PUEBLO, Colo. (October 8, 2009) - Last month when Michael Jordan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, he spoke not of winning a World Championship, but instead about the difficulty of repeating.
Jordan, one of the greatest professional basketball players of all time, twice completed a three-peat as a member of the Chicago Bulls.
His observation isn’t unique to basketball. It’s something all athletes, including professional bull riders, contend with.
After three years of finishing second, Guilherme Marchi enjoyed a season for the ages in 2008 as he won his first world title.
But when the Brazilian dropped to 11th in the world standings following the fifth Built Ford Tough Series event of the 2009 season, some observers wondered whether the 27-year-old had the drive and determination of a year ago. Others debated whether the grueling 10-month schedule would allow anyone to win back-to-back titles — something that has never happened in 15 previous seasons.
Adriano Moraes won three titles, but never back-to-back. Chris Shivers, and most recently Justin McBride won two titles, but neither did it in successive years.
Coming into this season, Marchi was viewed as having the best chance of winning it two years in row.
“If there is a guy, it’s him,” said Michael Gaffney, who won the title in 1997.
“When you see Guilherme ride that many years in a row and that well,” Gaffney continued, “well, of course you’re going to put him on a pedestal. And we’re going to expect great things—all the time. You can’t give him any slack.”
The four previous seasons in which Marchi competed the entire year at the BFTS level, he rode at 66.25, 57.14, 61.29 and 74.75 percent. Even this year he’s at 59.76, percent, behind only Kody Lostroh, who is covering 62.5 percent of his bulls. In fact, Lostroh and J.B. Mauney have only covered one more bull each (50) than Marchi.
He is as confident now as he’s been all season.
In fact, Cody Lambert recently recalled Marchi’s first-round effort in Ontario, Calif., when Marchi rode Hank for 86.5 points. At one point he was out of position, and rather than pull himself back into the middle of the bull’s back, Lambert said it was as if he actually pulled the bull back underneath himself.
“He’s as physically strong or stronger than any bull rider we’ve ever seen,” Lambert said.
Gaffney agreed, adding that Marchi also has mental toughness. In Nampa back in April, Marchi went to Chad Berger to ask him about Big Tex.
“He asked him, ‘Is he bad enough to give me the win tonight? I need a win,’” Gaffney recalled. “He’s in the position where he’s confident and he’s willing to step up and do whatever it takes to win the event.”
That afternoon he rode Big Tex for 94 points, but finished second in the event (by 1.25 points) to Lostroh.
Although he’s “only” won two BFTS events in 2009 compared to five last year, Marchi has had 16 Top 10 finishes (12 of which were in the Top 5) and only once has he gone three events in a row without making it back to the short go.
He competed in six consecutive championship rounds from Tacoma through Worcester, which was part of a stretch of 10 events in which made nine appearances in the championship round. He’s covered 11 of 18 short go bulls for a 61.11 percent average.
Marchi has proven (not just this year, but throughout his career) that he gets the job done when it matters most.
Marchi, who is currently ranked second in the world standings, is 962 points behind Lostroh and just 10.5 points ahead of Mauney in what has been a season-long three-man battle for the title.
Gaffney said that Marchi has more than proven to everyone how competitive he is and how big a drive he has for winning, but “coming back is tough. You’re the big lion on top.”
The Road to Vegas makes its way to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend before concluding next weekend in Uncasville, Conn.
NEWS and NOTES
CBS: A reminder: The PBR returns to CBS at the end of October, when the Championship Round of the Mohegan Sun Invitational airs on Oct. 25.
Road to Vegas: All roads are leading to Las Vegas! At this time of the season the PBR is all about the World Finals, which is Oct. 30 through Nov. 8. Call 866-PBR-SHOW for ticket information or log onto www.unlvtickets.com to order your tickets for what will be one of the tightest finishes for the world title.
Tweet, tweet: Be sure to follow the PBR on Twitter at www.twitter.com/teampbr.
