APNewsBreak: Ringling Bros. circus to close after 146 years

 

That was a pretty bold claim. "Greatest show on earth". Reminds me of World Series Baseball with only two neighboring countries played.

LOL Nice that they put that in the same sentence as an app.

but yeah, I remember watching.

 

Damn, I used to see them every time they came into town as a child. I always remembered the Elephants and everything. The last time I saw them was years ago but this sucks.

 

Well I'm not entirely sure what to think. Its good for the animals certainly and I haven't been to a circus since Cirque de Marine when my kid was only about 2 or 3. On the other hand it feels kinda weird to know that we'll be saying goodbye to an icon and that it will become a sort of antiquated novelty of a bygone era that kids will only hear about in 50-100 years. But that's how it goes I guess.

 

If they just added a gladiatorial battle to the death act I think they could have pulled it through.

 

Playing Pokemon Go while driving through the motorcycle cage/ball.

 

Yes! And taunting the lions with raw steak fillets strapped all over your body.

 

Catching pigs, but the trainer is the one who's naked and greased.

 

sure, but when i do it it's "scaring the children" and "please leave the zoo and never come back"

 

I went to a Ringling Bros. circus when I was a kid. It was a good show. The main attraction was King Tusk.

 

My dad took my brother and I to go see Ringling Bros. Circus way back in the day when we were kids (the 80's). Was good times. It's certainly good news for the animals as far as their treatment goes. Still, the loss of an icon from a more timeless era is sad. P.T. Barnum was credited with promoting and saving the Brooklyn Bridge when he proved that it was strong enough to support 21 elephants and a whole host of parade performers. The history behind the institution is pretty cool, even if the reality of animal cruelty isn't.

 

Well, definitely a big deal, as I think they're probably the last "historical" circus left in the United States. Say what you will about their treatment of animals, safety, and exploitation of their employees (you'd probably have some valid concerns, though I imagine the RBB&B would have been fairly decent in those regards at this point, if only because of the scrutiny they'd be under), but it's difficult to understate the significance of the circus in the american lifestyle of the past. This is more or less the end of an era in that respect, even if it's occurring some time after the culture has outgrown this medium of entertainment.

 

Thing is, for the longest time it was true. Before the internet, before TV or even the radio, the circus was a show that was second to none. Barnum & Bailey took the circus and made it something fantastical. Of course, the horrible secrets came to light and found out they were horrible to the animals and it was basically a sweatshop for most of the human workers, but that's what happens when we don't look behind the curtain and aren't willing to.

In today's world, if someone started up such a business, it'd be shot down in a heartbeat. I'm surprised it lasted this long.

 

my mom went as a kid. she got to pet the elephant. she always wanted to bring me and my brother, but we were always dirt poor by the time they got here.....

 

I wonder if circus kids ever run away to join the regular workforce...

 

It's a shame the traditional circus is now more or less a lost art. The last circus I went to was a Cirque du Soleil show years ago, but a traditional circus show? I don't know... when I was five? Still, it is sad to see it go out like this.

 

so ten years from now when DC Comics reboots again- what will be Dick Graysons' new origin story???

 

I'm 30 years old and even I'm in the 'not interested' generation. I went to a few shows as a kid, but was never too into it. My kids have only seen one circus act and that was a smaller one that their school gave out free tickets for. Never got the appeal of it - aside from the trapeze act. Enjoyed that.

 

Cirque de Soleil?

 

Artist Troupe at Burning Man