9 minute read
STAMPEDE CHARGE TO TITLE
Photo: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
THE NASHVILLE STAMPEDE SHAKE OFF A TOUGH SEASON TO CLAIM THE PBR TEAM SERIES TITLE
Andy Watson/ Bull Stock Media
The Nashville Stampede has a heck of an underdog story, coming through to win the inaugural Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Team Series after entering the playoffs seeded in last place.
Led by Head Coach Justin McBride, the Stampede had little momentum going into the series finale event. Many wrote the team off after ending the regular season with seven wins, 20 losses, and a draw. But country-western folks love a good underdog story, and the Stampede didn’t hesitate to deliver when it came to giving fans a playoff run to remember.
Eight teams competed for glory at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas from Nov. 4-6 during the first-ever PBR Team Series Championship. The eighth-seeded Stampede seemed unlikely to take the event, with all eyes on the Austin Gamblers presented by Ariat, the Texas Rattlers, and the Oklahoma Freedom. Those three teams were tied for the top number of wins during the regular season, with 16 wins and 12 losses each. The Carolina Cowboys followed close behind with 15 wins and 12 losses.
But anything can happen when it comes to rodeo, and it was only fate that the team with the lowest seasonal win percentage — a mere 26.8% — would take down four teams with seasonal win rates that were double that.
“It’s crazy,” McBride said via a PBR press release. “I got to win two individual titles as a bull rider in this sport, and it’s nothing compared to this. The buckle is awesome, but for me, it’s about these guys who never gave up and finished on top.”
That’s the stuff of a cowboy legend right there. It’s a story in which the underdog rises to the top against all odds.
Photo: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
THE STAMPEDE TAKE CHARGE
Rodeo enthusiasts knew that the squad featured Kaique Pacheco, Ryan Dirteater, Joao Henrique Lucas, Silvano Alves, and Cladson Rodolfo had the talent to make it to the top. But unfortunately, the regular season proved unkind.
With only a 33% riding average entering the main event, few expected the Stampede to take it all. It was Sept. 11 before the team even reached four wins. But around that time, the team began to show its true power.
However, by the time Team Series playoffs wrapped, the Stampede had gone 11-for-20 rides to end up with a 55% riding average for the event.
Andy Watson/ Bull Stock Media
While regular-season victories would have been fruitful in terms of earnings, the Stampede understood that the finals were what truly mattered in an event like this. The Team Series event is akin to the rodeo Superbowl, where, no matter how the players performed throughout the season, it’s not over until one team earns the right to claim that World Champion team title.
As playoff events began, the Stampede earned momentum with qualifying rides in its first three games. That granted the Nashville team a lead against Oklahoma, Texas, and Austin, which may have otherwise appeared to be the team to beat.
Joao Henrique Lucas, who’d competed in the starting position only twice throughout the entire season, made a strong showing, riding 2-for-3 when placed as the team’s first contender.
Kaique Pacheco then took on the closer role throughout the event. He hadn’t ridden in the closer position for the final 15 games of the regular season, but McBride chose to switch it up for the finals. In that position, Pacheco went 4-for-4,
faring far better than the 1-for-5 he’d gone as closer in the regular season. Although Pacheco had ridden seven bulls in a row earlier in the year, it had been some time since he’d managed to ride four in a row. Luckily, it was during the finale weekend when that streak finally came.
It seems Pacheco has a second home at T-Mobile arena, as he’s now ridden eight consecutive bulls in that arena. What’s more, three of those in a row were 90-point rides. It feels like Pacheco’s time to shine, as the 2018 World Champion was second in the overall Team Series draft pick, just behind Leme. Pacheco and Leme had gone toe-to-toe for years, most recently during the 2021 PBR World finals when Pacheco went 5-for-6 to endure defeat by Leme’s 6-for-6 run.
Dirteater is no stranger to the T-Mobile arena, either. Exactly six years before his team won the Team Series World Champion title, he’d earned the World Champion title in the same space, the first year the PBR World Finals were held inside the T-Mobile Arena.
Whether it was comfort within the famed arena or merely McBride’s motivation, something moved the players to compete at the top level of their skill during the most critical event of the season.
