The PBR - It's Been A Journey Of Love

One night my wife couldn't sleep. So she got up and as most of us do, turned on the TV and started flipping through channels. Something caught her eye (why don't we say eyes since we have two?) and she stopped on a channel called Versus. On the late night tube they were showing a rerun of some bull riding and the event happened to be the PBR. She started watching and hasn't stopped since. That was two years ago.

With both of us growing up in Texas, we had been to many rodeos in our lifetime. As a matter of fact, our local town has a rodeo and a bull fest each year. So, the idea of bull riding was not new, as we enjoyed the bull riding part of the rodeo the most. But to my wife, the PBR was different. So different that she was becoming a big fan. She would watch the events, tape them and watch them again, late at night. She had to watch them late at night because between myself and our two children, we thought she was just plain nuts and she could only watch her bull riding when nobody else was watching something.

She started to comment on the PBR forum and sometimes on the PBR comment section. My response to her was "I don't understand why you are talking to people you don't know and people that are in another state". My thoughts were, "she's just plain gone off the deep end". Although I liked bull riding, I was more interested in other mainstream sports and I just didn't see the attraction and didn't want to see.

Well, in January 2009, the PBR was coming to Dallas, which was the closet event to us. My wife's birthday was the same weekend as the event. So, for her birthday present, we got tickets to both days of the event and a hotel close to the arena. She was excited, boy she was excited!! We got to the hotel and made our way to the arena. We made our way to some of the signings and found our seats and we were ready to watch our first live Built Ford Tough Series bull riding event.

To be honest (don't you just hate when people say that, as though they lied to you before) I was not prepared for what was about to take place. The intro music came on and it was loud. But you know what, I liked it loud. There were fireworks and a bulls head that blew out flames. At the many rodeos that we had been to, I never say fireworks at the event. I was enjoying the "show" and looked at my wife and she was not just enjoying what she was seeing, she was loving it. They introduced the riders in rock star fashion and then they announced my wife's favorite rider, Kody Lostroh. She was beaming ear to ear.

Then, it was time for bull riding. From the first rider out of the chutes, you could tell that the bulls are not your local rodeo bulls. They are bigger, better and badder. The athleticism of the bulls that buck in the PBR are amazing. The fact that anyone could hang on or ride for 8 seconds was astounding. Who would want to anyway? There were riders that did ride that day and you could tell that these guys are the best bull riders in the world. Just as the PBR advertises.

The next morning we went to Cowboy Church before the event and heard a great sermon from Cody Custer and Dustin Elliott spoke. After that we got something to eat before the second day of the event started. At lunch there was one thing I noticed about my wife, she couldn't stop smiling. A permanent smile was plastered on her face, like the Joker in the first Batman movie. I told her that I was happy for her, because she just seemed to be so happy on her birthday. It made me feel good to see that smile that just wouldn't go away.

Well, we made it back to the arena, and took in the opening, the show, the rides, the bulls and we were just in awe of the entire PBR production. After the event, we chased down her favorite rider, in the parking lot. He was very nice and I joked and apologized for my wife being a stalker. During the 1 1/2 hour ride back home that's all she could talk about. And for the coming months. Although I loved the event, I still was not sold out on the PBR.

Our next event was in Tulsa, a three day event and it was a full six months after the Dallas event. This is where I became hooked as a PBR fan. We got to know the riders more, went to the draft, the signings, Cowboy Church and just had a great time. I then came home and bought tickets to San Antonio and then Springfield.

In the two year time period, since our first BFTS event, we have been to 13 BFTS events, 11 Touring Pro events, and as of next week 2 finals. My wife takes pictures of the riders, does special effects and the riders have gotten to know her very well because of her work. And it is work, considering the time spent to get all the pictures done. She also posts them on Facebook and the PBR forum and has many requests for them. So what about me? The guy that called my wife nuts for being so involved in the PBR and commenting to people she doesn't know. Well ... I started to comment on the PBR comment section back in September of last year and people that have been over there know that I have commented a few times - a few thousand times. I started a blog back in April and then agreed to also blog for a PBR fan Myspace site. I think both of us would be considered PBR junkies. Our kids think WE are crazy. With that said, after my daughter went to her first live BFTS event back in February, she became hooked. She has now been to three events and several Touring Pro.

Just think, all this started from one person up late at night, with nothing else to do but watch TV. My wife now has someone she loves that she can enjoy her favorite sport with. Along the way we have met many great PBR fans. So much so that we have become good friends with some. We meet at the events and spend some late nights just talking about every subject there is, including bull riding. When I say that we have become friends, it is meant with all sincerity. We come from different back grounds, different ages, different states, yet we can have a great time together and getting to know each other and our different families. This is another thing that makes the PBR the great sport it is, the dedicated fans. It has been a long two year journey to get to the PBR fanatics we have become, but it has been a journey of love.