PBR (Professional Bull Riding) season 2020 is ending soon, but not without an amazing year that showed us ways to keep going, regardless of all difficulties which were imposed on every sport around the world.
Major sports in the US and around the world suspended their seasons indefinitely in 2020, leaving millions of people without their favorite entertainment as the Covid-19 pandemic strikes around the globe. However, the cowboys made a way to be alive in this situation, showing why they are called the toughest sport on dirt.
If a cowboy has to be 8 seconds on top of the bull, the bull riding sports had to find more than 8 seconds of toughness to make the 2020 season a way to go. While the rest of the sports in the world were on pause, Professional Bull Riders, in the end of April, returned to competition with an event closed to the public, following the health protocols to keep everyone safe. From there up to now, the audience had the opportunity to keep watching live events through TV and online, and recently they got the authorization to have the fans at the arena with a reduced number of attendees.
We had an exclusive interview with PBR Commissioner Sean Gleason that you can check below.
BEYONDUS: Let me start asking you how 2020 has been for you so far, personally speaking.
SEAN GLEASON: Without a doubt, it’s been the most challenging year of my professional career but also one which I’d been personally rewarded in seeing our team’s accomplishments in the face of daunting odds. If there was ever a time when our Be Cowboy mantra was truly meaningful, this year has been it. I’m so proud of what our team has done amid circumstances nobody could ever imagine. The PBR developed an industry-leading plan to pioneer the return to business safely and responsibly. We have hosted fans at more than a dozen events safely and responsibly. We created a new team tournament, keeping our sport going last summer.
We moved the 2020 World Finals to AT&T Stadium and we’re going to give fans an early holiday gift by bucking bulls on the USS LEXINGTON in Corpus Christi live on CBS on December 5.
All of this is possible because of the spirit of unity, perseverance, ingenuity and toughness that defines cowboys. It has been a difficult year for so many; however, it’s also been a year for us to remember; we have so much to be grateful for.
BEYONDUS: You have been the first professional sport to return first with TV only, later with events with spectators. How did you plan for those events and how many people have been involved in this?
SEAN GLEASON: PBR was the last major company in North America to have an event – in Duluth, Georgia in mid March – just as guidance came down to limit gatherings to 250 people. We conducted the event in a closed environment with 150 people in the building. The guidance would then pretty quickly change to 10. That’s a pretty significant challenge. But we knew it was a matter of when not if we’d come back with made for TV events, and we began planning immediately – literally as people were boarding planes from Atlanta after the Duluth event. The intense planning over the next 40 days to get back to bucking bulls was driven by a senior leadership team of about a dozen executives across all functions of the sport. First, the team quickly realized we needed to be in compliance with federal, state and local guidance with how to avoid spreading Corona virus. Our basic question guiding every part of the plan was: “How do we hold events in a way that doesn’t bring the virus into a market or spread it while there?” We tackled issues one at a time and learned as much as we could about safe ways to be in public with other people. We identified every single point of contact from the moment someone left their home to head to an event at the arena where staff and bull riders would be interacting. We started there and worked backwards to create functional groups and put protocols in place to ensure that athletes and crew were separated from the public and socially distanced at all times except the few times they had to come together for a competition. That was a 40-day process of 15 hours a day with our team working on all the logistics. For the first events back we were fortunate to have the space at the Lazy E Arena in Logan County, Oklahoma, with 490 RV hook ups to keep the functional groups away from one another. We tested everyone. You need to consider everything, back to how you feed everyone and keep them comfortable and happy during a lockdown in a closed environment? We worked through all those issues. In retrospect, to be locked down on a beautiful ranch was not the worst thing to happen. We got back to competition as a closed-to-the-public televised event at the Lazy E on April 25, and would compete three weekends there. We then created a brand new tournament – the Monster Energy Team Challenge which had a run all throughout June with closed events at the South Point Arena in Las Vegas. The tournament culminated in a championship weekend in Sioux Falls, S.D., where on July 10 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, PBR became the first sport to welcome fans back into the arena with the new safety protocols in place.
BEYONDUS: How many Covid tests have been administered by the PBR?
SEAN GLEASON: In the 14-Event Weekends since Duluth, Georgia in mid March when the Corona virus restrictions on mass gatherings were announced, PBR has conducted approximately 2,500 tests.
BEYONDUS: How many tests have you undergone personally?
SEAN GLEASON: Until the beginning of October it was 15.
BEYONDUS: Did any other sport leagues reach out to you for advice?
SEAN GLEASON: More than 15 leagues and sports organizing bodies have reached out to PBR for our event safety protocols, and we’d enthusiastically shared them with anyone who’s asked. PBR is very proud to be the leader pioneering the return of live sports, as well as ticketed events bringing fans back into the arena safely. We are honored to share what we`ve learned and play a part in helping communities open up and get back to business safely and responsibly.
BEYONDUS: How excited are you to be at the AT&T arena for the finals and how sad are you that it won‘t be in Las Vegas the first time after 26 years in a row?
SEAN GLEASON: We are very fortunate that the State of Texas, the city of Arlington and AT&T Stadium are welcoming the most exciting championship in sports. All of these partners, along with CBS, have moved mountains and made lightning quick decisions to make this pivot happen. If not allowed to conduct the PBR World Finals in our traditional home of Las Vegas, there is no better place than the largest stadium in North America, home to our marquee PBR Global Cup USA events and the largest single-day event in PBR history, right in the heart of Cowboy country. We’ve been competing at AT&T for the past ten years. Some great moments have occurred on the dirt over the turf where the Dallas Cowboys play. You can bet our PBR cowboys – and the most ranked bulls on the planet are going to create more unforgettable moments there at the 2020 World Finals.
BEYONDUS: Any tip from your side on who will win the buckle this year?
SEAN GLEASON: Jose Vitor Leme is having one of the best seasons in PBR history and is obviously the favorite one right now. But a lot can happen in the stretch-run events throughout October and a significant amount of points are up for grabs at World Finals. We’re anticipating a great World Finals event at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, from Nov. 12-15. I’d encourage fans to come to one of the best venues in the world to experience the event and associated activities.
*The World Standings can change after every event; at the moment we closed our article JRV (Joao Ricardo Vieira) was the second athlete on the ranking.
From the cowboy’s point of view
The fans of bull riding are happy as are the cowboys that could still be competing, Joao Ricardo Vieira, second on the world standing*, explains how important it was for the athletes: “For us it was very important to get back to our normal life in the arena, to have the courage to fight against the virus following all the protocols, and to be safe and keep people safe as well; it kept us strong and inspired (and that we got from our CEO Sean Gleason), his efforts to make the 2020 season happen were very important, and we, the cowboys, were able to do our jobs and bring some fun to the sports fans.”
Brennon Eldred said it was very important for him to keep riding, because it is his only source of income. Keyshawn Whitehorse also said that not being able to ride; in the beginning of the shutdown was the hardest moment so far this year.
About the safety, they all agree that PBR did everything to protect the staff, athletes and fans: “I am so happy that PBR made a way to have the authorization to make the events happening. We could provide for our families and also we felt very safe here because of all the protocols and the tests. Since we got back to the events, there have been a lot of Covid-19 tests. Every week we need to be checked and it gives us the safety we need to still be competing”, said Lucas Divino.
