My PBR Obsession - 10/16/09

I still can’t believe it, but I won a trip to the PBR World Finals 2009, and will be competing as the season one champion for the title of Ultimate PBR Fantasy Champion 2009. How did a 52-year-old woman living in Overland Park, KS manage such a thing? The truth is, I have no idea, except that I was blessed to be given this opportunity, and I love this sport. I played the online fantasy game in 2008, and came in 10th at the end of the season. I thought that was pretty good, but when I heard there was a trip to the Finals as the prize in 2009, I told my husband, “I’m going to win that.” We both laughed at the thought, but we will be there for the second weekend of competition this year, and I decided to blog about the experience to share my excitement with other PBR fans out there.

I am a fan of Professional Bull Riding, a true representation of the word “fanatic.” My weekends are planned around the PBR television schedule. When I talk about the riders, people think I’m talking about someone in my family, or at least, someone I know personally. This all started exactly five years ago, just before the PBR Finals in 2004.

My husband is from Texas, and he rode bulls for a while in high school and college before he decided he wanted to live longer and gave it up. Back then, there were no helmets or protective vests, but the bulls were still awesome. Anyway, my husband, Jerry, was watching the PBR one night when I decided that I should learn about this sport so that we would have a common sporting interest. I hopped on my elliptical trainer and started watching the PBR. Asking such questions as, “what’s the short go” and “how long to do they have stay on” and “what happens if he touches the bull during the ride,” Jerry answered all my questions and educated me on the basic rules of bull riding. When the commenter said the bull was “rank,” I thought they meant that he smelled really bad. Jerry got quite a few good laughs back then.

The 2004 World Finals was my first real dose of the PBR, and I was hooked. The competition, the intensity, and the sheer determination of the cowboys drew me in. The fact that most of the cowboys were the same age as my son gave me a motherly, protective, cheerleader mindset toward the riders. I had such a hard time deciding which rider to pull for in 2004, with Mike Lee and Adriano Moraes battling it out, but was thrilled by the excitement and drama of the event. I couldn’t wait for the next night’s event to come on, and was sad when it was all over. Fortunately, I didn’t have long to wait until it was time for the 2005 season to begin.

In 2006, Jerry and I attended our first PBR event in person, in Kansas City, MO, which is near our home, and also attended the event in Tulsa, OK that summer. We bought tickets in the Fan Club section so we could see everything up close. We went to the “Meet and Greets” and could not believe the accessibility of the fans to the riders. They were all so friendly, and you could get pictures and autographs and actually have a conversation with your favorite riders.

We have attended all of the Kansas City events since 2006, and have gone to the Tulsa event twice. We intend to make it to other events in the future, as we are able. A couple of years ago, I took my daughter to the Meet and Greet with me. She wanted to have pictures taken with a few of the cute, young cowboys. She was looking for J.B. Mauney, in particular. We walked into Cavendar’s, and sitting at a table was Justin McBride, the reigning World Champion. I pointed him out to my daughter, and told her that she should go and get his autograph. She walked right over to him, and said, “Do you know where I can find J.B. Mauney?” I wanted to crawl under the table, but Justin was so cordial and suggested where she might go look for him. I think Justin was just a little bit too married to suit her taste! I don’t think we ever caught up with J.B., but she was able to get a picture with McKinnon Wimberly, and she was thrilled. The next event we attended, I got that picture autographed for her, and I also told J.B. what she had said to Justin. He laughed and said, “I like that!”

We were in the stands when Mike White broke his neck in Kansas City. I have never heard such silence for so long from a crowd that size. You could feel the prayers going up from that place for Mike.

We were there to hear Justin McBride sing at the opening of the PBR Club in Kansas City. That was super cool.

One of the things I enjoyed most at an event was sitting near the families of Skeeter Kingsolver and Ryan Dirteater. I talked at length with Skeeter’s mom, and got a glimpse from her perspective of having a son riding bulls at this level. It was great watching the families of the riders cheering them on.

One year, our seats were in a prime location for being on television. Our friends in Texas saw us, recorded the event and took a pictures of us on their TV screen with their phone, and texted it to us. We went home and watched the event that night and saw ourselves several times.

In Tulsa one year, I went to the hotel gym to work out early one morning all by myself, or so I thought. I ended up sharing the small gym with Adriano Moraes, Paulo Crimber, and some of the other Brazilian riders. Adriano and I talked about the bulls while we were on the treadmills. I got a big kick out of him in his gym shorts and cowboy boots!

The weekend that season one was coming to a close, I was in first place, having moved up the weekend before, but only by a short margin. The first round, all five of my riders rode their bulls. In the second round, I think I had three rides, only two rides in the third round, and just one ride in the short go. Fortunately, the winner of the event was on my team, and I won season one, but by just 20 points. It was very close, and I felt bad for the two fans so close behind me. I am not sure Jerry appreciated me waking him up at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, after I checked the website, to tell him that all five of my cowboys rode their bulls, but he still laughs when he describes my reaction after the event was over. I was jumping up and down, screaming like a kid, “I won, I won, I won!”

If you are interested in the blogs I will be posting, check back during the World Finals, October 30-November 8. I will post pictures and updates as often as I am able. It should be very exciting. Oh, and did I mention that I have to compete on stage during the bull drafts against another lucky winner from season two? Whatever the outcome, I will have been thrilled to be there, and the real prize for me will be seeing it all in person in Las Vegas.