COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two-time World Champion Justin McBride still remembers the excitement he had for his $200,000 Alpha Trade National Champion bounty bull matchup against Scene of the Crash during the 2007 regular-season finale in Columbus, Ohio.
The excitement wasn’t just about the opportunity to win a record-setting $200,000 for one 8-second ride either, but also the chance to face a bull he had yet to successfully cover.
“It was unbelievable,” McBride said. “The best thing about it was the list of bulls that were on there. I know Chicken on a Chain was on there. I don’t know what else. I had stayed on a lot of them. Maybe Big Bucks was on it. I had rode pretty much everything on it except that one, but that is the one I wanted to get on because he had bucked me off one time. When they called me and said that is the bull it is going to be. I said, ‘Yes!’
“It was a pretty sweet feeling knowing I was going to get on that bull and for all that money. That is the kind of bull I would spend money to get on.”
A fan vote determined which bull McBride got to face.
Scene of the Crash had bucked off McBride in 5.3 seconds two years earlier in Columbus.
The second meeting was all McBride, though, as he took care of business for 93 points and a fresh bank deposit.
“He always looked to the right really, really hard,” McBride said. “For a little bull, he moved forward so much that he was really strong. He would look to the right, and kind of raised me up, and I knew he was going to go back left. I just knew not to panic because I knew he was coming back to me. Once I gathered him up to the left, it was over by the third jump. It was done.”
Scene of the Crash had bucked off 18 consecutive riders prior to McBride’s success and was only ridden three times in 54 outs before the showdown.
“He is one of those better bulls that I remember, and I was pretty fired up to get the chance to get on,” McBride said. “It just so happened it was for all that money. That makes it that much more awesome.”
The PBR is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
McBride is Columbus this weekend for the Columbus Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires. He will be joining Craig Hummer in the CBS television booth for Saturday night’s 15/15 Bucking Battle.
Fans can watch the 15/15 Bucking Battle Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS national television.
The PBR has not held a premier series event in Columbus since 2012.
“This used to be one of my favorites because it was the last one and it was good every year,” McBride recalled. “Guys were trying to make the Finals here. I loved coming here.”
Only eight riders finished the 2007 season with more season earnings than McBride’s $200,000 payout he earned aboard Scene of the Crash.
McBride was given the opportunity to face a bull selected by the fans in Columbus for the record payday for the being the No. 1 rider in the world at the conclusion of the regular season as part of a promotion with Alpha Trade.
The Elk City, Oklahoma, bull rider went on to win the 2007 World Championship and finished the year with $1,858,502.58 in earnings.
2007 was McBride’s best season – he also won a PBR-record eight events – and it is arguably one of the best seasons in PBR history.
McBride still rode Scene of the Crash and won the world title despite injuring his left shoulder at an event in Chihuahua, Mexico
“I was so fired up to get on that bull,” McBride said. “Like I said, that was a bull I would have paid just to see if I could ride him or not. At that time, that was when I was at my best.”
McBride said he would like to see the PBR bring back a bonus matchup for the end of the year regular-season champion.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I loved all of those bonus things. I made a lot of money in different bonus things. I loved those things because you always got to get on a great bull and all you had to do was ride him. It wasn’t like there was 10 other guys or 3 other guys you had to beat. All you had to do was ride that bull, and it was always the toughest bull.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko