PBR Questions

This might be my fault but I doubt it.

My association with the PBR is small, but my interest in it is great. My home page on my computer is www.pbrnow.com. I get e-mail updates about recent activity within the organization and during competition. This may be my fault for being on the ground floor of all the pbr information.

But I do not know when the PBR became so much like the WWE. One thing that bothers me is the amount of trash talk during the World Cup of Bull Riding. The CEO, Randy Bernard, talked bad about team Canada; JW Hart (team USA's captain) talked bad about Adriano Moras (team Brazil's captain); Team Brazil and team USA talked trash to each other; Cody Lambert talked bad about everyone. It was crazy.

One thing I have really liked about bull riding is the understanding that they are not competing against each other necessarily; but against their bulls. I fought in a freestyle contest the other day, a couple of the guys were talking trash to each other before hand. Not the playful stuff, but the getting in their face and talking smack. Both of them got run over (I refuse to talk trash because Im not good enough to back it up). There is the unwritten rule in my mind that "if you cant beat your bull, you cant beat anyone else." The trash talking didn't need to be there in my mind.

Something else that bothers me about the current state of the PBR is the Television contract with Versus. PBR fell into the same trap as the NHL. Each of them signed a more lucrative contract at the expense of viewership. The PBR would have been better served to take less money and less televised events for the opportunity for greater exposure. To be bumming around on Versus when less primetime, but greater exposure (without having to pay extra for it) is the smarter move.

Other things that bug me is the talk about coaches and the big deal that comes with it. There is nothing wrong with having some one coach you (I would actually endorse it, thanks to Bennie Bob), but the whole discussion came about because of a reride controversy by JB Mauney. He was awarded a reride on a bull, that was a questionable decision by the judges. With the instant replay rule, anyone can hit the button to have a replay viewed. This replay could have overturned the reride option. Having a coach to make the decision for a rider to hit the button seems to be a little to much micromanaging. Bullriding schools have furthered the sport (I was helped out a ton at the bullfighting school). Older riders mentor younger ones all the time, but when it comes to competition, your ability and decision making in competition needs to be all your own.

I think the PBR is the best bullriding in the world. As much as the CBR wants to rival it; the PBR has the best bulls and the best riders in the world. The CBR is on the right track to gaining equality by not bogging themselves down in the trash talking crap; and video replay controversies; and sponsorship for every single aspect including the bells ringing on the underside of the bull.