Friday, June 13, 2003 | 9:13 a.m.
Matt Marvel's head was on a swivel Thursday night, before and after the biggest ride of his rodeo life.
It wasn't the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo nor the Thomas & Mack Center, but the ProRodeo Winter Tour Finale and the MGM Grand Garden Arena were nonetheless astounding to the saddle bronc rider.
"It was fun," he said. "I had a lot of fun. The horse was a lot of fun. I mean, I'm not saying I'm one of the top guys right now. Still, I had a great time. A horse like that, you don't get on every day."
Marvel, 25, is the only Silver State native taking part in the event that started Thursday and ends, with the semifinals and finals, on Saturday.
He golfed, wrestled and played football his first two years at Battle Mountain High, then turned his focus toward rodeo.
Aboard Crow Country on Thursday, Marvel earned a 78 to tie him with Scott Johnston for ninth place among the 12 competitors.
"She just kicked hard on every jump," Marvel said. "Sometimes, the horses are more uneven. The kick once, skip, then kick ... she had a big heart and was fun to ride, but she was trying to buck me off on every jump.
"You can tell, them horses just want to buck a guy off."
A healthy first half of the '03 season has reinvigorated Marvel, who has earned $22,049 of his career winnings of $56,769 this year. Top-three recent finishes in Guymon, Okla., and Clovis, Calif., earned him a trip to the MGM Grand.
His father, Mike, qualified for the NFR in 1974 and '75, and uncle Joe won the saddle bronc championship in '78. Matt will learn not to marvel so much at the company he's keeping or the arena in which he's competing.
"This crowd is great," he said. "It got me pumped up, big time. I have so much adrenaline going. And all these (star riders). Wow. It's overwhelming. You're here. I actually made it here.
"You get pumped up just watching everyone get on all the horses, and go out and make good rides. And the crowd and everything. Wow. (Tonight), I might not be sweating so bad."
He saw that book was being made on three of the ProRodeo events, on the bareback and bull riders, and steer wrestling. And he saw his name. And he saw "7/2" odds next to his name. And he paused.
Then he walked away.
"Yeah, I had to think about it," he said. "But I didn't do it. I liked it. It's kind of like a Calcutta type deal. But I didn't want to jinx myself, so I didn't bet on myself."
Bell, 30, hails from New Jersey but is making his home these days in Central Texas, near the headquarters of veteran cowboys Rope and Cash Myers, their father Butch and Ty Murray, their cousin.
Bell just nudged into the money Thursday when he executed his run in 5.2 seconds, a fourth-place finish that earned him $979.17. He entered the Finale with $28,449 on the season, more than any other bulldogger.
He said he hopes to secure a spot in the next NFR early enough to undergo surgery on his ailing right shoulder and then be in somewhat decent shape to compete at the Thomas & Mack Center in December.
He has secured the shoulder by wearing a shoulder harness, which he dangled in one hand as he signed autographs in an MGM Grand concourse late Thursday night.
"If they pull on them straps, I can dang sure feel it," Bell said. "A few times, I forgot it. Didn't wear it, and the steers will pull (the arm) right out (of its socket). So it's getting weaker. In Houston, I probably tore it up a little bit worse."
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