PUEBLO, Colo. – 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis was taking an early morning stroll through AT&T Stadium this past February as PBR fans began to settle into their seats for the 2020 PBR Global Cup USA.
The captain for Team USA was unable to compete because of a broken neck, but he had been invited by coach Justin McBride to still serve as an assistant coach for the fourth edition of the Global Cup.
It was an honor for Davis to be a part of the team, obviously, but he could not help but be jealous and disappointed as he glanced around the $1.2 billion stadium. He looked up at the 72-by-160 foot jumbotron, and it was hard for him to not voice his frustration about being out for the competition.
The Jasper, Texas, native not only loves the PBR Global Cup and riding for his country, but there is always something special for him to be competing in his home state.
Davis believed he would have to wait until next season to crawl back into the bucking chutes in Texas, but that has since changed when PBR CEO Sean Gleason announced Thursday that the 2020 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast has been relocated to AT&T Stadium on Nov. 12-15.
“I’m pumped about it,” Davis said. “I think it’s awesome. There are just certain stadiums that give off a certain feel that makes you want to up your game. You know that top athletes have come before you that have busted their butt in that stadium and you don’t want to go in there and half-ass it.”
Davis may not have been able to be an active rider on the first Team USA squad to win a Global Cup or World Cup on home soil this February, but he has now set his sights on a new goal when it comes to the 2020 PBR World Finals.
The six-year pro would love to become the first rider to win a PBR World Finals inside AT&T Stadium.
“It would be a huge accomplishment to win the Finals there because there is no telling if it will ever be back in Texas, and it is my home state,” Davis said.
Two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood, who filled in for Davis as a captain and led Team USA to victory this year, called the Finals moving to Arlington, “ELECTRIC.”
RELATED: Global Cup coach McBride says AT&T Stadium will hold a lot of prestige for Finals
Davis has already made PBR World Finals history once before in his career. The now-26-year-old won the last PBR World Finals event held in the Thomas & Mack Center back in 2015.
He also was the first PBR World Champion crowned when the world’s top bull riding organization moved its season-culminating event to the state-of-the-art T-Mobile Arena in 2016.
Davis will not be the only rider thinking about achieving history come Championship Sunday at the World Finals on Nov. 15.
World No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme hopes to continue World Finals success in new city
Jose Vitor Leme went a perfect 6-for-6 to win the 2017 PBR World Finals just 10 days after arriving in the United States for the first time in his life. Ever since then, success has been synonymous with Leme in Las Vegas at the World Finals.
Leme has only bucked off four of his 18 bulls at the World Finals, and he will miss being in Las Vegas this year as he looks to finish off his historic season with his first World Championship.
The 24-year-old is still excited about the 2020 PBR World Finals being held at AT&T Stadium, though, and he hopes he can write a new chapter when it comes to his record of accomplishment at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Leme is 5-for-10 inside AT&T Stadium at PBR-sanctioned events, and he is looking forward to the event taking place only 50 miles away from his ranch in Decatur, Texas.
“I am excited for the Finals,” Leme said. “World Finals close to home. It’s going to be awesome. Surely Las Vegas is an event that I hope to go to every year, because I always managed to make a good Finals there. I had many special moments in that place. Arlington hasn’t brought me anything special in my career yet. I didn’t do so well at The American events and we didn’t win the Global Cup, but maybe this place will become a special place in my career at the end of the season.”
Some call it Jerry’s world – PBR fans know it is Joao’s world
Joao Ricardo Vieira was thrilled to learn that the PBR would be hosting the 2020 World Finals inside AT&T Stadium.
There is no rider with the kind of success that Vieira has continuously had inside the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Vieira has been dominant inside AT&T Stadium. The 2013 Rookie of the Year has won more than $895,000 in Arlington since riding for the first time in the home of the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. Vieira has won two Iron Cowboy titles (2014 & 2015) in Arlington, as well as three bull riding championships at The American rodeo in 2016, 2019 and 2020. Vieira’s 2019 American victory netted him a whopping $433,333.33. He then split the bull riding victory with Sage Kimzey earlier this year for $65,500.
The No. 2-ranked bull rider in the world is 545.09 points behind Leme.
“I love this arena,” Vieira said. “I have always felt good inside it. It will be much better than Las Vegas. My success in Arlington has been fantastic.”
Mitchell and Taylor pumped to ride inside AT&T Stadium for the first time
There are currently 12 riders inside the Top 40 of the world standings that have never competed inside AT&T Stadium. Part of this is because the PBR moved Iron Cowboy to Los Angeles two years ago, so the only bull riders competing in Arlington were those named to Global Cup teams the past two seasons.
Texas natives Ezekiel Mitchell and Mason Taylor are two riders excited to ride at the 11-year old NFL stadium in less than two months for the first time in their respective careers.
“It’s for dang sure going to be different, but to be in front of my home state makes it so much cooler,” Mitchell said. “It would be really cool to win the Finals the only time it will probably ever be in Texas.”
Taylor added, “Man, I am so excited and ready for it. I have always wanted to ride in Jerry’s world. It’s not even 30 minutes from my house, so saying it’s a home-field advantage is an understatement. It’s my backyard, so what better time for a first appearance than to have the most prestigious bull riding there?”
2017 Iron Cowboy Champion & 2019 Global Cup hero Eduardo Aparecido ready for a return to AT&T Stadium
Two of the most important wins in Eduardo Aparecido’s career came in Arlington, Texas.
In 2017, Aparecido put himself into the world title conversation by winning Iron Cowboy for his first PBR Major victory with a 4-for-4 performance.
Last season, Aparecido was a crucial member of Team Brazil as he went 3-for-3 to help his compatriots win the 2019 PBR Global Cup USA.
Aparecido is 11-for-22 in PBR-sanctioned events in AT&T Stadium.
“I am very happy to know that the Finals will be there in AT&T Stadium,” Aparecido said. “That stadium for me is very special. I like to compete there. I feel good inside. It would be very special to win a World Finals in AT&T. It would be exciting for it to happen there.”
Dirteater hopeful to end his career unexpectedly in AT&T Stadium
Ryan Dirteater won the first PBR World Finals event title held inside T-Mobile Arena in 2016, and the 11-time PBR World Finals qualifier was surprised to see his retirement plans will be shifting to Texas in less than two months.
Dirteater announced earlier this year that he would be retiring following the 2020 PBR World Finals, and he figured he would be walking away from the sport in the city that has called it home for the PBR’s previous 26 years.
However, those plans changed, and Dirteater is now gearing up for his last Finals in Arlington instead of Las Vegas.
The Hulbert, Oklahoma, native has started rehab on his surgically repaired broken collarbone, and he is trying to do all he can so that he can make a return to competition on Oct. 10-11 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Dirteater is currently 31st in the world standings and trying to hold onto a Top 35 ranking, and qualify for one last PBR World Finals.
“I really didn’t expect last year would be my last time riding in Vegas,” Dirteater said. “It feels weird that we’re not in Vegas, because my whole career it’s been about making it to Vegas, but I’m all in and excited it’s close to home.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media