Ex-CSC football star to end bullfighting at Fur Trade Rodeo
By CON MARSHALL Wednesday, July 02, 2008
After some prodding and maybe even a little begging, a multi-talented athlete will make what he says will be his final appearance as a bullfighter during the Chadron Fur TradeDays Rodeo on Saturday, July 12 at the Dawes County Fairgrounds.
Cory Brooks, who became the all-time pass receiving leader for the Chadron State College football team before he turned to bullfighting, said he “unofficially” retired from the rodeo arena last summer and the Fur Trade Days Rodeo is the only one he will work this year.
“I have three good reasons to quit,” Brooks said by telephone from his home in Casper over the weekend. “My health, my kids and my business. Everything is in good shape now and I need to keep it that way.”
Now 35, Brooks explained that while he suffered his share of bumps and bruises both while playing football and fighting bulls, he’s never been seriously injured (unless a dislocated shoulder that occurred a few years ago at a rodeo counts), he and his wife Amber have two children ages 5 and 2 and his business, Brooks Construction, requires his full attention.
“It’s time I grew up,” he added.
It was Cory’s younger brother Cody, who lives in Chadron, and Jess Wild, the chairman of the Fur Trade Days Rodeo, who asked Brooks to help with this year’s rodeo. Cody will again be his bullfighting partner. They have worked the rodeo together almost every year since its inception.
Brooks has definitely excelled at both of his athletic activities. He concluded his senior season with the CSC football team in 1995 with 56 receptions for 958 yards to gain first-team all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honors. He finished his career with 188 catches for 2,949 yards, both Eagles’ records, and 22 touchdowns to tie Jay Rhoades for that CSC record.
Brooks also was a devastating blocker, was the team’s emergency punter and held the ball for All-American placekicker Scott Doyle.
After concluding his college football career, Brooks, who grew up around cattle and horses, tried his luck at bullriding.
“I messed around with it a little bit, but I really wasn’t too good at it,” he said. “After I figured that out, I decided I would try fighting bulls. That way when you leave the house and head for a rodeo, you know you’re going to come home with a check.”
Brooks believes his first bullfighting experience was at a high school rodeo at Imperial in 1996. Since then he’s worked rodeos of every size and many bullriding-only events. He’s had a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association bullfighting card since 2000.
“I suppose I worked an average of at least 30 shows a year,” he said. “I didn’t do a whole lot in the winter because I don’t like to travel when the roads are bad. A couple of years I traveled about 22,000 miles going to rodeos and bullridings.”
A highlight was being named the bullfighter of the year seven times in the Pro Tour Bullriding Association that includes Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.
Brooks said a bullfighter “has got to be there on every ride in case something bad happens.”
“It’s pretty safe to ride bulls unless the rider gets hung up or knocked down on his backside,” Brooks said. “Those are scary times. If either of those things happen, the bullfighter has got to be there to prevent too much damage from being done.”
He added that it’s important for bullfighters to stay on their feet.
“If you’re moving, the bull will throw you out of the way if he hits you, and there’s usually not much of a problem. But if he gets you down and tramples you, it’s not much fun.”
“Yeah, it’s happened to me a few times,” he added in response to a question.
Among those glad to see Brooks conclude his bullfighting career are his grandparents, Warren and Darlene Brooks, former Chadron residents who now live in Torrington.
The Brookses, who saw Cory play in 40 of his 42 college football games, have also watched him in the rodeo arena.
“I guess we’re not exactly on pins and needles when we watch him fight bulls, but we’re always glad when it’s over,” Darlene said. “Warren says those bulls really don’t’ care who they run over.”
While Cory’s decision will lessen Grandpa and Grandma’s concern, they’ll still have to worry about Cody. He’s followed in his brother’s footsteps for about 10 years now and works from 20 to 30 rodeos a year. He said he isn’t planning to quit anytime soon.
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
Fark
Cody, left, and Cory Brooks, shown with their sister, Jenny Trail, will be fighting bulls again this year at the Chadron Fur Trade Days Rodeo
The opinions above are from readers of lawrencecountyjournal.com and in no way represent the views of the Rapid City Journal or Lee Enterprises.
Lawrencecountyjournal.com encourages readers to offer their opinions on our local stories. We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. For this reason, comments are first reviewed and may not post immediately, especially during overnight/weekend hours. No comment may contain:
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy