Growing up in Northern New Jersey and spending years working in New York City, I always associated Texas with cowboys, oil wells, pickup trucks, and the Wild West. Houston, in my mind, was basically Dallas with more humidity.
Then life happened.
Back in the late 1990s, I visited my Vietnamese wife's aunt in Corpus Christi. On our second night there, she invited 10 Vietnamese ladies from her local community to meet my wife and our beautiful four-month-old boy. I remember looking around the room thinking, yeah I knew there were 100,000 Vietnamese in Texas, but I knew the cowboy stuff had to be somewhere too.
Fast forward about twenty-five years and somehow I ended up living in Houston myself.
One thing I've always wondered is where a newcomer like me goes to experience some real Texas rodeo.
The funny part is that I've actually been to a rodeo before. Sort of.
When I was a kid living in Hawaii, I attended a rodeo there. Yes, Hawaii has cowboys. They're called paniolos, and they were working cattle long before many people on the mainland knew they existed. But let's be honest. When most people think rodeo, they don't picture Hawaii. They picture Texas.
Where is it ?
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is primarily held at NRG Park (located at 8825 Kirby Dr., Houston, TX 77054), which encompasses NRG Stadium, NRG Center, and NRG Arena.
The Houston Rodeo Is Bigger Than I Imagined
What I've learned since moving here is that Houston doesn't just have a rodeo.
It has The Rodeo.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo attracts millions of visitors and is considered one of the largest events of its kind in the world. Every spring, the city practically transforms itself. There are rodeo competitions, livestock exhibitions, carnival rides, food vendors, concerts, and enough cowboy hats to supply a small nation.
For someone arriving from the Northeast, it's hard to compare it to anything else. It's part sporting event, part county fair, part business convention, part music festival, and part Texas cultural celebration.
That's one reason newcomers are often surprised by it. You don't need to own a horse, wear boots, or know how to rope cattle to enjoy yourself.
What I Want To See
Personally, I'm interested in the actual rodeo events.
I want to watch the bull riders.
I want to see the barrel racers flying around those turns.
I want to watch somebody try to stay on a bucking bronco longer than common sense would suggest.
There is something refreshing about sports where gravity is trying to kill you.
Professional rodeo competitors train incredibly hard, and unlike many modern sports, there is very little acting, flopping, or fake drama involved. You either stay on the animal or you don't.
The scoreboard doesn't care about your feelings.
Houston Has More Texas Than I Expected
One thing I've discovered since moving here is that Houston isn't quite what outsiders imagine.
It's one of the most diverse cities in America. You can find almost every culture, language, and cuisine on the planet here.
Yet somehow, the city still holds onto its Texas identity.
You can drive past glass office towers, massive medical centers, Vietnamese restaurants, Indian grocery stores, and then find yourself surrounded by people discussing cattle breeding and rodeo championships.
That's part of Houston's charm.
It doesn't fit neatly into anybody's stereotype.
Looks Like It's Time
I've lived in Houston long enough now that I don't have much of an excuse left.
The next time rodeo season rolls around, I think it's time to stop talking about it and actually go.
After all, I've spent decades hearing about Texas. I've lived here long enough to appreciate the people, the food, and even the summer heat.
Maybe it's finally time for this old Jersey guy to buy a ticket, grab a seat, and find out what real Texas rodeo is all about.
If you see a six-foot-tall guy wandering around looking slightly confused and asking where the nearest vegan food stand is, that might be me.
