights I attended, I saw Luke Bryan move his hips, Blink-182 without Tom DeLonge and hung out at the carnival.
NRG was packed for Luke Bryan. Everyone knows that Houston is a big city, but I was not expecting to see so many people. Walking through the carnival area took at least 10 hours, and I was forced to touch almost every single person. I almost ran over a couple of kids who had food stains on their mouths and clothes and were playing Frogger with the crowd.
Despite all the unwanted touching and standing in place, the rodeo was what I had imagined. Almost every person had on cowboy boots, cowboy hats, big belt buckles and had a beer in hand. I was surprised by how many children were walking around. I didn’t think parents would bring their kids to a Luke Bryan concert, but I guess if you want your kids to be a Texan, you should show them the way at a young age.
The Blink-182 concert was, thankfully, less crowded. There also was not as many cowboy hats or boots, but there was still plenty of beer. People were dressed more casual this day and many had on Blink-182 shirts. The crowd consisted of mostly 20 to 40 year olds.
There weren’t that many kids there because, apparently, there are now people in the world who do not know about Blink-182 and have never heard their songs. This blew my mind and caused me to drink. I was forced to drink wine because of youngsters. I just wanted to have fun at the rodeo, not realize that death is near. The good part of the night was that the guy who replaced Tom DeLonge, Matt Skiba, wasn’t horrible.
I went a third time for the carnival the night Brad Paisley performed. This night was almost exactly like Luke Bryan’s. More kids, hats, boots and belt buckles. But I was okay with the people because my main focus was food. I had funnel cake, fried Oreos, big fries, a big corndog and some wine as a palette cleanser.
And, just to clarify, some wine for me means I shared two bottles of wine with my friend. I was too excited to find out that I could buy a bottle of wine and was allowed to walk around with it. It felt amazing to carry the bottle and not worry about people judging me. Carrying a bottle of wine probably shouldn’t bring so much joy to my life, but that’s what made my first rodeo experience memorable.
I am happy I can finally say I have been to the rodeo. I had fun people watching and seeing kids crying because their parents were forcing them to get on rides. It is nice to know that the rodeo provides a different experience each night. You could have a good time, or you could realize you’re an old fart. Not knowing what to expect is the best part of the rodeo.
