September 25, 2024 • 41 mins
On this episode of The Downtown, we talk to Team President of YOUR PBR Teams World Champions, the Texas Rattlers, Chad Blankenship. The Rattlers kick off their return home this Thursday in Fort Worth. We also hear music from Alex Hunter & Joseph Fisher-Schram with their song “Gerba’s Tune,” along with “Broke Man’s Blues” by Brandon McLaughlin.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Welcome to Downtown, brought you by our own sensitives and media.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I am Rudy John And on this episode of the Downtown,
we talked to team president of your PBR team's world champions,
the Texas Rattlers. We talked to Chad Blancn's ship. We
talked to them all about how the Rattlers kick off
their return home. That's right this Thursday in Fort Worth.
You are definitely gonna want to check it out. Is
(00:47):
so much going on with not only the Rattlers, but
there's also a festival going on. We'll get into all
that in a second, but also you get to hear
local music from Alex Hunter and Joseph Fisher Schram with
their song Gerbis Tune. But first here is Brandon McLaughlin
with Broken Man's Blues.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
You're luck cheap cocaine, Hold a whiskey, dude, and what
I got it done?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Tousting cat By, got bills coming there, honey, going now?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I got nerg ety three dollars in my bank account.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Ain't it near needs up?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Hinting nothing new because it's too damn expensive keeping up
with you lords.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
This material things.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
And the fency is whine.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
I try may.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Best make my beer smile. Working all day, I got
holds in my shoes. It's a hard time living with
some more mans. You get back to lack a man
(02:19):
of money.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
It ain't no where to train, ain't hoday.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
I'm being around because you can't even know that I'm
a broken man. You don't know how you have to go.
Just mean him know this.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
I'm gonna tell you.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Something that dak Tello. Tell it to the good moment
I must to give him. I'll be around sunny with
this broadman's semans.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
I would like to welcome to show Chad Blankenship. He
is the team president for your reigning PBR team's world champions,
the Texas Rattlers. How are you doing today, sir? Doing
love chop So, the Texas Rattlers are returning home this
weekend to take on not only the Oklahoma Wildcatters on
the twenty six a rematch of the champion Ship, taking
(04:00):
on the Austin Gambleage on the twenty seventh, and then
finishing the weekend with the Nashville Stampede on the twenty eighth.
What are you most looking forward to this weekend?
Speaker 6 (04:10):
Oh my goodness, Well, a few things one, welcoming tens
of thousands of Texas Ratlers fans new and old to
the events all weekend long. Of course, we've got three
action packed nins of bull riding. Also just a real
huge fan festival that happens in the historic or stockyards.
(04:31):
We can talk a little bit more about that, but
you know, one of the distinctions you mentioned, of course
that we're the reigning defending TBR Team Series champions. In addition,
we are the only team in the history of the
PBR Team Series who remains undefeated on home dirt, and
so we will be looking to continue that achievement this
(04:53):
weekend by winning all three and sweep in the weekend.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
That's I mean, how incredible is that that you are
the only one ones to be undefeated at home. I mean,
you know, obviously the fans help out quite a bit,
but you know, you guys really wanted to do in
the work. So how does that feel just knowing that
you know, no one could touch us at home?
Speaker 6 (05:12):
It's true. Yeah, our our team writers who do the work,
they're just you know, they're the best. They're clearly one
of the best teams in the league. I think it
speaks to a couple things, John. First of all, it's
actually bull writing is extremely difficult, and even for a
team that's really good, you know, it's difficult to win
(05:33):
all the time. And frankly, we see that across all
team sports, right across individual sports as well. You know,
consistently being the best is really really difficult, and I
think you know a lot of things have to go
your way. You also got to make your luck, I think,
and be ready for it and have a winning mindset.
(05:54):
But you know, it's hard. Sports are hard. It's part
of what I think makes them really compelling as a fan.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Yes, well, I mean, speaking of that, we have the
rivalries and not only are y'all taking on the Austin
Gamblers in a rematch from last year, but you're also
having the last aeration of the Texas Cup for the season.
What has this rivalry been for y'all? Like, because you know,
here in Texas it's a rivalry, but it's maybe a
little brother brother rivalry, but at the same time, it's
(06:22):
still a rivalry going on throughout the state.
Speaker 6 (06:25):
It really is. I mean, we first don't want to
say that we have deep respect for our in state
rival I prefer to refer to them as the ugly
green team from the South. They are at plass organization,
they're well run, they have many of the best bull
(06:46):
riders in the league on their team, as do we,
of course, and I think that the in state rivalry
is just a natural. But then what's happened over the
past two and a half seasons, I think has been
really exciting for the fans because we merged. In season one.
