Shannon Goes to Anaheim, Part 2

Here is the divine Shannon's report on the Friday night action in Anaheim. Sorry it's taken me a bit to get this up, but now that it's up, please enjoy it.--SQ

Friday night!

When I finally got to the arena, I went in and looked around a bit, then headed to the mixer. This little fan event normally consists of people standing around talking to their friends or the volunteers. Not a lot of mixing going on. But, it does perk up a little when the rider of the night shows up. This time, it was Ross Coleman who provided us with my second favorite image of this weekend—Master Cooper Teague Coleman, who once again was the man of the hour. This time, dad was a little more accommodating with fans and less protective of the little guy. What made him man of the hour this time? Could it have been the little cowboy hat? Maybe it was the button-up shirt, jeans, belt with a buckle, and chaps. I think, though, it had to be the little cowboy boots complete with not only spurs, but little blue lights that blinked when he walked. He was everywhere and he was the hit of the mixer.

A few minutes after the autograph session, it’s time for the TV interview. The rider is ushered in with Leah and the fans are asked to stand behind the little stage and cheer. Of course we will! On TV during an interview?! Being three feet away from the actual interview instead of having to watch it on TV?! You bet!

Except not. Because of the in-house announcer, you don’t hear a thing that is being said. Thankfully, this time, it was J.B., so I was at least able to know when he was going to start speaking because of the trademark shrug and I would know when the interview was over because of reading his signature “thank you very much” on his lips.

When it was over, I made my way back to the worst seats I’ve ever had since going to live events and watched as the beginning of the 5th event of the 2010 season began to unfold. I was a bit confused at first because Flint didn’t come out, but then I realized that we were going to be treated to a whole new opening. I enjoyed it, because, even though I like Flint well enough as an entertainer, I’d gotten tired of the “dancing fool in the audience” routine. I much prefer the new video of the wrecks and rides of last season and seeing Brandon Bates during the introduction. The new fire-lit sign was great, but it felt kind of bittersweet to see our new world champion up there in the top spot when, at that point, he’d gone 0-6 over the last couple of weekends.

Throughout the night, I watched the usual rides and rerides, the bulls, Flint, and some audience members showing off and listened to those around me. Later, I watched with amusement as the Tecate Light girls teetered out on the dirt in spiked, needle thin heels, blue paint brushed over their bottom halves to look like they were wearing pants and halter tops tied so high under their breasts that there was no guessing on whether or not they need to eat a sandwich. And to think, I was once mildly offended by the Jack Daniels’ girls, who now look like stuffy prudes in comparison.

At one point, Flint, entertaining us during a judges’ review of Zack Brown’s ride, said, “I have an idea. These guys were actually on the bull, they have nerve endings in their hands, why don’t you just ask them if they touch the bull?” He calls to Zack: “Zack? Did you touch the bull?” Zack says, “No.” Flint respond, “See? It’s simple!” Sometimes, he still gets a smile and laugh out of me.

When the end of the show came around, we were asked to stick around for a short concert that was to be preceded by a small group of religious riders answering a few questions from the local minister. While they were setting up, they ran a nice clip of Kody talking about random things like taking small pot shots at Los Angeles for not having a pro football team, talking about what he likes to do for fun in his time off (accompanied by clips of those things) and cracking up when he kept making mistakes with the script. It was a surprisingly light moment for Mr. Lostroh-—I don’t recall the last time I’ve seen him smile, let alone laugh, during an interview. By the end of the video, I saw Wiley, Austen, Kody, and Mike Lee coming out to the center stage and the chairs that had been set up. I was willing to stay a bit later into an already late night to see what they had to say, but when the minister started getting cringe worthy--not with the God talk-—there was hardly any at all while I was still there-—but, with his interview skills, I opted to leave. I won’t get into how long it took me to find my car and why I’ve already embarrassed myself once with an admission of my poor navigating skills.

After a 40-minute ride home, then picking up the things around the house that my husband and kids overlooked—as I’m told many kids and husbands do when mom’s gone all day—and checking a few things online, I crawled into bed at midnight with my alarm set for 7 a.m. the next morning.