LAS VEGAS – Before the Texas Rattlers took to the chutes in T-Mobile Arena for their first game at the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series Championship, the team gathered in their locker room.

General manager Chad Blankenship was there to unveil the uniforms for the evening: white, special-edition jerseys, all with the name Oleson on the back.

The jerseys allow the Rattlers to pay tribute to Brady Oleson, who tore ligaments in his neck in August and was forced to retire after neck fusion surgery.

Oleson was visibly emotional upon seeing the jerseys. The announcement was a surprise to all riders and gave them an extra spark of motivation as they walked out to face the Nashville Stampede.

Head coach Cody Lambert says that Oleson’s injury has opened his teammates’ eyes.

“It makes them really want it,” Lambert said. “We talk about this a lot. We talk about the fact that every night could be your last night, so you ride with love in your heart and the desire to get the job done because you might not get another chance at it.

“I thought it was a great idea and a great tribute to Oleson,” he said of the jerseys. “All the guys were touched by it, too.”

The Rattlers’ desire to get the job done was on full display on night one in T-Mobile Arena as they took down the Stampede 264-26.75.

“I feel like they’re going to do that most of the time, and they’re ready,” Lambert said. “Everybody’s healthy, and we had really good bulls. We expected to have to ride a few to win it, and they got the job done.”

The matchup was notable as it featured the two prior PBR Teams Championships facing off as they chase a second title. The Stampede won the inaugural season in 2022, while the Rattlers are the defending champions.

Both teams have their banner hanging in the rafters of T-Mobile Arena, placed next to each other high above the dirt as the two teams battled it out.

“I didn’t see it, either,” Lambert said with a chuckle. “I heard them say that it was up there, and I looked up, and I couldn’t see it.”

Despite the pedigree of the matchup and the eyeballs on the Rattlers as the reigning champions, the approach for Lambert and his squad doesn’t change.

“We’ve got to ride each bull,” Lambert said simply.

The Rattlers got out to a hot start against the Stampede, with Great 8 award winner Brady Fielder riding Magic Hunter for 88 points.

“It’s important to have great bull riders, and that’s what Fielder is,” Lambert said. “It’s important to get a score, and he gets a score more than anybody else.”

Daniel Keeping followed up Fielder's score with 88.5 points on Hoka Hey. With the Stampede only getting one score courtesy of Silvano Alves on Lapua, the Rattlers had clinched the win with one out remaining.

They could’ve scratched, but closer Joao Ricardo Vieira decided to attempt Body Roc and was rewarded with another 87.5 points.

“He just does whatever needs to be done,” Lambert said of Vieira. “I explained to him yesterday that, if we had the game won or lost, that we could change riders, or we didn’t even have to ride that last bull. And he said no, he didn’t come to watch his friends ride. He came to ride.”

Vieira and the rest of the Rattlers will have at least one more opportunity to ride on Saturday night. No. 4 Texas faces off against the No. 3 Florida Freedom when action kicks off at 9 p.m. ET on Merit Street.

The Freedom advanced to night two thanks to their 262.75-178.5 win over the No. 8 New York Mavericks. They've now ridden at least three bulls in 10 of their last 12 games.

As the weekend progresses, the pressure ratchets up.

But Lambert, loquacious as ever, says the mission is what it always is.

“We just look at the bulls we get,” he said, “and try to get the best score on every one of them.”

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media