A lot can happen in eight seconds
- May 8
- 2 min read
Back during The Troubles, the PBR World Finals moved from Las Vegas to Arlington because they weren't allowed to have crowds in Nevada. They stayed in Texas because we know how to put a bull ridin' show and also have the best dirt.
That recipe comes alive again starting this weekend. The Professional Bull Riders World Finals start this weekend at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth and then move on to AT&T Stadium for the championship.
To celebrate, Texas mascots competed in a mechanical bull riding competition. And they did so with a really photogenic background.
Oh, they might look happy to see each other, but this was a competition. The Dallas Stars' Victor E. Green arrived to let everyone know he had won the previous two years.
The mascot who gets the highest score gets $1,000 for a charity of their choice. Because of Victor's hubris, the Dallas Cowboys' Rowdy intercepted him immediately.
They're judged by human bull riders, first on whether they can ride the mechanical bull for eight seconds and then how they can stay centered and keep their free hand in the air at 90 degrees.
FC Dallas' Tex Hooper started things off... and fell just short of eight seconds.
Second, we had Biscuit representing the Allen Americans minor league hockey team. He was thrown off quickly, too, but the bar had been set so low, he took the lead.
PBR competitors understand the importance of getting an angry bull. That helps your score, so they'll try to rile up the bulls while they wait in the pen.
Little Big Tex apparently did a great job.
This can highlight the difficulty of the sport. Also highlighting the difficulty of the sport? Even the PBR mascot, a bull himself, only rode six seconds.
It's possible the PBR does not have an artistic division, but mascots are gonna mascot, so they put on a show. After the first round, they returned for an interpretive ride. For example, Reride just kept his eyes closed.
After dealing with the rankest bull, Little Big Tex just seemed to phone it in.
But perhaps Victor E. Green's hubris was getting the better of him.
I grew concerned. This light news story was spiraling into a burgeoning feud between Rowdy and Victor.
These mascots may not become professional bull riders, but they are showing how to reach the top of their own profession. Look at how clearly Victor conveys, "I didn't want your stupid check anyhow!"
But perhaps still smarting about the loss, he took off toward Reunion Tower in PBR's golf cart.
Austin Richardson was one of the judges. He said he saw a lot of great talent, but they might need a little work.
I asked what advice he'd give a mascot looking to get into the field.
"Hold on," he explained. "Hold on. There's a lot of stuff that can happen in a quick eight seconds and give it everything you've got."
And DFW sports mascots have given us all a lesson in how to live life.
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