If a rose by any other name is still a rose, does a name really matter?
It ultimately did in "Romeo and Juliet," and the PRCA must believe names are important because last year the group that governs professional rodeo officially changed the name of calf roping to tie-down roping.
Ask tie-down ropers how they feel about the change, and while most feel it was unnecessary, they don't mind and most even understand why the PRCA did it.
"It focuses on what I'm doing," said Mike Johnson, who has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo 20 times and won the event Tuesday night during the Days of '47 Rodeo at the Delta Center. "I don't think it's necessary, but I don't mind it . . . If it was a term we'd never used, a brand new term, I wouldn't have liked it. But tie-down roping is something we use in the industry."
Calf roping has drawn the most criticism from animal-rights groups as rodeo continues to grow in popularity. Ironically, it is one of the reasons rodeos even exist today.
"The sport decided to react to the controversy," said Days of '47 Chairman Brad Harmon, a former calf roper who admits he's "a traditionalist. I will have a hard time calling it tie-down roping. I'll probably never be able to do it consistently, but if it helps the sport, let's go with it."
Cowboys roped calves in order to administer medical care and brand animals on ranches long before anyone did it for sport. Cowboys began having contests to see who could rope and tend to cattle the quickest. Similarly, bronc riding developed from cowboys' efforts to break horses, as ranch hands decided to see who could stay on longest or train a temperamental animal.
Those who grow up on ranches or around calves, horses and bulls understand what does and doesn't hurt the animals.
"I guess most people don't realize calves weigh as much as linebackers (250 to 300 pounds)," said Trevor Brazile, who competes in three rodeo events, including calf roping and team roping. "These are people who have been handling cattle their whole lives. It was the way they caught the cattle to doctor it."
Harmon understands that PRCA officials want to be image-conscious, but he worries that public-relations blitzes, for or against, just confuse those who don't know much about animals or rodeo and may cause them to just stay away from the sport altogether.
"It's a far more exciting sport than people give it credit for," Harmon said. "The skills involved, the talent level is just amazing."
Idaho native Nate Baldwin, 32, understands why those outside the industry and the sport may cringe at the idea of throwing a rope around a calf's neck and then tying up his feet.
"I've had girlfriends who thought it was mean at first, but once you understand it and what you can do with a rope to prevent the calf from being injured, it's not a problem," said the Utah State graduate. He actually prefers the name tie-down roping because "it better describes what we actually do."
He said most rodeos even offer calves a trial run so they know what they're supposed to do when the gate is raised.
"We don't want to jerk them down," Baldwin said. "It actually hurts you, and you can prevent it with the right technique . . . I don't mind talking to people about it. I understand most just don't know much about animals. And the personality of a cowboy is to act real tough, but we're all animal lovers."
Like the sport of rodeo, the image of the cowboy is changing, too, he said.
"It used to be guys didn't have to be in good shape, but now the competition has changed," he said. "You have to be in good health, and most of us have some sort of workout plan."
The PRCA has a statement on it under the section dedicate to dealing with animal welfare issues.
"Like a well-conditioned athlete, an animal can perform well only if it's healthy. Any cowboy will tell you he takes home a paycheck only when the animal is in top form."
And after all, it is a sport that grew out of a cowboy's natural need to take care of his livelihood.
"It's more a way of life than a sport," Brazile said. "Even now."
The Days of '47 Rodeo resumes this afternoon with its last show at 4 p.m.
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com