Before the celebration on the shark cage, before the four-for-four sweep at Golden 1 Center, before an 88.65-point ride aboard Tigger sealed the deal, John Crimber was searching for something. 

The 20-year-old Florida Freedom standout had been chasing consistency in the early goings of the 2026 season. And when he left the arena dirt in Tampa, Florida, with another solid but not spectacular finish, he knew it was time to make a change.

That’s saying something, because Tampa isn’t just any stop on tour. It’s a place where Crimber’s roots run deep. It was there that his father, Paulo Crimber, once ruled the arena in his heyday, crowned champion on the elite tour. A place that holds the echoes of a proud past.

But after Championship Sunday wrapped in Tampa, John Crimber packed his bags Saturday night, hopped in the truck with the Rizzo clan and left his dad’s old stomping grounds in the East behind. They headed for a small town in South Georgia — Quitman — a place Marco Rizzo has proudly called home and helped put on the map.

His next chapter wasn’t going to be inherited. It was going to be earned. And at Ariat PBR Sacramento presented by Cooper Tires, he made it happen.

The Georgia reset

Instead of flying straight to California, Crimber, Rizzo and Kaiden Loud made a deliberate detour, three hours and 30 minutes north of Tampa, into Quitman, Georgia. It’s the kind of place where time slows down, where the lifestyle, the rhythm of the land and the eight seconds themselves all seem to stretch a little longer. Out there, the pace is quieter, but the purpose is clear.

It’s the kind of place that steadies a bull rider’s soul.

The crew turned that quiet Southern backyard into their own high-octane training ground, riding, watching Jim Sharp film and listening to Bad Company in the best company (because nothing says bull rider bonding like classic rock and a couple rough stock).

It wasn’t just about mechanics. It was about mindset.

Loud, known as “BG,” recorded some of the sessions on Meta glasses, with his coaching captured mid-out: “Keep riding, champ.” A coach, a brother, a hype man. It was good energy all week long.

By the time Crimber rolled into Sacramento, he was riding lighter. Sharper. Re-centered. After his Round 1 ride in Cali, he spoke about feeling like the old John Crimber again, confident and in rhythm. But as he grinned walking off the dirt, he wasn’t just talking about the ride. He was thinking back on the week that got him there. “It was the coolest week ever,” he said, still buzzing from the practice pens, the film sessions and the good company back in Quitman.

The Sacramento show stopper

On Friday night, all three boys — Crimber, Rizzo and Loud — covered their bulls, showing that whatever happened in Georgia stayed with them in California and was not jet lagged one bit. Come Sunday, both Crimber and Rizzo had ridden their way into the championship round.

But for Crimber, the fire just kept building. After logging an 88.40-point score on Hookie Monster, he made a statement with a classic: scaling the shark cage and dancing beside Flint Rasmussen in a moment that rippled through the arena. It wasn’t just a celebration. It was a flashback, a full-circle nod to history.

Years ago, Paulo Crimber and Rasmussen made that exact moment famous. Now, it was John’s turn.

And just like that, tradition lived again — this time with the son in the spotlight, the father coaching from the sidelines as head of the Florida Freedom and the same showman (Flint) reliving the magic with a new generation.

Then came the ride that finished it: Tigger, 88.65 points and the exclamation point. Crimber flung his helmet in the air and stood atop Golden 1 Center like it had his name on the marquee, because this weekend, it might as well have.

The race is on

The Sacramento win marked Crimber’s first of the season and launched him into third in the world standings. After breaking into the top 10 with his ride at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Denver PBR Chute Out last month, jumping from No. 12 to No. 7, he’s now just 70 points behind world No. 1 Dalton Kasel, who will sit out Salt Lake City with a hip injury. He also trails No. 2 Clay Guiton, who finished second in Sacramento, by only 38.5 points.

With momentum and consistency back in his corner, Crimber is riding loose, riding fast and riding loud.

Sacramento was more than a win. It was a statement. That when things get off track, you don’t chase comfort. You chase bulls in the Georgia red dirt with your buddies and then fly west to make your own damn history.

John Crimber left the East where his father was once king, and in the wild West of California, he built his own crown.

And now, all eyes turn to Salt Lake City.

With Dalton Kasel sidelined, the door to world No. 1 is wide open, and it’s swinging fast. Crimber’s closing in. Guiton’s trying to hold him off. One ride could flip the leaderboard. One wrong move could swing the momentum entirely. It’s shaping up to be a heavyweight battle at the top, a game of musical chairs in the mountains of Utah.

And John Crimber? He’s not just playing. He’s dancing — and he’ll be tangoing with Snappy in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 6.

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media