The jury is still out on the new one-night event format we saw in Atlanta this weekend. Or at least my internal jury of multiple personalities is still out. Some of their thoughts:
Pro: Riders seem to like these advance-if-you-ride events and the performance seems to go up a notch, with the riding average reaching over 47%. Determination is in the air.
Con: Seems that having four stadium events, two of which are these simple formats, will detract from the excitement of the Last Cowboy Standing and the Iron Cowboy. Or then again they may raise the anticipation. (See? Many persons batting around ideas in here.)
Con: A stadium was too large a venue for the event. Why have it in a stadium only to cut the stadium in half? Even the half-stadium was too big for some of the bulls, who came out and didn't quite know when to turn back.
Final Verdict: It was a simple, straightforward event that most everyone seemed happy enough with. Some good rides. Some good bulls. A near-miss on Asteroid. No one got hurt. Chris Shivers won.
Quotes of the night:
"Oooh-hoo-hoo!" J.W. Hart when it looked like Stormy Wing was going to make the whistle on Asteroid.
"That's the longest eight seconds I've ever had in my life." Guilherme Marchi after getting bucked off Riggin Slinger at something like 7.98 seconds.
