When you talk about a man that will be missed in the arena tremendously and that is loved by millions of people you are talking about retired bullfighter Rob Smets. On November 3rd Rob was honored by a retirement party and celebration presented by the Professional Bull Riders at the Mandalay Bay Ballroom. The ballroom was packed with friends and family of the five time world champion bullfighter. They were there to thank him for his thirty plus year career working cowboy protection.
The night was full of friends and co-workers taking turns on the stage to say thank you to the man himself and telling stories about Rob throughout his time in the arena. When you talk about an emotional roller coaster this was it, you saw every soul in that room moving up and down it together. Rob was on stage for approximately 2 ½ hours and received numerous gifts and sentiments from not only current but past co-workers and from his sponsors. During the ceremony a representative from Ford Trucks said it best with the quote that will stick with all fans forever about Rob, “Rob was truly a gentle man in a vicious sport”. I personally do not think that anyone can hear that and not think of the man that gave so many years to not only the PBR and bull riding but the sport of rodeo as well.
The ceremony ended with Dickies coming on stage to present Rob with one last gift that will touch many people for years to come. Dickies teamed up with a few other sponsors and created the “Rob Smets Foundation”. This foundation will benefit terminally ill children through Cook‘s Medical Center. The one thing about this gift is the fine folks at Cook's Children’s Hospital will not turn anyone away that asks for help. Rob’s name will be permanently engrained at the hospital a tribute to a lifetime of service to others. This is the same children’s center that Rob’s own grandson was airlifted to and lost his life at just two years ago. Other gifts Rob received included a lifetime duck hunting accommodations, shotguns, golf bags and many more items too numerous to mention, but the most special gift Rob received was that of giving more children the gift of life for countless years to come,
Once the ceremony ended Rob and his family joined everyone until late in the morning hours hanging out with all his friends, family and fans, dancing and partying to the sounds of the great band Ricky and the Redstreaks. I will have to say it was the best $55.00 anyone could have spent during their time in Vegas as all the proceeds went to the Moreno Fund.
The next day I had the opportunity to sit down with Rob and his wife, Carla, at the Fan Zone inside the Mandalay Bay Event Center. Carla was very proud of her husband and was very moved to see all the friends and fans there to celebrate his great career. She went on to say, in typical Smets tradition, that she felt sorry for having all the fans and friends sit and witness this great event for nearly three hours. In my interview with the Kamikaze Kid himself he got a little emotional while talking about all the great heroes that were there to honor him. Once again the attention turned to the fans and family that were there and he wanted to personally thank everyone that came to honor him. The speakers surprised Rob and many were hidden all weekend so he would not know that they were even here. Rob said that he feels very grateful that the memorial fund was set up at the same hospital that he lost his grandson at and said that it was an absolute blessing that people would come together and do something like this in his honor. I honestly wish everyone could have been able to attend this tribute and to witness the mood and emotions in that room during the entire evening. It was truly a great evening for a great man.
Copyright 1996 - 2008 Rodeo Attitude, LLC., All rights reserved.