PUEBLO, Colo. – All great things, indeed, do come to an end at some point.
Seeing three-time World Champion Silvano Alves announce live on the CBS Sports Network broadcast that his participation in the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast would mark his final season competing on the premier series, there was plenty of drama throughout the final Championship Sunday of the season.
Which of course activated the tear ducts of Alves and fans around the world.
RELATED: Three-time World Champion Silvano Alves announces 2024 World Finals was his last
Thankfully for supporters of the famous Silvano Smile ™, he announced he would continue his career this summer, competing with his Nashville Stampede squad via the enticing PBR Camping World Team Series and all the fun that the 5-on-5 league brings.
Which seems to be quite the lowest common denominator these days for bull riders and North American sports enthusiasts in general, as the camaraderie-driven series continues to attract team owners and executive personnel from the worlds of NASCAR, the PGA Tour, Bass Pro Sports and beyond!
With talents like 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis stepping away from the individual season after his 2023 campaign to better focus efforts on his Carolina Cowboys squad and 2002 World Champion Ednei Caminhas officially retiring this season, thus transitioning his talents to the coaching realm (now signed on as an assistant coach to one of two new expansion squads, the New York Mavericks), there’s never been a better time to embrace the summer series.
Exactly why two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney was back in the fold last weekend.
Well, other than being honored for his game-changing career within the individual series!
Shaking dozens of hands during his pregame tour, he caught up with several of his former competitors in riders like Silvano Alves, Joao Ricardo Vieira and beyond as he made his way around the locker room. Exchanging smiles, hugs and tons of catch-up conversations, it was rather apparent the tour as a whole was happy to have him back in a PBR locker room for the first time in a few years.
And at the same time, it looked like he hadn’t missed a beat.
Connecting with friends, event guests like Dr. Phil and Kid Rock others, it was almost as if he resumed his spot as the face of the PBR.
While he will very much be in the spotlight this summer, set to serve as the Oklahoma Wildcatters’ skip for the 2024 campaign, it’ll be atop the chutes instead of loading into them after suffering a neck injury last year which forced him to retire.
“Well, the honored part is a double-edged sword because it means it’s over, but the tribute will be cool and to be back around, get to coach a team ... I’m excited, I’m pumped. Life after bull riding, I guess,” the talent shared inside the locker room.
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“I always said I wanted people to remember me whether I won a world title or nothing. That I was tough when I went at them every time, no matter what. As far as I can tell, that’s what I did with my career.”
We’d say he checked each of those boxes, for sure.
So much so that he’s been tapped as one of two new head coaches to lead their respective franchises to glory during the third season of PBR Teams action. And with the likes of Kody Lostroh heading up efforts for the Mavericks, it’s clear the tour isn’t settling for anything less than legends when it comes to identifying the men responsible for coaching tomorrow’s stars today.
While some small things may have changed for both PBR and Mauney since the duo last existed in unison back in 2021, he confirmed he’s going to bring that same energy, and party, that he did for more than a decade starting back in the mid-2000s.
“The first time we came in here (AT&T Stadium) … holy mackerel,” he shared in reflection.
“To ride in a building this size, it’s humongous. You talk about a long way to walk to get outside to smoke a cigarette …”
Never change, J.B. – Never change!
“There’s only one J.B. Mauney. That’s for daaaaaang sure,” PBR CEO Sean Gleason said as Mauney and the crowd enjoyed a shared chuckle.
He will, however, have to at least change hats from superstar rider to renowned coach, with the transition officially beginning on Championship Sunday inside the state-of-the-art arena as he was honored by Gleason and more than 20,000 fans.
With the ceremony kicking off via video tribute, featuring a mix of Mauney highlights, old interviews with the talent and fellow legends like Texas Rattlers Head Coach Cody Lambert weighing in on his chart-topping figures, there weren’t many dry eyes in the arena.
Walking out on stage as the LED screens transitioned from World Finals messaging to an Oklahoma Wildcatters-type vibe, the phrase “From Dragon Slayer to Wildcatter, It’s Been A Hell of A Ride” appeared next to some quality shots of the man himself celebrating.
Side-by-side next to the Dragon Slayer himself, his son Jagger, dressed in a matching blue jean fit watched on as his father received his well-deserved flowers.
“I had the good fortune of watching this young man from the first day he started riding bulls in the PBR through today, when I made him promise me he’d give me a chance to honor an incredible career. I got a chance to watch him become a great father to what I hope is a future generation of a PBR bull riders. I can’t thank you enough, J.B., for everything you’ve done for this sport,” Gleason said.
“And I’m very glad that he’s coming back as the Head Coach for the Oklahoma Wildcatters!”
Closing the door on one chapter of his career, which included seeing him become the highest-paid athlete in Western sports, a pair of World Championships, NFR qualifications and endless rides atop the rankest of bulls the industry could offer, while opening another in the PBR Teams world, he kept it short and simple in acknowledging his fans.
“Thank you and it’s been one hell of a party,” Mauney said atop the stage.
“It kind of lined up pretty quick. I broke my neck so I was sitting at home putting my neck brace on and Brandon Bates called me, asked if I wanted to coach a team and I said ‘Yeah, I really don’t have anything else to do right now. It all happened step-by-step but I’m ready to keep on winning.”
Between his $7.4 million in winnings earned and owning the most round wins in PBR history (128) while remaining ranked amongst the Top 3 in categories including the most event wins (tied for first with 32), overall qualified rides (second with 538 conversions) and 90-point dances (third with 78), there’s no doubt that he’ll forever be engrained in the history books even if his descent from the tour wasn’t perfect itself.
While the relationship seemed to have soured a bit as the two entities went their separate ways a few years back … time really does heal everything.
And while we very much expect him to keep on keeping on the way only Mauney knows how, he’ll be asking his team to do a bit of the opposite come this summer.
“I’m pumped. I think we have a good team. The base is set, now we just fill in the gaps. The way I told Brandon (Bates) that I wanted to go at it was the younger the guy, the better. He asked what I meant and I said when you take a guy like me, I’m stuck in my ways and I’m not going to change. The way I went about bull riding, you’re not going to change anything. Take a younger guy, you can critique him, you can help him. You can fix minor things and they’re not going to have a chip on their shoulder about it,” Mauney explained.
“I’m satisfied with the (Kaique Pacheco) trade and the guys we got in the trade. Shit, it paid off last night. Cort (McFadden) rode a good one.”
RELATED: Oklahoma Wildcatters rookie Cort McFadden collects $50,000 bounty aboard Dana White’s Twisted Steel
With the 2024 PBR Teams New Rider Draft right around the corner, taking place on Wednesday, May 29 within the confines of the 2022 PBR Teams Champion Nashville Stampede’s stomping grounds, he’s got an idea of who they’re looking at with their No. 2 overall selection.
But part of the fun is staying water when the tides are rising.
“It’s coming up. We’ll go to the New Rider Draft then we’ll set up team practice and all of that. We’ll get together. I kind of shoot from the hip, so Bates would be the one to talk to about that. He’s always in there looking and doing and then once he gets it all figured out he calls me and says ‘What about this guy?’ and I say yay or nay,” he concluded.
“That’s what someone said: ‘They’re just packing the pressure on right off the bat.’ Expansion team, starting off with us? I like it. It’s perfect.”
Set to host the first of 10 homestands during the riveting 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series schedule, July 12-14 inside Paycom Center, he’s got plenty of talent to be developed. The question remains:
Will he be as good a ringer leader as he was performer?
Fans can stay tuned to PBR.com and @PBR social media channels as the league continues to prepare for its talent-welcoming showdown in Nashville May 29!
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
