Ty Murray's Blog:
Dancing kingThere are more than 18 million people who watch "Dancing with the Stars," and in the past they've taken athletes from different sports — Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Helio Castroneves, Apolo Anton Ohno — and this season, Lawrence Taylor and Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson are going to be there with me, so it's nice that they look at our sport the same as they would football, racing, gymnastics, skating or any other sport.
To me, the amount of recognition that it's going to bring cowboys and the sport of professional bull riding is going to be tremendous. I think the crew is going to be coming with me to Oklahoma City this weekend.
When you have that many people watching a TV show, they might ask, "Who is this guy? What does he do?" And then they might see a clip from Oklahoma City and say, "Wow, I have to check that out."
First of all, I think it's something that will be a fun challenge that Jewel and I can do together as husband and wife. Not a lot of people get this opportunity, let alone have the chance to go through it with their spouse.
And then on top of that, like I said, the amount of exposure for the cowboy and the PBR is tremendous.
I've talked with some of the other athletes and people that have done it, and I haven't heard anything but great things about the crew and the whole experience, but they claim it is very hard and very challenging, with very rigorous training.
I think that just by the nature of how competitive Jewel and I are that we'll probably have to bear down and take a go at it.
Being that it's a contest that America votes on, it'll also be interesting to see what the cowboy or bull riding fan power is like.
I couldn't be further out of my element. In fact, you couldn't dream up something that would put me further out of my element. But at the same time, it looks to me like it could be about being coached, and about being able to use the same things I did in riding — working at it and training.
I say that cold, because I've never watched the show. I've heard about it, because, I mean, you would have to live in a cave not to have heard about it.
It really does look like it could be the same thing — just in a different environment — and at the end of the day, it's about learning the correct timing, balance and posture from a coach.
Like I said, I heard that it's rigorous and challenging, but not many people get an opportunity like this, especially with their spouse, and, for me, it all begins today.
I have a crew coming to my house this afternoon to scout the ranch, and then I'm going to meet my partner, here at the ranch, tomorrow.
We'll start practicing right away, and then I fly to Los Angeles so we can film some things for the show. Then my partner is going to fly with me to Oklahoma City. I'll practice in the morning and then work the telecast at night.
After Oklahoma City, I'll fly back to the ranch. Both our partners will live in Stephenville, so we'll be able to practice whenever and as much as we need to. They'll have two studios, and Jewel and I will practice separately.
We both hope that if one of us gets voted off, we both get voted off, and if one of us stays, both of us are able to stay.
It's a long, rigorous deal.
If I get canned the first week, she'll be out there for however long she stays on the show; out there in L.A., while I'll be back home running the ranch (or vice versa).
Who knows what to expect. We're just going to go at it like we do everything else.
Link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/rodeo/general/news/story?id=3899762
