NFR comes to town

Today starts an 11-day celebration of Western culture, and ol’ Buck gets to wear his boots and Resistol without feeling like a prop in one of those fancy shows on the Strip.

Let’s all "cowboy up" for the 27th year that the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo converts the Thomas & Mack Center into the world’s richest rodeo corral.

There’s $6 million and a bunch of shiny gold buckles up for grabs for the greatest rodeo athletes on the planet. Dang nice to have these folks back in my hometown.

For 10 more days, ol’ Buck will be right here sharing thoughts about the greatest rodeo in the world and best 10 days of the year in Vegas.

Most of my neighbors feel that way too. They say they hear more folks tell them thank you, yes ma’am and no sir during the NFR than the whole rest of year.

Best of all, it reminds Southern Nevadans that our roots are in Western culture.

Darn near every other day I mosey around these big casinos with my Justin boots and ridin’ clothes I get funny looks like I strolled out of an old "Gunsmoke" episode.

And those street urchins on street corners see me comin’ and try to hand me one of those naughty cards like I need help finding a girl.

But wearing my Western garb don’t bother me none ’cause it doesn’t bother Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins, who you always see in Western duds. I just call him Commish.

Or casino pioneer Michael Gaughan, who wears his boots and Wranglers when he isn’t dealing with highfalutin folks; I call him Mr. Gaughan.

It was some good ol’ boys now gathering in the heavens who brought this big rodeo to town.

Benny Binion and Harry Wald made out like a couple of team ropers by helping to send Herb McDonald and Dennis Finfrock, among others, to Oklahoma City in 1984 to convince the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association that Las Vegas is the place for the NFR.

Herb was sent by Las Vegas Events with a bankroll in his saddlebacks for a giant prize fund that helped convince keepers of rodeo to make the move after 20 years in OK City. But it took a tie-breaking vote by PRCA president Shawn Davis to bring the giant rodeo here where it belongs.

Ol’ Shawn has run the NFR since it came here in ’85 and has shown the discipline and work ethic that made him a three-time saddle bronc riding world champion and ProRodeo Hall of Famer.

After McDonald left Las Vegas Events, the reins were handed in 2001 to a young rassler from Wisconsin named Pat Christenson, who had been the strawboss at Thomas & Mack. Pat was a 1976 NCAA national wrestling champ and it didn’t take long for him to start pinning big-time events and getting them to come here.

Like to see Pat try a high-crotch takedown on one of those steers.

An early supporter once we roped the NFR was the late Sam Boyd, another ol’ Las Vegas wrangler who contributed to our Western legacy. His Sam’s Town out on Boulder Highway has a cowboy shrine that includes some cherished NFR memorabilia.

Boyd Gaming has covered the entry fees for 120 NFR contestants for several years. That puts more jingle in the pockets of the cowboys’ britches, and I’ll bet a lot of those bucks stay here.

It’s good to go Western, especially tonight when I head for Fremont Street Experience and the 25th annual Downtown Hoedown. Roamin’ around under that big canopy with 12 million dancin’ lights shinin’ down as I kick up my heels is pretty cool.

It’s a great party and no better way to warm up for Thursday’s opening night of the 10-day NFR over at the Thomas & Mack when dreams are made or shattered.

If I were a bettin’ man, I’d wager you didn’t know that Fremont Street was the first Las Vegas street paved in 1925, had the city’s first traffic and the Golden Nugget was the first structure designed to be a casino.

Have fun burnin’ your boots tonight and know you’re two-steppin’ on a big patch of Las Vegas history.

Well, don’t party too hardy ’cause the NFR Cowboy Christmas Gift Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center opens up at 10 Thursday morning.

And when you’re shoppin’, remember Buck wears XL.

You can share NFR thoughts and memories with ol’ Buck by sending smoke signals or using that new-fangled email. Reach Buck at buckaroolve@gmail.com.