Cows over Cabo
It's not the same, old Rodeo: Houston sets all-time attendance record
Why go to Cabo when you can dodge cow manure?
To many of Houstonians, that's not even a question. For the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo set an all-time attendance record at this year's rodeo, breaking the two million fan mark with a day still to go — thanks in no small part to locals who decided to spend their entertainment dollars closer to home.
"We’ve found more people opted not to travel this year, and instead, they took advantage of this optimum weather and the great entertainment bargains our event offers,” Houston rodeo CEO Leroy Shafer said today.
Being a cowboy is definitely in. Why hitch your wagon to some far-off getaway when you can get cowboys on bucking broncos, a bull getting chased down in a parking lot by a cowboy named Bronc and those ... um, country crowd favorites like the Black Eyed Peas and Mary J. Blige?
The Rodeo keeps getting bigger every year with the previous attendance record only being set last year at 1,890,332. This year's edition is over two million fans already with the official final figure to be calculated on Monday. Not that the rodeo organizers are that surprised. Before the rodeo's first day, they predicted that this year's three-week extravaganza would break the attendance record.
Shafer called Houston's event, "the world's largest and greatest livestock show and rodeo" today and you'd be hard pressed to find many cowboys who'd argue with him.