Steve Wangler loves to compete. Maybe that’s why he’s been at or near the top of the Professional Bullfighters’ Daisy Protection Bullfight Tour standings through much of the 2007 season.Age: 33
Born: March 13, 1975
Hometown: Plainview, Neb.
Steve Wangler loves to compete. Maybe that’s why he’s been at or near the top of the Professional Bullfighters’ Daisy Protection Bullfight Tour standings through much of the 2007 season.
“For me, I use the protection bullfights as a measuring stick to see where I am compared to others” said Wangler, an eight-year veteran of the sport. “Just do to the fact that you’re competing against world champions, the cream of the crop going down the road today is reason to step up your own game.
“That’s the No. 1 reason I got into these protection matches. I’m going up against legends, and I just wanted to know if I could compete.”
The Nebraska-born cowboy found himself in front of bulls by “being in the wrong place at the wrong time” while at a bull-riding practice with a friend.
“They didn’t have anybody there who was fighting bulls, so I said I’d give it a shot,” he said. “That spring I went to a Sankey Rodeo School taught by Cory Wall. The next year, I went to Rex Dunn’s bullfight school.
“My career just blew up after that.”
Wangler is a six-time Mid-States Rodeo Association Bullfighter of the Year, a four-time Nebraska State Rodeo Association Bullfighter of the Year; was voted the MVP at the Professional Bullfighters World Finals last year; and has qualified for the PBR World Championships.
“I know you have to be a special breed to be in this profession and do well at it,” Wangler said. “It’s something I’m drawn to, and I have a passion for it. It’s something that keeps me on my feet, and I’m constantly learning.
“I can’t tell you why I like to fight bulls. A lot of it is adrenaline, but there’s also some self-satisfaction that every time you step into the arena it’s you against a 2,000-pound animal. Sometimes you win. Sometimes he wins.”
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