'Growing our sport one brick at a time'
An elite athlete himself, Murray won’t rest until the PBR get its due
STEPHENVILLE, Texas (May 21, 2010) - Elite athletes don’t settle for anything short of winning.
In 1993, during the fifth round of the National Finals Rodeo, Ty Murray rode his bull for a disappointing 65 points. He was guaranteed a $3,500 check and a respectable fourth-place finish if he declined the re-ride option.
He didn’t.
Instead, he took his chances on the back of unridden bull named Edward Scissorhands.
While nearly everyone in the Thomas & Mack Center that day cringed, his parents and close friends all knew that he wanted a chance to win the round.
Murray rode the second bull for 80 points, finished second in the round, and five days later won his first world title in bull riding—by a margin of $95.
That year, Murray easily won the bareback and all-round titles by what he recalled as “healthy margins.” But he’s a consummate competitor, and 1993 was about winning a title he hadn’t yet claimed. It was about becoming a World Champion bull rider.
After that fifth round, Jim Shoulders introduced himself to Murray’s father, Butch, and famously said, “Tonight showed me why Ty is the best cowboy that’s ever been.”
Thursday night, the PBR lost out to the NFL for the honor of Professional Sports League of the Year at the 2010 Sports Business Awards ceremony in New York. The PBR was nominated for the award along with the NFL, NBA and MLB.
Afterward, Murray was quoted as saying, “We are growing our sport one brick at a time.”
What is the next brick Murray would like to see put in place? An ESPY nomination.
“Sports are measured by what they provide for their fans,” he said. “Professional bull riding provides its fans with well-trained, disciplined athletes competing in difficult circumstances in a sport that they are passionate about.
“The same could be said for players in the NFL, MLB and NBA, and sports like fighting, tennis, golf and others; all of which are recognized by ESPN with their own ESPY category. We at the PBR and our 44 million fans believe we’ve earned that same right.”
The sport has clearly grown by leaps and bounds.
A little more than 17 years ago, the PBR was a dream. Twenty riders each invested $1,000 to start their own organization. Later this summer, that organization will surpass $100 million in prize money paid out to bull riders.
World Champions are rewarded with a $1 million bonus. The Built Ford Tough Series drew 46,000 fans – the largest crowd in North American western sports history – to Cowboys Stadium in February. Cord McCoy and Murray each gained mainstream exposure on network television reality shows.
“Throughout my career I’ve gotten to meet a lot of other professional athletes, from John Elway and Jimmie Johnson to Laird Hamilton and Roy Jones Jr.,” Murray explained. “I watched and saw firsthand as each of them began to follow and understand our sport, and I noticed that they gained a true appreciation for our athletes and competition.
“I would be willing to compare the training regimen of Austin Meier or McKennon Wimberly, who aside from being a professional bull rider is a Golden Gloves boxer, with any athlete in the world.”
With the mainstream spotlight increasingly focused on the PBR, Murray thinks it’s important for the sport to establish its personalities not just as easily recognizable celebrities, but as elite athletes of the highest order.
“Every sport is difficult when you have the pressure of winning and losing on the line, especially when you’re talking about the highest level of competition,” Murray said, “but professional bull riding becomes all the more difficult when you factor in the extreme consequences. For me, as an athlete, that’s where the bar on this sport is really raised.
“What changes the game is split-second decision-making in very adverse conditions. You’re talking about a sport that takes a lot of understanding and a lot of knowledge and a lot of practice to get the mechanics down, but it also takes a special athlete – mentally – because you face the constant pressure of losing more than the competition.”
It’s that same competitive drive that motivates Murray, and other founders like Cody Lambert, to continue pushing the sport and striving to accomplish the next feat.
After all, Lambert said a long time ago that he and the others formed the PBR as a way of “reaching for the stars.”
—by Keith Ryan Cartwright
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Does anyone have the results of the J.W. Hart Touring Pro event from this weekend? I missed it due to a family get together. I haven't found the results in the local papers or on pbrnow.
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collector12
May 24, 2010I believe Freeman has been with the PBR since 1995. -
Shannon K
May 24, 2010pembroke: I hope you do get to attend the Charlottesville event -- I'm sure you'll have a great time! -
pembroke
May 24, 2010Shannon I wish I could have attended this event with you as it sounds like you had a fabulous time. With time and, of course, the money I will be able to attend the Charlottesville, VA event.
Have a question to those of you who might know the answer. How was Dr. Tandy Freeman hired by the PBR and how long has he been the attending physician? Just a curiousity question as I always see Dr. Freeman and his team when watching the events on Versus. -
Dr Too
May 24, 2010After a certain other PBR original cowboy sorta called Doc Tandy out with his "ain't a bullrider" remark, glad Ty took the opportunity to spell out just how valuable Dr. F is to the riders and to the PBR! I certainly would not want to take on his job, and I'm a sawbones. -
jason_c_adam
May 23, 2010May Power Rankings are up.
www.pbrtough.blogspot.com -
dsw
May 23, 2010Duarte is originally from Hawaii. Has ridden for several years in the PRCA, good rider. Has gone to the NFR several times. -
BullRidingIsArt
May 23, 2010I agree it will be a long...every long break. Heck, I would settle for Saturday late, very late night reruns on VS. Go PBR!!! -
BullRidingIsArt
May 23, 2010"Growing our sport one brick at a time" sounds so similar to the bullriding philosphy "ride one bull at a time....one jump at a time". Tye's determination from bullriding to his business leadership will get the PBR where they deserve to be.
I enjoyed the story of the $95 championship. Do any of you think we will see a 95 point PBR World Champion this year. It's so close now, I believe it will come down to the finals.
