CODY — The Bull Fighters Only Tour has some of the craziest guys you’ll ever see.
These athletes go one-on-one with a bull for 60 seconds, trying to rack up style points with elusiveness.
“I really don’t think you have to be crazy at all, you just have to have mind over matter," bull fighter Weston Rutkowski told MTN Sports at the Cody Stampede. "All these guys you see here are professional athletes. It’s no different than a running back going through the hole against a middle linebacker. The only difference is there isn’t 11 other guys, it’s just me and him. We all approach it that way. This is a professional sport. We’re athletes, we go home and work out and make sure we can compete at a high level.”
It doesn’t always go as planned, though, which can results in a defenseless bull fighter on the ground in the arena.
“Yes we’re out there to win and beat each other, because we want to match up and win more money and win a world title, but at the end of the day it’s a brotherhood. I just couldn’t live with myself letting my buddy get hooked knowing when I go down I expect him to save me," Rutkowski said.
Rutkowski has nearly a decade under his belt, and at an age when most professional athletes slow down, the 33-year old Texan feels he’s in his prime.
“It’s a question I get a ton, you’d be shocked. I am 33, but the reality is I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m getting smarter, so I’m learning how to work out better, eat better and not necessarily use as many steps in the arena, so I’m making the bull work more than myself," Rutkowski said. "Honestly, God willing, as long as I can stay healthy I feel like I can do this another 10, 15 years.
Rutkowski and the others on tour are truly a rare breed.
