It was three straight days of bucking bulls last week as the New York Mavericks brought Professional Bull Riding (PBR) back to the Empire State.
From Sept. 18-20, the Mavericks set up their homestead at UBS Arena for the first time, having previously set up their homestead at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“This is a great place to be. This is our home, our homestand, and we’re fired up. This is the best crowd in the world, and we love to ride in front of them,” said Mavericks head coach Kody Lostroh.
“The energy has been amazing in the building. It’s been a long road,” said Mavericks general manager Chris Pantani. “We’ll sell you the whole seat — you only need the front of it. We’ve seen bulls, we’ve seen wrecks. We’ve seen pyrotechnics out there. It’s not a rodeo; it’s bull riding.”
“It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen. It’s truly turning into a mainstream sport that everybody can come watch. It is a team format, and everybody loves teams. You know, everybody’s got their favorite football team and baseball team. So now you can come cheer on your favorite bull riding team,” said Mavericks bull rider Mason Taylor.
Each night consisted of five games between ten PBR league teams, with each rider trying to earn a qualified ride of 8 seconds to earn points. On the first night, Game 1 featured the Texas Rattlers taking victory over the Arizona Ridge Riders with a score of 84.75 to 0. Game 2 went to the Austin Gamblers, with a score of 338.50—84.50 against the Kansas City Outlaws. Game 3 went to the Carolina Cowboys, scoring 260.50 points total against the Oklahoma Wildcatters, who took home 169.50 points. The Missouri Thunder went up against the Florida Freedom for Game 4, with Florida winning with 253 points against Oklahoma’s 86.75 points.
Game 5 saw a matchup between the New York Mavericks and the Nashville Stampede, with Bob Mitchell, Marco Rizzo, Leonardo Castro, Mauricio Gulla Moreira, and Alison Dos Santos riding for the Mavericks. Mitchell started the match with a score of 85, followed by Castro with a score of 86. Moreira and Dos Santos were unable to score, and Rizzo rounded out the game, finishing with a score of 84. The Mavericks ultimately lost to the Stampede in a close finish, scoring 255 compared to Nashville’s 258.50.
Day two proved to be arduous across the board, with several teams struggling to get on the board with points and a handful of injuries. The Outlaws scored 169.50 against the Ridge Riders, who scored 84 points, in Game 1, and in Game 2, both the Rattlers and Thunder struggled to score, with the Rattlers ultimately winning the round by one point (86.75 to 85.75). Game 3 was between the Wildcatters and the Stampede, with the Wildcatters winning 172.50 to 86.75. In Game 4, the Freedom broke the unlucky scoring streak, earning 344.50 against the Gamblers, who scored 83.50.
In Game 5, the Mavericks went up against the Cowboys, with the Mav’s lineup of Mitchell, Rizzo, Castro, Moreira and Dos Santos to take the arena once more. Moreira was the only rider on the Mavericks to get on the board, earning 87 points for his ride. The team ultimately fell to the Cowboys, who earned 343.75 points in total.
Night three ended the homestand with incredible competition. Game 1 went to the Gamblers, who saw victory over the Stampede with a score of 261.50 to 0. Game 2 saw the Thunder go up against the Outlaws, with the Thunder claiming victory with 171 points to the Outlaws’ 87.75. The Wildcatters took Game 3, with 254.50 points compared to the Ridge Riders’ 169.75 points, and in Game 4, the Rattlers bested the Cowboys with a score of 176.50 to 81.25.
The Mavericks secured the weekend’s first victory against the Freedom in Game 5, with Taylor joining the riding lineup alongside Rizzo, Mitchell, Moreira and Castro. Mitchell started the round earning 87.50 points for the team, followed by Castro earning 84.75 points. Moreira rode and earned 87.25 points, followed by Taylor who was unable to score that night. Rizzo earned a re-ride, which was performed by Mavericks rider João Henrique Lucas, who ultimately earned 86.50 points, helping the team secure 346 points for the win against Freedom, who earned 177 points.
Outside of the games, the team got to take in some New York City life, meeting with fans and getting a taste of the city through local restaurants and swinging through the Feast of San Gennaro during their visit.
“It was fun. The guys got to see Madison Square Garden. They got to see Manhattan. We’ve been to some of the other places as well. But this is such a unique opportunity to be here, because it’s not something that a lot of us growing up in the West and living in the West are used to. So as unique as it is for New Yorkers to see bull riders, it’s just as unique for us to come here,” said Lostroh.
“Gargiulo’s, you can’t beat it. That was some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had. I got to order something that wasn’t even on the menu. They just made it for me. So it goes to show their hospitality, and they were grateful to have us there,” said Taylor.
“It’s been an amazing week. We’ve done some live TV interviews. We actually got to walk around Times Square. One of the funniest things in the world was around the corner. A delivery truck ran by, and the guy rolls down the window, yells ‘Rizzo!’ out the window. Marco turned around, he was in amazement,” said Pantani. “Spending time in our home state is really good for us. It brings the guys back down. But the number of fans that know our athletes so far has been incredible this week.”
