The rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, has all the adrenaline-packed cowboy classics: bronc riding, team roping, barrel racing, and, of course, bull riding.

Your ticket also gets you something you just can’t buy: an invigorating infusion of the American spirit.

Then, the announcer did something refreshing — and far more uncommon than it should be in this one nation under God. He prayed.

That’s what I took from my recent visit to the rodeo, as I watched the pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps competitors from near and far embody the work ethic that built this great nation.

It was a night worth remembering, and if you ever have the good fortune to go, I think you’ll agree.

Country through and through

Walking between the rows of two-story, Western-style buildings on East Exchange Avenue was like taking a step into American history. The red brick streets bustled with foot traffic on either side. Men wore cowboy hats, boots, and denim. Women wore feathers in their brims and paired colorful or bedazzled boots with flowing summer dresses.

In front of the Cowtown Coliseum, a longhorn stood loosely tethered and drawing spectators. Turning your head either way down the picturesque street revealed an overlay of red, blue, and yellow neon signs for shops, bars, and Texas barbecue. You got the impression of being on a family-friendly version of Nashville’s famous Broadway.

It felt country through and through, and it was exhilarating.

Morgan Milan

Enter Old Glory

Ten minutes before showtime, Western-wearing locals and visitors started trickling through the doors of the coliseum to find their seats. My group settled into the strawberry red-painted wooden stadium seats in Section D, grinning ear to ear as a lanky teenager in an American flag suit took the center of the dirt ring to hype the crowd.

He took a bow, and then the announcer seated at the back of the arena asked attendees to remove their hats as a rider on a horse named Old Glory carried an American flag into the ring. Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” played over the loudspeakers, and Old Glory built from a slow trot to a breathtakingly quick gallop. Our flag was held high, rippling in the air in response to the horse’s speed through the end of the pride-inspiring song.

Because just one tribute to our great nation wouldn’t do, a female singer followed to belt “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Then, the announcer did something refreshing — and far more uncommon than it should be in this one nation under God. He prayed. He prayed for the cowboys and cowgirls participating in the rodeo. He prayed for the safety of the animals, and he prayed for the joy of those in attendance. He prayed, and it was the most American thing I’d heard in a very long time.

I don’t know that anyone could go to a rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum and not be overcome with national pride and patriotism. The permission to openly love our country reminded me of everything freedom was supposed to mean, and I’m beyond grateful to the men and women in Fort Worth who are responsible for keeping the American spirit of my childhood alive in the midst of a world where most of us feel forced to watch it die.

Morgan Milan

True grit

Luckily, the rodeo competitors showed up with the grit to back up the patriotic showboating. Cowboys rode angry broncs, sometimes flying from the horses’ backs onto the dirt or up into the metal railing around the arena. Cowgirls roped calves with pink lassos or charged their mounts at full speed around black barrels for the fastest time. All the while, attendees passed popcorn and sipped cold Coke and whiskeys, "oohing" and "ahhing" as contestants narrowly avoided a hoof to the head, knocked over barrels, or successfully roped their cows.

Bachelorette parties flirted with groups of young men in the stands, and kids enthusiastically signed up to race each other through the arena to pull a tag from a running calf. The night buzzed with energy, and I was never far from the edge of my seat. I found myself thinking this is the America I want to raise kids in.

Cowtown Coliseum’s rodeos are a testament to what it means to be a patriot, and I highly recommend making time for a visit if you find yourself in Fort Worth … or if you ever need to be reminded why you should be proud to be an American.

Tickets to attend a rodeo at Cowtown Coliseum are available throughout the year and can be purchased online.