Last Friday a few of my buddies from the 9:59 Club and I attended the PBR Ocean City SECRETS Classic in Ocean City, Maryland. May I say that it was not at all what I expected.
I kinda knew of the PBR, but I didn’t realize that it’s a billion-dollar business that’s been around for over thirty years with eight teams from around the country.
The PBR organization turned the large parking lot at the southern tip of Ocean City into a large dirt-filled arena, complete with large bleachers that would hold hundreds of fans and a half-dozen chutes at one end where the bulls and riders would emerge.
Friday night was the first of three nightly events here. The riders’ scores are averaged to find a winner of this series.
The action started at 6PM with the introduction of the riders. Thirty-five lean and mostly short cowboys filed on the field for introduction. There were riders from all parts of the U.S. and from Brazil. These guys must have each weighed 150 – 180 pounds. Wiry.
Wiry or not, these guys are real athletes. Imagine getting on the back of one of these 1,000-pound monsters and trying to hold on for the eight seconds that it takes to qualify.
These guys are pros. They do this for a living. And some of them make hundreds of thousands a year getting thrown off a bull. And that’s the totally amazing thing. You’d think that, as pros, they’d be able to hang on for the eight seconds. But that’s totally not the case. Of the thirty-five riders, only one was able to last eight seconds. The average rider only lasted about 2.5 seconds.
And, man-o-man is this dangerous. Probably a quarter of the riders appeared to be hurt after a ride. One rider was trampled and was in obvious bad shape. Like a pro, he was able to walk off with assistance but you could tell he was hurting.
I did wonder about one thing. If a rider weighs 175 pounds and gets bucked off after three seconds, wouldn’t a rider who weighs 350 pounds be harder to buck off the bull? I could have a future with the PBR!
There was a second amazing thing. The co-stars of the production – the bulls – seemed to be well-trained. The majority of them bucked the rider, turned around and exited the arena on their own. A couple had to be lassoed by a cowboy who was policing the arena. And one played hard to get, running around and taking a “victory lap” a couple of times. It was pretty entertaining!
After 35 riders ate dirt, the event ended. Two hours of total entertainment.
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The night wasn’t over for the 9:59 Club though. Hungry and thirsty we stopped at the Taphouse Taproom at 137th Street in Ocean City. After a few beers and some really delicious sandwiches, we parted company.
A good time was had by all!
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“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
- Mark Twain
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A few weeks ago, I posted a video of random acts of kindness. The response from you all was so positive I found another I think you’ll love. And you know, the thing is, every one of us would do the exact same acts in the same situations.
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