PUEBLO, Colo. – It had been almost 13 years since Ryan Dirteater was last booed during a PBR event. Until this past weekend at Outlaw Days.
Dirteater and his Nashville Stampede teammates were about to take on the Kansas City Outlaws during the CBS Game of the Week when the Outlaw fan base rained down a series of boos towards Nashville during the starting lineup announcements.
“Oh yeah, the fans really got behind the Outlaws this weekend, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be when you are visiting their cities,” Dirteater said with a smile. “You expect them to get behind them. But yeah, that’s the second time that’s ever happened before to me.”
The last time Dirteater was booed was when he helped Team USA win the 2009 World Cup in Barretos, Brazil.
The good news for Dirteater and the Stampede, though, is that they will soon be the next team to host a PBR Team Series event with Stampede Days on Aug. 19-21 at Bridgestone Arena, and you can bet Nashville will be ready to welcome its brand-new bull riding team with the heaviest of
“Yeah, that’s really important for us,” 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco said. “It’s really important for the team to have that support. It makes us more excited.”
The Stampede failed to record a ride in its game against Kansas City, resulting in the second double-loss in PBR history. Kansas City also had a 0-0 game against Texas in Cheyenne.
“I just hope we both have jobs come tomorrow with that kind of performance,” McBride told CBS Sports’ Allen Bestwick. “For both squads it was a rough night. We had some really good bulls. We had several chances to capitalize and just blew it on several occasions.”
Nashville began the weekend with a 170.75-83 victory over the Ariat Texas Rattlers before dropping the 0-0 game with Kansas City and losing 311-87 to the Arizona Ridge Riders.
Pacheco did not believe the environment played a role in his team’s performance in the Kansas City game.
“What they did (booing) doesn’t affect the ride,” Pacheco said.
Pacheco helped the Stampede place fourth overall at Outlaw Days with his 6.11-second buckoff against Viper in the Bonus Round. Pacheco had the highest buckoff time or qualified ride among the four teams who finished 1-2 in Kansas City (Nashville, Oklahoma, Austin and Texas).
One of the takeaways from this weekend’s event in Kansas City is that a home crowd can certainly play a factor during the PBR Team Series, even as a massive morale boost to a struggling team, such as the injury-plagued Outlaws.
Kansas City head coach J.W. Hart was a coach for Team USA the year the Americans won the World Cup in Brazil within a hostile environment.
“It was great,” Hart said to Allen Bestwick on CBS about the Kansas City support. “This is what sports are about. When they announced the Stampede, the fans booed them. That is hard to hear in bull riding. Everybody loves everybody, but that is what teams is about. I have been in World Cup deals in Brazil and they booed us, and that is sports. That is cool to see, and maybe we will get booed when we go to Nashville.”
The Outlaws did go winless at its host event, but the crowd certainly gave the Outlaws a lift during all three games. Kansas City finished the weekend with its best showing of the season, going 3-for-5 in its slim 257.75-253.25 loss to in-state rival Missouri Thunder.
That final game could be a turning point for the Outlaws when they look to break its three-game losing streak in Anaheim. Kansas City begins the two-night event against the Carolina Cowboys (3-2) on Friday night (10:45 p.m. ET RidePass on Pluto TV) before taking on the Austin Gamblers (2-3) on Saturday (9:45 p.m. ET RidePass on Pluto TV).
Meanwhile, the Stampede may benefit from a good jolt from its fan base after beginning the season 2-3.
Nashville hasn’t been able to build off opening night wins in Cheyenne or Kansas City and has yet to put together back-to-back wins following strong starts.
McBride and company will look to first gather momentum this weekend at the PBR Team Series event in Anaheim too.
The Stampede take on the Gamblers on Friday night and then the Oklahoma Freedom (1-4) on Saturday night (9:45 p.m. ET RidePass on Pluto TV).
Article Courtesy of PBR
Photo By: Bull Stock Media
