PBR Springfield: The Good Times Roll

I don't know about you, but I can't remember when I was last this happy about a PBR event.  Maybe they had been getting a little...slow.  Maybe it's just the end of a long season that has had a foregone conclusion and not many surprises in the rider department.  Maybe it's seeing the same group of good riders performing superbly and a different group of good riders performing poorly, week after week.  And bulls that are good, but you've kind of gotten used to them.

And then the Classic bulls saunter into the room, in fighting shape now, and all rejuvenated by cooler weather.

Even the buckoffs were fun to watch.  Even the maturity bulls were fun to watch, even the ones who didn't do very well.  And then Asteroid blew the roof off the place and bested Bushwacker for the third time.  Not saying he's the better bull, but not saying he isn't, either.

And After Party:  The only bull that bucked in both short rounds and he bucked off Silvano Alves for the second time in the Championship Round. If you don't love that little bull, well, you should.

Don't get me wrong.  There weren't a lot of high bull scores, and there were plenty of qualified rides.

It was good to see Austin Meier have a couple of good rides, score the weekend's only 90+ ride, and do one of his hanging off the side finishes.  Ryan McConnel rode well, and Chris Shivers and Mike Lee put out a couple of textbook "this is how it's supposed to be done" rides.  Robson Palermo's determination and ability to keep riding with that shoulder injury is stunning.  Silvano Alves is amazing.  And Aaron Roy won the Championship Round.

But I don't remember an event when I've sat up and taken notice as often as I did this weekend, and it really was the bulls that did it.

Or maybe it was the riders taking it up a notch.  Or maybe it was the roar of the crowd (which was large and loud).  Or maybe it was just me.

Loved it.