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Uni Watch

Buckin’ The Trend: I’m Gonna Need a Hacksaw Helmet

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Follies

By Vince Grzegorek

Browsing through one of the free weeklies in Cleveland the other day, I saw this little tidbit from News of the Weird by Chuck Shepherd: “About one-fifth of professional rodeo bull riders have given up their cowboy hats and now wear modified hockey helmets with face masks because of the prevalence of serious injuries. Said one diehard, though, ‘I don’t wear a cowboy hat because I’m a bull rider. I wear a cowboy hat because I’m a cowboy.'”

Not having watched enough (read: any) bull-riding competitions lately, I wasn’t aware of the trend, but I wasn’t surprised. If I was going to get on a bull, I would wear a helmet, a vest, shoulder pads, a mouthguard, and, just to be safe, probably full-body protective suit. If less is better with mechanical bulls, the exact opposite is true with real ones. Bad things can and do happen (even to the rodeo clowns). After all, the question isn’t whether you’re going to be thrown from the bull — it’s just how long it’s going to take.

So now, as Shepherd reported, some riders are starting to wear hockey- or lacrosse-style helmets. According to Professional Bull Riders, 12 of the top 45 PRB riders wear helmets: J.B. Mauney, Mike Lee, Austin Meier, Sean Willingham, Wiley Peterson, Travis Briscoe, Shane Proctor, Cord McCoy, Mark Lopes, Corey Navarre, Cody Whitney, and Dusty LaBeth.

But let’s face it: The helmets look dorky. So is there a way for the fashion-conscious rider to employ some safety precautions? Absolutely. In an ingenious combination of style and function, two riders in the PBR actually wear both a Stetson and headgear equipped with a faceguard: Kasey Hayes and Ednei Caminhas. The effect is pretty cool-looking, and when the hat comes off you sort of get a Hannibal Lecter effect.

Reasons for riders sticking with the hat instead of the helmet vary. Some say the helmets are uncomfortable and that they restrict their vision during the competition (apparently this isn’t that uncomfortable for them). Others stick with the hat out of tradition. Those who opt for the helmet have a couple of options, including the Bullisitic and Bull Tough gear.

For quasi-understandable reasons, cowboy culture is slow to embrace change. The protective vest, which is almost universally worn today and credited with the prevention of countless injuries, was first introduced about 14 years ago by Cody Lambert and was initially met with the same resistance that helmets are currently getting. Now, it is generally accepted as part of the uniform. The number of riders using a helmet has increased, but it’s got a long way to go. (Almost all rodeos, however, require that children under 18 wear helmets, which I think we can all agree is a good idea.)

My only hope is that a new trend will develop toward the personalization of the helmets, much like goalie masks, for those who choose to display the American flag, or Lil Jon (only because I doubt that both Brooks and Dunn would comfortably fit).

“She Sang, She Danced, I Think She Twirled a Rope” Bonus Material: Actually, there is a lot of personalization already when it comes to bull-riding uniforms. Chaps have intricate designs, and even come in purple.

Belt buckles aren’t the most comfortable things to wear while trying to ride a bull, so riders thread a piece of nylon through their belt loops instead.

We can add bull-riding to the list of professional sports to feature advertising logos or patches on the uniforms.

Finally, in some celebrity rodeo news (what other kind is there?), Kiefer Sutherland was a two-time national team roping champ back in the late 1990s. No word on if he wore a helmet or a hat, but I’m sure no hacksaws were allowed for humane reasons.

(Bonus points to the first person to post the origin of the reference to the quote for the last subtitle. Hint: It has to do with the lead photo.)

 
  
 
Comments (53)

    On sportsnight, josh charles’ character talks about seeing Trump’s wife in will rogers’ follies. he says: she sang, she danced, I think she twirled a rope.

    there’s a documentary on bull riding that’s pretty rough to watch as well.

    PBR: The only sport I know other than baseball where some participants throw in a lip while performing.

    I know that Walt Garrison (Running back for the Dallas Cowboys in the 70s) was a professional bull rider in the off-season.

    Anyone know of any other two-sport athletes in this sense?

    href=”http:/http://stuffandstuff.wordpress.com/files/2006/08/rodeo3.jpg/”>
    Fake stirrups are for clowns.

    [quote comment=”57317″]On sportsnight, josh charles’ character talks about seeing Trump’s wife in will rogers’ follies. he says: she sang, she danced, I think she twirled a rope.
    [/quote]

    Sports Night was a kickass show.

    Great post today, Paul. Loved the pics. All I kept thinknig of as I scrolled through them was Homer Simpson laughing at a drunk driving video, saying, “That’s funny because I don’t know them.” Good stuff.