Photo: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
Photo: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
A TRUE UNDERDOG SUCCESS STORY
Andy Watson/ Bull Stock Media
The Stampede’s rise to the top began with a matchup against the Oklahoma Freedom. Scores from Dirteater, Rodolfo, and Pacheco led them to the lead. Oklahoma could have won the game with a walk-off ride, but McBride used a challenge, which showed that Freedom contender Derek Kolbaba had slapped his bull, Problem Child, at 7.83 seconds. That replay ended the game, giving Nashville its first playoff win.
That same evening, the Kansas City Outlaws and the Missouri Thunder were eliminated from the pool after they sustained losses to the Carolina Cowboys and the Arizona Ridge Riders, respectively, and faced Oklahoma in a Last Chance Game. Oklahoma won that game with four qualified rides, allowing the team to stay in contention for the World Champion title.
Austin got a first-round bye after entering the Team Series playoffs as the number one seed after a three-way tiebreaker against Texas and Oklahoma. The Texas Rattlers also earned a buy as the second-seeded team, and as a result, neither team competed until Saturday.
Nashville, who ended the season in last place, found themselves facing off against Austin, the number one team.
To anyone who follows the PBR, it was little surprise that two-time PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme stole the spotlight as the overall Team Series MVP, accumulating 1683.25 points throughout the season. Leme took home an extra $50,000 for the MPV title after 19-for-25 through the regular season, enough to make any cowboy sweat.
Photo: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
-JUSTIN McBRIDE
Still, it was Nashville’s fortune that Leme and the other Austinites couldn’t match that regular season consistency during the Team Series Championships.
It could have quickly gone another way. During Round 2 of the playoffs against Nashville, Austin’s Leme was looking at what would have possibly been a 90-point qualified ride on Show Me Homie. Unfortunately, Leme found himself bucked off at 7.62 seconds, only 0.38 seconds away from securing the ride.
That one score was the one that would make or break the team, and Leme’s failure to stay on solidified the win for Nashville.
The win carried Nashville into the semifinals against the Texas Rattlers.
With rides from Lucas and Pacheco, including Pacheco’s 90.75 points on Moonlight Party, the Rattlers’ closer Daniel Keeping was under significant pressure to perform in Game 8 of the series. The winner came down to Keeping’s ride aboard Choc Tease in a dramatic, anything-could-happen showdown. Choc Tease stumbled, which caused Keeping to slap, which would have disqualified any score he’d have earned. However, officials allowed a re-ride, renewing hope among the Rattlers. Unfortunately, Keeping’s re-ride was unsuccessful, thereby granting Nashville the win.
That meant Nashville was confirmed to compete in the Grand Finals event. The matchup would put them against the Arizona Ridge Riders, who’d earned its way into the finale by knocking out the Oklahoma Freedom in Game 10. In the Arizona versus Oklahoma matchup, an early ride
Photo: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
Andy Watson/ Bull Stock Media
from Oklahoma’s Chase Outlaw, scoring 89.25 atop Bubba G, wasn’t enough to keep the Ridge Riders down as the team came through with rides from Eduardo Aparecido and Luciano De Castro to win the semifinal round.
Excitement fueled the arena during Game 12 as the team that entered the playoffs in last place was now contending for the World Champion title. And, with that, Nashville was ready to show the team it had what it takes to earn the distinction of being the best the PBR has to offer.
Andy Watson/ Bull Stock Media
Even a 91.5-point ride from the Ridge Riders’ Aparecido and a 91.25-point ride from Luciano De Castro weren’t enough to pull the Arizona team to the forefront. De Castro’s ride was too little, too late. By the time he rode, the Nashville team had already cinched victory with Pacheco’s 90-point ride at the top of the final round, securing the victory with three total rides for Nashville to win the event. Rides from Dirteater and three-time World Champion Alves also contributed to the win. The Stampede won 264182.75, claiming the World Champion title.
A TALE FOR THE AGES
Photo: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media Photo: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
Suffice it to say it was an eventful year culminating in an underdog success story. Further, fans were surprised to hear that Dirteater, who came out of retirement to compete, announced that he planned to return to retirement after the event. But winning the biggest event of the year is a heck of a note to go out on.
The inaugural PBR Team Series was a wild year of ups and downs. With all the season’s excitement, fans are ready for the teams to start thinking about rosters for the 2023 season.
