On December 20, Chicago’s United Center, usually roaring with sports enthusiasts, went so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The eight-second whistle blew, and the night took a turn no one in the building was ready for.

Callum "Chips" Miller had just done his job. Aboard Designated Survivor, the Australian put together an 84.20-point ride that looked exactly like the version of Miller fans have come to expect on the Unleash The Beast tour: calm, compact, efficient. Whistle. Job done.

Then physics took over.

As Miller dismounted, he was pitched forward, his momentum carrying him straight into the bull’s head. The impact knocked him unconscious instantly. He fell limply, face-first into the dirt, motionless.

Bullfighters went to work immediately, clearing the arena and shielding Miller as EMTs rushed in.

The only sound in the building was Miller’s breathing, labored, rattling, almost snoring, cutting through the silence in a way that made the moment heavier by the second. From the chute deck to the arena floor, cowboys dropped to their knees. Helmets came off. Heads bowed. Prayers were whispered.

A backboard came out. A neck brace followed. His helmet stayed on. When they rolled him over, blood could be seen coming from his mouth. His left leg twitched as his body remained limp. Chicago’s sand clung to his face. The moment felt endless.

The only thing scarier than the wreck itself might have been the Chicago emergency room on a Saturday night.

Miller, known around the locker room as “Chips,” engraved into the back leather of his chaps with kangaroos hopping down the leg as a nod to his hometown of Warwick, Australia, was stretchered out and taken for evaluation. Then, sometime around 3 a.m., he walked back into his hotel under his own power. Sore. Shaken. A few chiclets a little looser than usual, but still intact.

Fellow Aussie and close friend Brady Fielder was there waiting because sometimes heavyweight battles end with fractured jaws, just ask Jake Paul, but it always helps to have the right people in your corner to pick you back up.

Miller was shaken, but just a few days later he was ready to get back to it, later laughing that his “teeth were a little loose for a few days, but I got ’em all.”

As for what he remembers? Not much.

“Everything till getting pulled down … and then just bits until I got back to the hotel,” Miller said.

Which, honestly, is probably for the best. Chicago ER memories are not exactly the kind you want rattling around your brain forever.

Now sporting braces and rubber bands to keep his jaw aligned, Miller is officially in recovery mode, the cowboy version of it, anyway. Smoothies. Soup. Protein milk drinks. The same diet you would expect after wisdom teeth surgery, except this one came courtesy of Designated Survivor instead of a dentist.

He will ride with the hardware still on, but before he gets the green light, Miller will undergo concussion protocol and testing. Assuming all goes according to plan, he will return to competition this weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York, where he is slated to face Sweet Action on Friday night.

Despite missing PBR Boston, Miller still sits 10th in the world standings, boasting an 80% ride percentage and proving consistency does not take nights off. He will also suit up Friday night for the Austin Gamblers in game 1 of the Monster Energy Team Challenge, because apparently one comeback storyline was not enough for the hardheaded Aussie.

When he is not healing or riding, Miller has been keeping busy with the Brady Bunch, alongside Brady Oleson and Brady Fielder, helping remodel Fielder’s newly purchased home. Master bedroom. Master bathroom. Flooring. Plumbing. Oleson handles the electrical work. Miller handles whatever requires brute force and stubborn determination.

He brings a degree in industrial technology to the table, which he will be the first to tell you sounds much fancier than it actually is, but it keeps his hands moving and his mind occupied while his jaw does its thing. Cowboys heal better when they stay moving.

However, there is one thing Miller never remodels or leaves behind.

Tucked into the band of his felt hat is a red-and-black poppy, a symbol Miller has worn for the past five years. Across Australia the poppy is a mark of remembrance, honoring those who lost their lives in military service. Closely tied to ANZAC Day, observed each April 25, it commemorates the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and all who served in military operations. Inspired by the poem In Flanders Fields, the poppy’s vivid red represents bloodshed, sacrifice, resilience and the cost of battle.

It is a fitting emblem for a rider who just fought one of his own.

After all, it might just help Miller remember his last battle on the arena floor, even if his brain is still doing its best to forget it.

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media