    Mad Matt beat ne to it, but I to was surprised you didin’t pick up on the big news of the day being the shift from wool to a blend for all authentic MLB in-game caps. Last year when you wrote about Kenny Rogers wearing an altered batting paractice cap, I completely agreed with where the gambler was coming from. I wore the BP caps for the same reason–every wool cap I ever had shrunk in the rain. The BP caps breathed more and stood up to the elements. Traditionalists and those who watch Seinfeld may disagree, but this is a great move not only for the athletes, but thse of us who like to sport their team’s authentic cap.

    Now that Vince is a pretty regular part of things here, shouldn’t Paul update the FAQ?

    Just saying…

    Has anybody seen the new hats available for purchase anywhere? I’ve seen the BP hats on mlb.com, but not the regular hats.

    They just had the rodeo at MSG back in January 2007, which is very rare, but it was during the NFL playoffs, so I had to forgo the $200 free tickets that I could’ve had for that event. Maybe next time!

    [quote comment=”57330″]Great post today, Paul. Loved the pics. All I kept thinknig of as I scrolled through them was Homer Simpson laughing at a drunk driving video, saying, “That’s funny because I don’t know them.” Good stuff.[/quote]

    Vince today. Not Paul. Got to give credit where it is due.

    [quote comment=”57319″]Article on SI.com about the new polyester (sp?) hats versus wool hats this year in baseball link…[/quote]
    [quote comment=”57319″]Article on SI.com about the new polyester (sp?) hats versus wool hats this year in baseball link…[/quote]
    What? no more wool? Is this new, or is it just old news that I haven’t heard about..are they in stores now? cause I’d like to try one on, and probably buy a few. Also, what does this new polyester compare to in regards to regular clothing?, I’m trying to find some of my polyester clothing to see how it would feel. I wonder how much these new ball caps would be going for $$..anybody know?

    After all, the question isn’t whether you’re going to be thrown from the bull — it’s just how long it’s going to take.
    Actually, the dirt in rodeo arenas is very loose, and relatively “soft”- the helmet/face mask combo, was brought around as a result of cowboys getting smashed in the face by bulls’ skulls. The bull Bodacious was famous for this- see Tuff Hedemen’s wiki entry: link
    After the accident, he started wearing the mask, and as one of the premier riders of the day (also featured, pre-mask in the movie “8 Seconds”) did alot to forward the acceptablity of wearing them in the tough-guy world of bull riding.

    Kudos to Brett for being the first to post the Sports Night answer. Friggin’ loved that show.

    Anyway, if anyone would like to email me you can reach me at link

    –Vince

    Which weekly in Cleveland was the article? Would it be the paper where I feelanced/interned back in 1999, the Free Times? (I wish those articles I wrote were archived on the web somewhere.)

    [quote comment=”57318″]PBR: The only sport I know other than baseball where some participants throw in a lip while performing.

    I know that Walt Garrison (Running back for the Dallas Cowboys in the 70s) was a professional bull rider in the off-season.

    Anyone know of any other two-sport athletes in this sense?[/quote]

    It’s not quite PBR, but CFL players Adam Braidwood and Mike Maurer of the Edmonton Eskimos have competed in mixed martial arts (MMA) matches. I believe both won their respective last fights.

    link.

    Vince said
    “Bad things can and do happen (even to the rodeo clowns). After all, the question isn’t whether you’re going to be thrown from the bull — it’s just how long it’s going to take.”

    I think that rather than clowns they call them
    ‘bullfighters’ now.
    Those guys (clowns or bullfighters, whatever you want to call them) are some of the most heroic people in sports. They literally risk life and limb to make sure the riders are kept safe.

    [quote comment=”57340″][quote comment=”57318″]PBR: The only sport I know other than baseball where some participants throw in a lip while performing.

    I know that Walt Garrison (Running back for the Dallas Cowboys in the 70s) was a professional bull rider in the off-season.

    Anyone know of any other two-sport athletes in this sense?[/quote]

    It’s not quite PBR, but CFL players Adam Braidwood and Mike Maurer of the Edmonton Eskimos have competed in mixed martial arts (MMA) matches. I believe both won their respective last fights.

    link.[/quote]

    Which was great until Maurer got KO’d in his last fight – he had already decided to hang them up, but it put his football career in jeopardy.

    I haven’t seen this posted yet, and I know it is Cincy-centric, but the Enquirer has a link feature, looking at the most significant numbers in Cincy uni history. It is a nice little time waster for your day at work.

    Speaking of the new MLB hats, when the MLB Shop was doing their buy two get one free deal, I ordered the link, but it was on back order. I still haven’t received it and I wonder if it is going to be one of the new style of hats and that’s what is taking so long for me to get it

    [quote comment=”57345″]Rodeo? I am sure this is connected to sports, unis and logos. I just have to find the connection.[/quote]

    =bg= (if that is your real name),
    How is it NOT related? Vince is writing about the helmets/hats (UNI) of professional bull riding (at least as much of a SPORT as NASCAR), and even talks about about the advertisements (LOGOs) they wear on their vests (UNI, again). Seems pretty clear to me!

