More Voices Opposed to Declaring Rodeo Alberta’s Provincial Sport
I recently wrote a post about why I disagree with Kevin Taft’s proposal that rodeo be declared Alberta’s official provincial sport. It turns out that I’m not the only one who disagrees with the idea.
Fellow Edmonton-blogger Mack Male made his distaste for the idea very clear, with two simple words: “Um, no.”
St. Albert book-blogger Peter Bailey wasn’t quite as terse in expressing his opinion, saying that Kevin Taft has either:
- lost his mind from the pressure of trying to convince Albertans to vote Liberal;
- misjudged the effectiveness of political stunts (Sarah Palin?);
- come up with an unusual way to get complimentary tickets to Canadian Finals Rodeo this weekend;
- got the wrong idea from What Not to Wear when a man was told to “wear more hats - they look good”; or
- grown tired of waiting for ice time at his local hockey rink.
Of course, these are just three voices opposed to the idea. Maybe Mack, Pete, and I are in the minority. Maybe most Albertan’s welcome the idea of rodeo becoming the province’s official sport. Where do you stand on this issue?
I agree with you, or with the shorter “um, no”. Just a stupid idea. Wanna do sports, move your own body and leave the animals in peace. (I also don’t like equestrian disciplines in the olympics.)
Trudy
11 Nov 08 at 5:59 pm
Actually, that’s a good point. While I do think you have to be in good shape to maintain control of a horse in a rodeo or equestrian situation, isn’t it really the horse who is the athlete in this kind of sports?
Adam Snider
11 Nov 08 at 10:14 pm
Hmm, yes, I did go on a bit. There’s a lot of ‘what is a real Albertan’ packed into this issue I guess.
Libarbarian
12 Nov 08 at 7:14 pm
You didn’t go on any longer than I did. And, you’re right, there definitely is an element of that “real Albertan” thing going on here. It reminds me of the “real America” thing that was going on in the US election. Obviously, this is on a more subtle level, but it’s still there.
Adam Snider
13 Nov 08 at 9:24 am
I am against Alberta having a provincial sport. I think it is unnecessary and trivial.
I do however think that there is no better sport to represent Alberta. Historically and still today Alberta has been influenced by ranching/farming, although today most Albertans inhabit urban areas there is no reason to forget our past. Rodeo needs cowboys who are in great shape, who have great riding/roping skills, and cowboys who are strong enough to endure a ride on a rank bull. Rodeo also demands good stock contractors willing to put in the time and money to raise and provide good stock, good bucking horses and rank bulls.
Alberta has the greatest Rodeo on earth, which takes place in Edmonton, Alberta. Cowboys from USA, New Zealand and many other countries travel long distances to take part. We also have world recognized events including the Calgary and Ponoka Stampedes. Rodeo is something that sets Alberta apart from the rest of Canada and the world, and to me it makes sense if we are going to have a provincial sport for it to be Rodeo.
Daniel Lodewyk
25 Nov 08 at 10:37 am
Daniel: I agree that Alberta’s rodeos are the best in the world. And I don’t think we should forget our heritage. I just don’t think rodeo is a sport that accurately represents the people of this province.
However, I also agree with you that having a provincial sport at all is unnecessary and trivial.
Adam Snider
25 Nov 08 at 10:54 am