Down-to-earth Brazile an otherworldly cowboy

First things first. The cell phone voice mail. It is one of those standard messages by a woman who sounds like a librarian reciting rules about talking in your quiet voice. I was expecting some background tunes of "Abilene." Maybe some "Happy Trails."

Where is a little "San Antonio Rose" when you need it?

Next thing. The gold belt buckles. Trevor Brazile admits to wearing one when working his ranch in Decatur, Texas, and out among other ropers, but not on his bathrobe around the house. How disappointing. Where is this country headed when the world's greatest cowboy doesn't sport some bling on the Barca Lounger, sipping his ground coffee from a tin cup while watching "High Noon" for the 5,000th time?

Does this guy even sleep with his boots on?

He says his wife isn't that impressed with it all, that her stepfather is eight-time world champion Roy Cooper, that Brazile might not even be considered the best cowboy in the family.

This isn't going well. I went searching for John Wayne and might have found Sheriff Andy Taylor.

Next thing. He's an Ultimate Fighting Championship fan. Huge one. Loves mixed martial arts. He thinks Randy Couture is better than a lifetime supply of free Justin Quill ostrich blacks. He thinks stand-up is as cool as flanking a calf.

Next thing. You ask him to finish the sentence, "No self-respecting cowboy would ..." and he talks about not forgetting things like honor and God and country. I was thinking more along the lines of not being wronged, not being insulted and not being laid a hand on.

But that's just me.

Next thing. He sometimes has to postpone interviews for domestic reasons. "As you can hear from the crying," Brazile said, "I am feeding the baby."

That does it.

Excuse me while I pound my head against a concrete wall.

Who we perceive the cowboy no one can match is and what reality says might be different things, but excellence is not a debatable trait when describing Brazile.

He is Tom Brady and Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods all rolled into one for those who consider formal wear your best pair of Wranglers and dress snap shirt.

Brazile won his sixth all-round title at a National Finals Rodeo that concluded Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center, his sixth for someone just 32 and so superior in his craft, some believe he will double that total by the time he ropes his final competitive steer.

"It's hard to put into words what he has done," former bull riding champion Gary Leffew said. "He is an incredible athlete and competitor. The best ones all have that will to win, who don't know how they're going to do it, just that they are. Second place doesn't exist for those cowboys. They just know down deep they're going to get it done.

"He will win more than anyone before he is done. He hasn't even reached his peak yet. I think he's just beginning.

"He's going to last a long time."

Next thing. He is cowboy tough. Brazile sprained his right knee on Friday and still competed in Round 10, hoping to win a second straight world title in tie-down roping, only to finish third. Some NFL players hear the letters MCL and are out six weeks.

Being the best in rodeo rivals the top athletes in other professional sports. Bryant has to be concerned about double-teams. Elite quarterbacks worry about blitzes and having Terrell Owens as a teammate but not necessarily in that order. Weather conditions can play havoc with a golfer's game.

But none have to confront how a horse might behave each night. It's not like the animal waits around all day to go over strategy and break down film. I supposed you could toss a few more apples into the pregame meal, but even geldings have their bad days and agitated moods despite, well, you know.

Next thing. Brazile is a nine-time world champion and the only cowboy with more than $3 million in career earnings and is one all-around title away from tying the all-time record. He addressed the crowd Saturday and thanked his wife and son and God, doing so with a broken voice and tears rolling down his cheeks.

"The buckles and all-around titles," Brazile said this week, "will never be more important than the husband and father I am."

Last thing. This is exactly how we should want the world's greatest cowboy to be.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at 702-383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.