PUEBLO, Colo. (October 6, 2010) - Three hours before the start of the second round last weekend, Austin Meier walked into the catering room. The world leader took a seat at a large round table, and for the next 20 minutes, fielded questions from broadcasters.
Ty Murray asked questions. Justin McBride did, too. Craig Hummer mostly listened, but took notes throughout. Justin McKee and Leah Garcia had a few questions of their own. Even Kelly Stavast, who worked behind the chutes on the CBS broadcast, chimed in with a few inquires.
Meier never hesitated with a response.
He said he felt 100-percent healthy, even though he needed help from his wife Kristen getting out his truck the other day, when his hips locked up and his lower back was sore. He talked about studying videos of his own rides, and of bulls he might face. He even talked about not being able to look his dad Rex Meier in the eyes after bucking off.
“The look,” he said. “It’ll tear you up.”
He even admitted that while he doesn’t pay attention to how many points No. 2 J.B. Mauney and No. 3 Renato Nunes earn on any given weekend, it’s aggravating to think that despite winning five Built Ford Tough Series events, he doesn’t have a bigger lead.
“It should aggravate a guy,” Meier said. He said it’s important to “put it in your past” and not let it “ruin my season.”
There are only 10 bulls between Meier and the end of the season – three in Columbus, Ohio, one in New York, and six more in Las Vegas.
After 29 events there are only 706.75 points between him and Mauney, and just 1,309.5 points between him and Nunes. Mauney is the only one of the two who can catch Meier between now and the Oct. 20 start of the Finals.
When asked how he would respond if Mauney, who was only 64 points behind at the time of the interview, took the lead this late in the season, Meier said, “I can slug it out as good as anyone else.”
“You haven’t seen that out of me,” he added.
That, from a man who has ridden four more bulls than anyone else in the Top 40. A man whose 10,813 point total is already 2,000 more than he scored all of last season.
He’s bigger and more muscular than a typical bull rider. In fact, even his father, whom he described as “a mountain of a man,” thought his son was better built to be a football player than a bull rider.
When Meier finally got up and left the table, Ty Murray looked around at those who were left and said, “I like him. I like everything about him.”
He liked his dedication. He liked Meier’s chances of winning, but said he just couldn’t rule out Mauney’s chances, either.
Meier made one thing clear before left. “I’m supposed to be No. 1,” he said. “That’s the way I feel about it.”
NEWS AND NOTES
PBR Now on RFD-TV: J.W. Hart and his co-host Justin McBride will be back on RFD-TV Thursday, beginning at 10 p.m. ET. The show is also streamed live at PBR.TV. Fans are encouraged to call 877-731-6733, or send questions by emailing pbrnowshow@pbr.com.
Live Event Center: Follow all the action from this week’s BFTS event in Columbus, Ohio, by logging on to the Event Center at www.pbr.com/live. The multimedia center provides live scoring, live photos, live blogging and event-related interviews.
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