Welcome to Thunderdome

I have the vaguest memories of seeing it somewhere between the ages of 5-7. Completely fucks the workers but this writing's been on the wall for some time.

Interesting as I just read an article a few months ago about how the circus was re-inventing itself with a brand new show, etc, with Juliette Feld leading the charge. Guess it wasn't enough.

I enjoyed the circus the 1 (or 2?) times I went as a kid. i mostly remember: clowns, elephants, tigers, and the motorcyles in a ball.

The circus was a semi-annual thing for a poor kid, Ringling Bros and the Shriners all brought their shows through Toledo once a year.

I wonder what this will do to the psyches of kids growing up.... one less chance to encounter exotic animals, will they care as much about them and their preservation, or will it fall a little deeper into "things that don't exist in my world/so I don't really give a shit?" I've been wondering the same thing about the Shamu show.

There are smaller circuses that are filling in the gap. My family attended one that was in an actual tent. The elephants walked thisclose to the crowd.

I wonder if Ringling simply got too big for what is becoming a niche market. I had heard the salaries for some of the performers were in the 6 to 7 figure range.

Leisher wrote:I wonder if Ringling simply got too big for what is becoming a niche market. I had heard the salaries for some of the performers were in the 6 to 7 figure range.

That's huge. You can't pay people like that without drawing bigger crowds than a circus.

Well keep in mind that there was a time when they sold out where ever they went.

People have more options now and I think it hurt circuses more than other live events because of the animals and "talent" aspects to their shows. Zoos are way different than what they were, more habitat than cage these days. Animal abuse/conservation awareness is also such a big deal now that you'd have to be an idiot to think it didn't hurt their attendance. I think people had a hard time justifying the treatment of elephants, and certainly, hated on the lion/tiger tamer.

Jackass and other nuts on the internet kind of eliminated the spectacle of the trapeze artists and whatnot.

Plus, circuses aren't really interactive. You're just watching. Zoos are way more interactive than circuses.

Finally, the clowns. Are they entertainers, pedophiles, murderers, or from outer space? Nobody knows.

With politics today, how could they compete as "the greatest show on earth"?