Shannon sounds like you had a great time. Sometimes I think going to the lower events gets us back to the very basics of bullriding. It's a good thing to see where and how these riders start and grow. There is nothing like watching these bulls in live action is there. -
Shannon K
May 23, 2010cactus-sue: Yes, I did! The arena had no seats on one end, and the concourse was open so you could see out over the arena. This was directly above the bull pens, so I was able to stand at the rail and look straight down on them. It was fun to watch them being shifted from pen to pen and, at times, butting heads. I thought of you while standing there -- you'd have loved it!
reznibd: Yeah, we fans would like to see a BFTS event every weekend, year-round...but I'm guessing the bull riders and PBR staff wouldn't approve :). I'd not heard of Myron Duarte before, but the announcer said he'd qualified for the National Finals Rodeo 8x!
Also, regarding this article...I don't think I'd ever heard that story about Ty winning by $95. No wonder he's so insistent that riders should always take re-rides! -
reznibd
May 23, 2010Shannon - Interesting factoids about Nathan Schaper and Myron Duarte. There is nothing quite like watching a rider make those great corrections--just when you think he's a goner--poof--he's back in control, covering his bull. Sounds like you had fun, but now like many of us, you're in for a long, dry spell. So sad, isn't it?:-(
Of course, it's all about us, the fans, right?! -
cactus-sue
May 23, 2010Shannon - Thanks so much for posting these results! I hope you enjoyed yourself this weekend! It is good to hear something from the bull riding world! I was whining last night that I miss the bulls! -
Shannon K
May 22, 2010Here are the (unofficial) results from the second night of the Touring Pro event in Everett, WA:
1. Nathan Schaper (135.5 pts -- he declined a re-ride in the long round and hung on the side of the bull Justin McBride-like in the short round)
2. Ross Lewis (85 pts)
3. Myron Duarte (84.5 pts -- made a great correction mid-ride on Aces Heartbreaker)
4. Chris Newsom (83 pts)
5. Kenny Hickman (78 pts)
6. Andy Crozier (75 pts)
7. Dan Welsh (61 pts)
Fortunately for Texas PBR fans, and unfortunately for we Washingtonians, over half the more recognizable riders I listed yesterday weren't back today but attended the Decatur event instead. Beau Hill and Cody Ford were still there tonight, but Beau bucked off at ~6s and Cody at ~2s.
Something that struck me both nights was how healthy these riders were. Every year, by late April, it seems like half the BFTS regulars are limping badly or need help from the arena every night. At the Everett event, there were a couple guys who had rough buck-offs and came up limping slightly, and one guy butted heads with the bull and was pretty woozy, but overall they looked like a healthy bunch. As much as I'll miss the PBR the next couple months, I'm really glad that some of the riders will have time to heal up! -
willow
May 22, 2010As long as Ty is involved with the PBR I’m sure it will reach all its goals, because as Ty said on DWTS ‘there ain’t an ounce of quit in this body’. -
reznibd
May 22, 2010Shannon K - sounds like you enjoyed your evening with the boyz and bulls! Isn't that one of the things we "love" about our cowboys? They are "normal" people;-) Thrilled to hear Beau covered for 88 pts! -
reznibd
May 22, 2010“What changes the game is split-second decision-making in very adverse conditions. You’re talking about a sport that takes a lot of understanding and a lot of knowledge and a lot of practice to get the mechanics down, but it also takes a special athlete – mentally – because you face the constant pressure of losing more than the competition.”
I think that Ty sums it up quite nicely in those stmts. Yes, "training regimens" can and do go a long way, but we still see our beloved bovine athletes pummel our "special athletes"--our beloved cowboys--in a split second despite all the regimens. Indeed, our cowboys "face the constant pressure of losing more than the competition” at every turn, including just being in the chutes! God bless them--I pray they get their due in the very near future. They've more than earned it. -
Shannon K
May 21, 2010Funny story: I arrived when the doors opened and found a spot on the concourse where you can look out over the arena and see the cowboys and bulls. While I was standing there, Cody Ford pulled up a chair to a table near me and started signing autographs. Soon afterward, a woman and her young son came and stood by me, also looking at the arena. An arena employee came over, and the following dialogue ensued:
Man: "Hey son, do you want to get a picture taken with Cody Ford? He'll be competing tonight!"
Woman: "Great! Where is he?"
Man: "Right there -- sitting down signing that kid's shirt."
Woman: "Him? But...he looks like a *normal* person!"
Me: (desperate attempt to not burst out laughing) -
Shannon K
May 21, 2010Just got back from the first night of the Touring Pro event in Everett, WA. Here are the (unofficial) results:
1. Beau Hill (88 pts)
2. Zach Sorenson (87 pts)
3. Mark Lopes (81 pts)
4. Keith Roquemore (77 pts)
All four scores came in the long round; three riders also took re-rides and bucked off their second bull. Other recognizable names who did not receive scores include Cord McCoy (who paid 2x the entry fees to get two outs in the long round and was randomly included in the short round since there were so few rides; he looked to be limping slightly but smiling as he left the arena), Tanner Girletz, Tyler Pankewitz, Francisco Morales, Nile LeBaron, Dusty Ephrom, Skylar McBride (I'd always wondered who was the other guy who shows up when I search for "McBride" in the PBR rider database...), and Travis Sellers. A few bull names I recognized: North Star, Rocket, Joe Buck, Bells & Whistles, Aces Heartbreaker, and Cowboy Cut.
One of the bullfighters was Mick (sp?) Coleman from Molalla, Oregon, so I'm guessing he's related to Ross. Ross brought four bulls that were bucked tonight, though he wasn't there himself (or at least he didn't attempt to ride, and I didn't see him). -
steffanychriss
May 21, 2010i think thats great. never settle for a place, always strive to be better... no matter what anyone says never give up. great job ty.
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May 25, 2010