    The new ball caps are going for $32.00, up from $29.00 from the original wools, a couple of buck$ won’t stop me from getting my team hat, along with my other favorites.

    Just ran across this story. Apparently Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi tried out for the role of the new Maytag repair man yesterday. Interesting in itself, but not nearly as interesting as the jersey he is wearing link. Notice the lack of the NFL logo at the base of the collar as well as the 3 stripes around the cuff of the sleeve under the numbers! I’ve never seen this “Colts” jersey before, I would say perhaps a practice jersey, but wouldn’t all of his practice jerseys be red?

    [quote comment=”57353″]Just ran across this story. Apparently Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi tried out for the role of the new Maytag repair man yesterday. Interesting in itself, but not nearly as interesting as the jersey he is wearing link. Notice the lack of the NFL logo at the base of the collar as well as the 3 stripes around the cuff of the sleeve under the numbers! I’ve never seen this “Colts” jersey before, I would say perhaps a practice jersey, but wouldn’t all of his practice jerseys be red?[/quote]
    What’s next, Sorgi wearing that outfit in a porno?

    A sport is pretty much anything where people compete, some type of scoring is involved, and it requires some skill. Driving 200 mph is hard. So is riding a bull. I’d like to see Albert Pujols try to last eight seconds on one of those things.

    [quote comment=”57353″]Just ran across this story. Apparently Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi tried out for the role of the new Maytag repair man yesterday. Interesting in itself, but not nearly as interesting as the jersey he is wearing link. Notice the lack of the NFL logo at the base of the collar as well as the 3 stripes around the cuff of the sleeve under the numbers! I’ve never seen this “Colts” jersey before, I would say perhaps a practice jersey, but wouldn’t all of his practice jerseys be red?[/quote]

    I believe that is the Throwback that the Colts wore on Thanksgiving a couple years ago.

    [quote comment=”57346″]Speaking of the new MLB hats, when the MLB Shop was doing their buy two get one free deal, I ordered the link, but it was on back order. I still haven’t received it and I wonder if it is going to be one of the new style of hats and that’s what is taking so long for me to get it[/quote]

    I ordered the same one, got it yesterday and it’s a wool 5950.

    [quote comment=”57351″]The new ball caps are going for $32.00, up from $29.00 from the original wools, a couple of buck$ won’t stop me from getting my team hat, along with my other favorites.[/quote]

    $32 bucks? That is insane. I will just have to watch for a sale, because there is no way that I am paying that kind of cash for a cap.

    [quote comment=”57356″]A sport is pretty much anything where people compete, some type of scoring is involved, and it requires some skill. Driving 200 mph is hard. So is riding a bull. I’d like to see Albert Pujols try to last eight seconds on one of those things.[/quote]

    Thanks Jacob…Some readers will diagree for no other reason except “because they are dumb hicks.”

    [quote comment=”57357″][quote comment=”57353″]Just ran across this story. Apparently Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi tried out for the role of the new Maytag repair man yesterday. Interesting in itself, but not nearly as interesting as the jersey he is wearing link. Notice the lack of the NFL logo at the base of the collar as well as the 3 stripes around the cuff of the sleeve under the numbers! I’ve never seen this “Colts” jersey before, I would say perhaps a practice jersey, but wouldn’t all of his practice jerseys be red?[/quote]

    I believe that is the Throwback that the Colts wore on Thanksgiving a couple years ago.[/quote]

    Seems to me to be a knockoff jersey that Sorgi had to wear to eliminate getting the NFL licensing permission…you have all seen the knock-off jerseys in action before right?

    [quote comment=”57353″]Just ran across this story. Apparently Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi tried out for the role of the new Maytag repair man yesterday. Interesting in itself, but not nearly as interesting as the jersey he is wearing link. Notice the lack of the NFL logo at the base of the collar as well as the 3 stripes around the cuff of the sleeve under the numbers! I’ve never seen this “Colts” jersey before, I would say perhaps a practice jersey, but wouldn’t all of his practice jerseys be red?[/quote]

    Maytag probably did not pay the licensing fee that would permit it to use an official Colts jersey. As a result, Sorgi would have to wear a similar, but unofficial, jersey.

    [quote comment=”57366″][quote comment=”57353″]Just ran across this story. Apparently Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi tried out for the role of the new Maytag repair man yesterday. Interesting in itself, but not nearly as interesting as the jersey he is wearing link. Notice the lack of the NFL logo at the base of the collar as well as the 3 stripes around the cuff of the sleeve under the numbers! I’ve never seen this “Colts” jersey before, I would say perhaps a practice jersey, but wouldn’t all of his practice jerseys be red?[/quote]

    Maytag probably did not pay the licensing fee that would permit it to use an official Colts jersey. As a result, Sorgi would have to wear a similar, but unofficial, jersey.[/quote]

    Actually it looks like JDUB is right, it is probably the Thanksgiving throwback rather than an unofficial jersey. In action link and link.

