Bo Bleil of Maricopa takes down a steer Friday in the steer wrestling competition at La Fiesta de los Vaqueros at Tucson Rodeo Grounds.

Dean knuth / arizona daily star

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The bones in Darrell Diefenbach's neck crunched.

The crackle rattled through his ears with eerie familiarity. He had heard the sound before, in 1994 when he broke his back.

Just from the sound, never mind the pain, he knew his neck was broken; and so he lay on his side and waited for the medics, passing out as they hovered over him.

When he came to, his arms were burning with pins and needles. He tried to lift them, but nothing happened.

And it was then that fear, something Diefenbach rarely feels, crept into his spirit.

"That was pretty scary," he said Friday at La Fiesta de los Vaqueros.

It's been five months since Diefenbach broke his neck while bullfighting in Las Vegas. A celebrity bullfighter who moved to the United States from Australia nine years ago, Diefenbach has just made his return.

Tucson is his second stop since the injury. He fought bulls in San Antonio a week ago.

"I was nervous," he said, but steadied himself with each bull's pass. "I'm glad to be back."

Bullfighting is the most dangerous occupation in rodeo. While bull riders only face one bull in any given day, a bullfighter faces more than 20. It's their job to step between a fallen rider and an often furious bull.

"Fighting bulls has got to be one of the most unselfish things you can do," Diefenbach said. "The ultimate thing in life is to put someone else before myself."

Such a selfless attitude is why Diefenbach is one of the most — if not the most — respected bullfighters among riders.

"I'd get on a grizzly bear if Darrell was there," said Zach Oakes, a 23-year-old rider who will be in the finals Sunday.

"You'd trust him with your life," said Jason Mattox, who will be riding today. "He's proven that time and time again."

Diefenbach, 32, used to ride bulls and broncs and is the son of a rodeo rider.

But he attended a bullfighting school in Australia and fell in love with the art.

Rodeo in Australia is essentially the same as rodeo in the United States, he said. But the population and purses are so much smaller that no one makes a living at it.

Diefenbach came to this country nine years ago with the dream of making the National Finals Rodeo as a bullfighter.

He knew almost no one but worked his way up through smaller rodeos until making it to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

He has since made the NFR six times.

Diefenbach is something of a celebrity in rodeo. Friday morning, kids lined up to get his autograph, and he often attracts media attention.

Of course, he has a number of things going for him.

Young and personable, he talks about bullfighting in almost Buddhist terms (though he is not religious), often speaking of selflessness.

"A bull's just something that has to be there for me to do what I have to do," he said. "I'm more focused on the bull rider."

Diefenbach also has the intriguing plus of being from faraway Australia. Through his years in rodeo, Diefenbach has garnered the nickname "The Thunder from Down Under."

It's a cliché, much like the music from AC/DC, an Australian band, that blares when he enters the arena.

But it speaks to his attitude and actions, and they resonate with fans and bull riders alike.

"Darrell is just absolutely fearless," Oakes said. "Darrell fights bulls for the purest of reasons."

StarNet has the Tucson Rodeo covered. From the parade to bull riding to mutton bustin'. See video, slide shows and daily coverage at: azstarnet.com/rodeo