The PBR opening today had the world class production and PBR flare as the cast from "Stomp Out Loud" (at Planet Hollywood casino) set the stage for a memorable story book ending.
It's hard to not think back at last years final's, with the crowning of the 3rd title for Adriano Moraes. The PBR for 14 years has only had 2 men hold more than one world championship buckle. Adriano Moraes and Chris Shivers are those men but today Justin was going to try and add his name to that list.
We started out this afternoon with four of the first 8 men riding their bulls and the Thomas & Mack in a buzz. All of a sudden, someone opened the door and let all the electricity out of the building because, of the next 26, only 4 of them got it done for the eight second time frame. If you're counting, that means eight guys out of 34 had ridden a bull and of those men, J.B Mauney and Kody Lostroh had gotten theirs out of the way and qualified for the short go. J.B. rode Hillstreet of Boyd/Floyd/Paradise Farms for 88.25. Kody checked in at 89.25 on Wildlife of Boyd/Floyd /Paradise Farms and then it was time for the ones that could spoil the race between McBride, Mauney and Marchi. The ones I'm talking about were those that could win the precious bonus points and keep Guillherme from overtaking Justin with his average points. Those boys happen to be Dustin Hall, Ned Cross, Cord McCoy, Jared Farley and our Dustin Elliott. Keep in mind that none of these guys were going to make it back to the short go but could keep the much needed points away from J.B. and Guilherme in the long round of competition.
As the long round ended with Justin McBride coming down prior to the buzzer, the lights went out and it was time to shoot another scene for CSI. As the intermission began and with the crew from the CSI out on the dark arena floor, it was time for the checking and rechecking of all the bullriders scores and determine the short round qualifiers.
Lights, camera, and action as the stage was set for a barnburner of a short round. The 15 best bulls matched up against the 15 best of the 2007 World Finals. The first six out all came down in a blink of an eye. We get to the number 9 man in the average and here comes Justin McBride. His match up in the short go is the very same bull he rode for his 2005 World Championship. Camo and Justin have some history and we were watching it unfold today with each tick of the clock. As the USSTC clock struck eight, Justin was still in the middle of him. The moment he landed, the NBC crew run out from behind the chutes to catch his reaction. As usual, just a big grin on his face and a few friends to greet him was the most you get out of the kid. By now he has gotten so used to the spotlight that at times it seems as though he is just going through the motions.
He stated that, at the time, he wasn't yet sure of the world title and was "just going to ride to win instead of trying to lose it". He knew he still had a few more rides to watch and his 92.25 was good enough at that time to be winning the round.
The roar of the crowd and the feeling was that at that moment, you could have handed him the check for a million dollars but J.B. Mauney wasn't about to let him have all the fun on Sunday afternoon. This kid, after being bruised and battered last night, decided today it was time to cowboy up and just go get it done. His draw, Copperhead Slinger, bailed out and took him to the whistle and the fans of the PBR knew it was another 90 pointer as the 4 officials set it at 92.75, the highest marked ride of the Finals.
Guillherme Marchi did his best to stay in this world class field with his 90.50 on Savage Shaker of Page and Buck bucking bulls and end his stellar finals as the reserve champion for the 3rd year in a row.
After the confetti quit flying from the rafters of the T & M Center, it was time to meet the 2007 PBR Built Ford Tough Series World Champion. The arena announcers, along with the PBR personnel on the arena floor, had tried to keep it a secret but everyone in the building with a cell phone was trying to calculate the final tally for the World Champion. As the arena crew did their best to disguise the introduction of the 2007 PBR BFTS World Champion, they introduced him from behind the curtains as Justin McBride!!!! What a moment as the fake million dollar bills fluttered from the sky of the Thomas & Mack and here came the grinning cowboy from Oklahoma. Todd Eckert of Ford Motor Company and Randy Bernard of the PBR were there to congratulate him, and present him a check for the million dollar bonus. Along with that, his finals dollars of $116,000 and the $700,000 he'd won up to the finals put his total for the year at a whopping $1,860,321. McBride mentioned in his press conference that the money he won this year equals the money that Ty Murray won in all his years in the PRCA. He's been quite honest to the public that the PBR has made him a rich cowboy and this is what he's dreamed about all his life.
"I'm just trying to be the best bullrider in the world," he said, and from what he's described as a wonderful year, you couldn't ask for a better champion to represent the PBR. Along with this year’s total, his career earnings stand at $3.8 million and he now becomes the earning leader.
As I stated earlier, the Thomas and Mack crowds have been electric and we saw the closing of Tater Porter's career today,
I have had a blast bringing you all the reports from Las Vegas and I thank Cindy and the Rodeo Attitude team for their continued support.