    [quote comment=”57354″][quote comment=”57353″]Just ran across this story. Apparently Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi tried out for the role of the new Maytag repair man yesterday. Interesting in itself, but not nearly as interesting as the jersey he is wearing link. Notice the lack of the NFL logo at the base of the collar as well as the 3 stripes around the cuff of the sleeve under the numbers! I’ve never seen this “Colts” jersey before, I would say perhaps a practice jersey, but wouldn’t all of his practice jerseys be red?[/quote]
    What’s next, Sorgi wearing that outfit in a porno?[/quote]

    Sadly that hat is better than any sideline hat that he will be wearing every game next season.

    [quote comment=”57367″][quote comment=”57366″][quote comment=”57353″]Just ran across this story. Apparently Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi tried out for the role of the new Maytag repair man yesterday. Interesting in itself, but not nearly as interesting as the jersey he is wearing link. Notice the lack of the NFL logo at the base of the collar as well as the 3 stripes around the cuff of the sleeve under the numbers! I’ve never seen this “Colts” jersey before, I would say perhaps a practice jersey, but wouldn’t all of his practice jerseys be red?[/quote]

    Maytag probably did not pay the licensing fee that would permit it to use an official Colts jersey. As a result, Sorgi would have to wear a similar, but unofficial, jersey.[/quote]

    Actually it looks like JDUB is right, it is probably the Thanksgiving throwback rather than an unofficial jersey. In action link and link.[/quote]
    I disagree, Maytag is not a sponsor of the NFL is the reason why the NFL shield was stripped off.

    [quote comment=”57367″][quote comment=”57366″][quote comment=”57353″]Just ran across this story. Apparently Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi tried out for the role of the new Maytag repair man yesterday. Interesting in itself, but not nearly as interesting as the jersey he is wearing link. Notice the lack of the NFL logo at the base of the collar as well as the 3 stripes around the cuff of the sleeve under the numbers! I’ve never seen this “Colts” jersey before, I would say perhaps a practice jersey, but wouldn’t all of his practice jerseys be red?[/quote]

    Maytag probably did not pay the licensing fee that would permit it to use an official Colts jersey. As a result, Sorgi would have to wear a similar, but unofficial, jersey.[/quote]

    Actually it looks like JDUB is right, it is probably the Thanksgiving throwback rather than an unofficial jersey. In action link and link.[/quote]

    As a Colts fan, I acutally like those jerseys much better than the current ones, especially since the shoulder stripes have been truncated to accomadate the stitching of the jersey panels.

    [quote comment=”57370″][quote comment=”57367″][quote comment=”57366″][quote comment=”57353″]Just ran across this story. Apparently Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi tried out for the role of the new Maytag repair man yesterday. Interesting in itself, but not nearly as interesting as the jersey he is wearing link. Notice the lack of the NFL logo at the base of the collar as well as the 3 stripes around the cuff of the sleeve under the numbers! I’ve never seen this “Colts” jersey before, I would say perhaps a practice jersey, but wouldn’t all of his practice jerseys be red?[/quote]

    Maytag probably did not pay the licensing fee that would permit it to use an official Colts jersey. As a result, Sorgi would have to wear a similar, but unofficial, jersey.[/quote]

    Actually it looks like JDUB is right, it is probably the Thanksgiving throwback rather than an unofficial jersey. In action link and link.[/quote]
    I disagree, Maytag is not a sponsor of the NFL is the reason why the NFL shield was stripped off.[/quote]

    Well, the sheild isn’t visable in the photo of Manning nor the picture of the Sorgi jersey alone. Is it ever on throwbacks? You must consider that this wasn’t a planned photoshoot so there was no reason to strip the jersey of the sheild.

    Here are my uni-based Champions Leauge picks for today…
    Barça (red/blue) over Liverpool (either yellow or white/green)
    Porto (blue/white) draws Chelsea (black/white pinstripes)
    Valencia (white, black/orange accents) draws Inter (nerazzurri)
    Roma (crimson/orange) over Lyon (white, one blue/red stripe) (I don’t like either shirt, however)

    I found a site where the new hats are only $24. It says they are on order, but I would think they would be in soon. link

    This link Bonds is sporting is probably the best looking piece of garment MLB apparel has to offer, (and I can never seem to find it ANYWHERE).

    Re “Good Idea” picture: That looks like fun for the sheep. If only there was a rope around his genitals- now there’s a good time. The only thing fun about bullriding was watching the cowboys get smacked around and trampled on.

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