PUEBLO, Colo. (November 10, 2010) - When Earle Smola flew to South America to attend a PBR event last July, he already knew that he wanted to begin a partnership with PBR Brazil.
An ardent sports fan, Smola simply wanted to experience firsthand the “pride and passion” he had seen in the Brazilian riders at the Built Ford Tough Series events he’d attended in the United States.
Upon his return, Smola – the manager of brand design, sponsorship and events marketing for Stanley Black & Decker – said the Brazilian event “surpasses just about anything I’ve been to.”
The veteran marketing rep likened it to the kind of playoff atmosphere U.S. fans recently experienced with the Major League Baseball Playoffs.
Beginning tonight, PBR Brazil will step up its event production for the start of the 2010 Brahma Super Bull PBR Finals in Campo Grande, Brazil.
The six-day championship event will feature the Top 3 contenders for the national title – Roberlei Val, Elton Cide and Wesley Lourenco, who are all within 200 points of each other – as well as a few other riders more familiar to bull riding fans in the U.S. – Silvano Alves, Edvaldo Ferreira and Thiago Paguioto.
Smola said, “I was surprised that a lot of the U.S. culture was [present at the July] event – country music and a lot of the same things, so that was a bit of a surprise for me.”
Adriano Moraes said that although the event might look similar from a fan’s perspective, there are many differences behind the scenes.
All of the events in Brazil are staged outdoors to take advantage of the tropical climate. They also start later in the evening than typical BFTS events.
“Here [in the U.S.] at our events, we have how many people working at our events – 50, 60?” said the three-time World Champion, who along with Alves and Guilherme Marchi is part of the Stanley team with Kody Lostroh and Brendon Clark. “Do you have any idea how many people we have [in Brazil]? I guarantee you not even 10 people. So that’s a big difference.”
Moraes said that PBR Brazil, which began organizing five years ago, is still in a formative state.
But he added that the recently announced partnership with Stanley Black & Decker will take another step in the continued growth of what has already become the second most popular professional sport in Brazil.
“When an organization is able to bring outside international money to the table, it says a lot,” Moraes said. “To have Stanley and DeWalt shows how serious the business really is.”
Although the organization has its work cut out in replicating the accomplishments of its U.S. counterpart, Moraes said one improvement from 17 years ago is that “the industry itself is much more advanced – live attendance and the money it generates.”
The money paid out on Monday night could result one or two Brazilian riders becoming the first two qualifiers for the 2011 PBR World Finals.
The national champion will receive a bonus of R$150,000 – equivalent to $86,000 in U.S. currency – while the event winner will be paid R$120,000, or $70,000 US.
“And whoever wins that is going to be a contender for the Rookie of the Year already, before the season here even starts,” Paulo Crimber pointed out.
“That’s impressive, and the PBR down there has grown a bunch.”
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