Raging Bulls

ByABC News
January 9, 2007, 6:06 PM

Jan. 10, 2007— -- New Yorkers know a lot about bull. So it makes a certain amount of sense that the Professional Bull Riders circuit kicked off its 2007 season at Madison Square Garden last weekend with an invitational event that pitted the country's best riders against one another.

To drum up publicity, a few days before the big event, the PBR tricked out five New York taxi cabs to look like bulls -- replete with horns and fake fur. To encourage New Yorkers to actually be seen riding in them, the fares were free.

But New York cabbies are surrounded by metal, dashboard and pleather when they risk their lives in the city's notorious traffic. Bull riders have more modest accoutrements when they hit the ring: helmets, mouth guards, the occasional neck brace and, most recently, vests made from Kevlar, the bulletproof cloth.

Once they're suited up, the riders try to cling to the backs of 1500-pound bucking broncos for eight whole seconds. Not impressed? Think again.

Imagine sliding onto the powerful, angry bull and making sure your hand is tied tightly enough to keep from being thrown. You nod, the gate opens and all hell breaks loose. The idea is to hold tight, with only that one hand, for the eight longest seconds of your life -- and to do it with flair.

Best case scenario, the rider goes the distance, jumps off and runs for his life. On the flipside: a potentially injurious encounter with a supercharged set of horns and hooves, backed by nearly a ton of prime U.S. beef.

Bull riding is not for the faint of heart, which is why in recent years the Adrenalin-charged sport has become so popular that it's sometimes referred to as the next NASCAR. And for a good reason: "We've modeled ourselves after NASCAR," admits Cody Lambert, the vice president and livestock director of Professional Bull Riders, Inc.

And why not? The two sports have so much in common. They both feature people willing to risk their lives for the entertainment of others, they both generate millions of dollars and both are growing at an exponential rate.