I don’t ever want to grow up

Much like Peter Pan, I never wanted to grow up.

So it's ironic that I'm a tried and true sports fan – you know – the type that is often described as that guy who never became an adult because his social life is determined by what sporting event is taking place.

It's why after 15 years of being involved in the music business I transitioned into a job with the PBR. It's a move I'm glad I made – for reasons I'll discuss in the forthcoming paragraphs – but as I sit here in the United terminal at Los Angeles International Airport watching SportsCenter on ESPN it's apparent that the landscape of professional sports has changed in the 30-some years I've been a fan.

We're all watching and waiting for the Brett Favre saga to unfold in Green Bay. It's hard to believe that a guy who led a team to within one play of the Super Bowl is being offered $25 million not to play, but to stay home (and accept some sort of celebrity role in the Packers marketing department).

The NFL isn't the only one of the big three that has seen a change due in no uncertain terms because of money.

Earlier this summer the Denver Nuggets, for all intents and purposes, gave Marcus Camby to the Los Angeles Clippers not because he wasn't producing on the hardwood, but because they no longer wanted to be responsible for his multi-million dollar salary.

And the trading deadline was this past week for Major League Baseball. We saw Ken Griffey, who earlier this year hit his 600th career homerun, go from his hometown in Cincinnati to the south side of Chicago, Manny Ramirez, helped the Red Sox win two World Series titles after 86 years of the Babe Ruth curse, went from Beantown to the Dodgers and a few weeks ago Cleveland traded last year's Cy Young winner – C.C. Sabathia – to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Indians were expected to contend for a title this year, but after a pair of key injuries lead to a disappointing start the front office decided 2008 was a lost season and Sabathia, an unrestricted free agent at season's end, became expendable.

Huh? Seriously? What about next year?

Business decisions like that make it tough in this day and age to really feel like you have a vested interest in what is supposed to be your favorite team. It truly is difficult.

It used to be a player could play his way into having a long term career with one team, but now if he plays too good his fate may well be served and he'll be traded away for some young prospects. Now instead of building a winning team and keeping it together it's about assembling those prospects in hopes that they all emerge at the same time, win a title, dismantle the entire team and look to do it all over again with another set of players (Florida Marlins).

That brings me to the PBR.

Yes, the sport has grown by leaps-and-bounds in its 15-year existence and bull riders are now able to win sums of money – the World Champion receives a $1 million bonus – the 21 founding bull riders only dreamed of.

But, unlike the aforementioned sports, if you're a fan of the PBR you're all but assured of being able to cheer for your favorite rider (so long as he's healthy and he chooses to ride).

Rest assure the Board of Directors won't be offering Justin McBride a large sum of money not to compete in order to give, I don't know, J.B. Mauney a better chance of winning a world title nor will they trade Guilherme Marchi for a potential Daisy Rookie of the Year just as they won't trade the oft-injured two-time World Champion Chris Shivers.

These athletes are forever etched into the historical landscape of the PBR.

Bull riding is one of those sports that you don't know what to expect when a cowboy nods his head and the chute gate opens, but what you can expect is that if you buy a ticket to a Built Ford Tough Series event you know darn well you're going to watch the Top 45 riders in the world compete with the try and determination that champions are made of.

This coming weekend fans are going to get to experience the new concept of the PBR Team Shootout for the first time on ESPN2.

There are no free agents, per se. The Top 20 riders in the world each picked a partner of their choosing and each team will compete against one another in a winner take all format featuring 10 teams at of four events with the Top teams competing at the fifth and final Shootout.

It's simple: you ride, you score and you win.

So as I sit here waiting for a connecting flight back to Colorado – dismayed at the business of professional football, baseball and basketball – it occurred to me that being associated with the PBR is in a sense a way for me to relive my childhood.

After all, like I said before, I never wanted to grow up in the first place.