Friday, October 26, 2012

I Really Must Say


Friends and neighbors, as is usually the case, the PBR World Finals are a veritable feast of possible subjects for the studious blogger, and I can hardly decide which dish to offer up for your lasting pleasure (or indigestion) first. But since tonight’s festivities will doubtless produce yet another embarrassment of riches, I must talk for a minute about that nasty situation last night with Austin Meier.

And we might as well just flop it out on the table. What on earth possessed the producers to let the cameras keep rolling as Austin writhed in anguish on the floor behind the chutes? Can this possibly be the same PBR that whisks the wounded (walking and otherwise) off the main stage and into the wings and from there straight into the backwoods, never to be heard from again?

It’s all very well for Austin to show us he has a sense of humor with those droll ads about his encounter with the massage therapist (although I have to wonder if anybody at PBR headquarters realizes that you have to be NEKKID to have a massage). It’s quite another to stand around gawking while the man moans and gasps for breath after being thoroughly banged around in the chutes.

I really have to wonder what Austin himself thought about it. Certainly he showed us what he’s made of when he crawled back over the fence and onto the back of the bull. But Austin's face really shows it when he’s in pain--more than just about any other bull rider I can think of. When Leah Garcia was interviewing him after his ride, he looked like he’d been dragged through a rat hole backwards. 

Here’s hoping that he’s feeling better tonight. Mostly, though, here’s hoping that somebody who works for the PBR (dare we say David Alan?) has the good sense not to repeat such an atrocity. I for one do not ever want to see anything like that ever again. Just fucking forget it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once again, it looks, to me, that the Brazilians are once again getting hosed by the PBR judges. They are so biased it makes me sick.

Shawk said...

While I don't want to see it, I definitely don't want to hear it, either! Surely they could have cut the feed to the stupid WIRED thing. I know they like to natter on about how tough these guys are, but it's weird and rude to dwell on someone's pain like that.

shannon said...

Yeah, I didn't care for it either. My only theory for why they didn't cut the sound is that they wanted to show either how tough he really is or they wanted us to experience the gritty reality.

As for that commercial, the make up job amuses me--it looks like he was wearing goggles!

Kris said...

It's sick and brutal. And how about the further atrocity of making the Wreck of the Night on the last day of the Finals be one featuring Chris Shivers?! I'm sure he doesn't need to be reminded of his last few rides. The PBR really sucks for abusing their riders like this. Anything for publicity!