NFR National Finals Rodeo Tickets

Thomas and Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
December 4th through December 13th, 2008

Our service for this event is not available to Clark County Residents

National Finals Rodeo History

The Rodeo Association of America, an organization of promoters and rodeo committees, began naming national champions in 1929, using a point system based primarily on earnings. The All-Around award was given to the cowboy who accumulated the most points while competing regularly in two or more events.

In 1945, the Rodeo Cowboys Association (now the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) took over the awards, using money won as the sole criterion. The all-around cowboy award, however, wasnt given in 1945 or 1946.

The first National Finals Rodeo (NFR) was held in 1959 in Dallas, formalizing the championship competition. The top 15 money-winners in each event are invited to compete, and winnings at the NFR are added to their winnings from the rodeo circuit to determine the champions.

The NFR stayed in Dallas for three years, moved to Los Angeles in 1962 for another three-year stay, and then settled into Oklahoma City for a 30-year stretch, from 1965 through 1984. Since 1985, the event has been staged in Las Vegas.

The steer roping finals are held at a different location. They took place at several different sites from 1959 thorugh 1983. Guthrie, OK, has hosted the event since 1984.

Rodeo History

It is believed that rodeo was born in 1864 when two groups of cowboys from neighboring ranches met in Deer Trail, Colo., to settle an argument over who was the best at performing everyday ranching tasks.

That gathering is considered to be the first rodeo and it started the evolution of the true American sport.

Through these daily chores, the sport of rodeo evolved. It can be said that rodeo is the only sport derived from an industry, and probably the only one that ever will.

Todays professional rodeo cowboy is a bit different from his 1800s predecessor, but the ideals and showmanship of long ago are still valued by todays competitors.

A cowboys standing in the rodeo community is still dependent on his skill with a rope or his ability to ride a bucking animal. The cowboy code still dictates that a man help his fellow competitors, even though they might be competing for the same paycheck.

And while some things have changed since those early days, most of the changes have been for the better.

Now the cowboy travels much of the time in custom-made rigs or flies from one rodeo to another either by commercial airline or charter plane.

Marketing and business acumen have become as crucial as roping, wrestling or riding skills. Cowboys are competing for more money then ever before.

Even if a PRCA member doesnt have the inclination to spend more than 200 days a year on the road in search of a berth in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo – the sports Super Bowl – he can participate in rodeos close to home each year.

Many of these "weekend warriors and those chasing world titles take their wives and children along whenever possible; helping to keep the sport close to its family-oriented roots.