Going for the gold (buckle)

Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007 | 7:41 a.m.

It's really not about the hats and the boots and the suede jackets with the fringe on top and the form-fitting Wranglers. OK, maybe it is about the form-fitting Wranglers, but only when you are trying to move up in the line to get into Coyote Ugly.

Maybe it wouldn't be The Rodeo without those things. But if you really want to make a fashion statement at the National Finals, giddy-up into the closest ersatz Las Vegas honky-tonk with a gold buckle attached to your belt.

Not just any gold buckle will do. No sirree, pardner. It has to be a particular gold buckle.

The gold buckle made by Montana Silversmiths of Columbus, Mont., whose back door, if it fell off, would literally land in the picturesque Yellowstone River.

The gold buckle that says I rode that bronc, I roped that calf, I wrestle that steer better or quicker or faster than anybody else.

The gold buckle that is presented to the champions of the National Finals Rodeo.

Actually, "gold buckle" is a bit of a misnomer, because it is made mostly of silver. The base is sterling silver. The cast ribbons, accents and letters are 24-karat gold.

A National Finals Rodeo championship belt buckle is equal to four McDonald's Quarter Pounders - at least on a scale. It weighs an even pound. It takes 110 man-hours to make just one, which is a reason you can't buy them at a drive-through window. Or on the Internet. Another is that the precious metal alone is worth $17,500. That's not exactly chump change for an Okie from Muskogee.

But that also explains why every seat at the Thomas & Mack Center will have an Okie in it tonight. Or a Texan, Colorodoan or Wyomingite. Or somebody who grew up in one of those Canadian cow towns that Gordon Lightfoot sings about. There are even city slickers who come to Las Vegas to find out what all this ridin' and ropin' and hootin' and hollerin' is all about.

It's the 10th go-round.

The final night of the National Finals Rodeo.

The night they hand out the gold buckles.