In the regular season, the Austin Gambers were ranked one,
we were ranked two, and our team, you know, made
(07:07):
a good run. We finished third in season one. In
season two, we also once again you know, emerged as
two of the strongest squads, and as you noted, we
in fact met in the championship game. I think the
rivalry was already real, but it became even more real,
you know, for the Riders and our fans last year
and then this year also as you mentioned, you know,
(07:28):
we played one another in the regular season three times,
and so we're one and one against one another. So
Friday night, for fans you know who come out, they
very much can pick sides. We hope they picked the
hometown Test Area, Texas rathers and cheer us on to
a victory in the Texas Cup as we call it.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Yes, I love that so much. I mean, you need
rivalry when it comes to sports. You need you need
a reason, that extra motivation if you will to go out,
work even harder and then prove something, especially at home. No,
we want lose at home. And as y'all have said,
you guys don't lose at home.
Speaker 6 (08:04):
Yeah, And it's one of the things I think too, John,
that's made the made this team format bull riding so
compelling for fans. You know, you're you're aware and many
of your listeners will be aware. Bull riding has been
around for one hundred plus years, since two guys were
sitting on a fence and dare at each other. You know,
who can stay on that bowl over there? The longest,
(08:27):
pretty organic roots to this sport, and PBR you know,
has been thriving for the past thirty five years with
tours operating in Australia and Brazil and Canada, in the
United States and Mexico, and then this new PBR team
series launched, you know two and a half years ago
toward the end of the third season. Now, and I
think part of what makes the team format really fun
(08:50):
is is rivalry.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
You know.
Speaker 6 (08:52):
Of course there's rivalry between individual athletes, you know, Fetter
and Nadal, you know and Djokovic. It occurs in individuals sorts,
and we've seen that, you know, in PBR every few
years there'll be a couple of guys who emerge and
make a run against one another for the world championship,
and it can make it exciting. But I think in
(09:12):
team sports that that rivalry feeling, you know, is even
is even more pronounced. Right now in the league, every
team plays every other team at least three times, some
sometimes four times in a season, depending on the schedule,
and so it it really puts the building blocks in
place for us to build, you know, build that rivalry,
(09:34):
and it makes it fun for fans.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, oh, without a doubt. I mean, it gives that
extra bit of you know, you go in and you know,
you might see somebody with a Gamblers shirt on and
be like, hey, not tonight. And then once after everything's
all said and done, afterwards you shake hands, maybe by
each other beer and enjoy life.
Speaker 6 (09:53):
Yeah, there's a funding little anecdote. We we were playing
the Arizona Riders last season in their home arena, and
is similar to many other team sports, the head coach
has an opportunity to challenge a call on the field
and ask for a replay. You know, you get one
one challenge per game, and if you win, you keep it,
(10:15):
and if you lose, you the challenges goes away. So
last year, we challenge a ride, whether it was a
qualified rid or not, for one of the Ridge Rider athletes,
which I believe would have clinched the game. And sure enough,
he did not make the second whistle, and so they
took his score off the board, and you know, the
(10:37):
entire arena boos my coach, and so my coach, you know,
in the moment, tips his hat to the fans and
everybody sees it, it starts booing more loudly. Well then,
you know, the event ends an hour later, and our
coach and our team are walking to the hotel, which
is a short walk right across the street from the arena,
(10:57):
and he's thinking to himself, oh my gosh. You know,
I my hat and slightly taunted the fan base, and
now I've got to walk through them to get home.
You know. But but Western sports fans and PBA R fans,
you know, more specifically, are a certain kind of breed,
and so of course when they did leave the arena
having booed my coach and my team, they're stopping our
(11:18):
guys and asking for autographs and complimenting us on the wins.
And so I think I think that speaks to a
few things. It speaks to the class and the respect
you know of PBR fans. I also think it speaks
to your comment that it's just sports are fun. I mean,
this is entertainment. It's fun. The athletic achievement, the grit
and determination that it requires are very real, and also
(11:42):
it's it's fun.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
So yeah, this isn't Philadelphia where you go up there
and you know you might get murdered afterwards or something. No, yes, now,
I mean so we talked about how much is a
team sport this is, but then there are there are
rivalries between individuals as as much as this is. You know,
the third season, trying to wrap up, you talked about
(12:05):
how is the camaraderie between the guys because of the
fact that this was just a singles kind of sport
for the longest time, and now three seasons in we
all actually have great teamwork in you know, camaraderie can
you speak on how great it is backstage in the
locker rooms.
Speaker 6 (12:24):
Yeah. I think with most teams and for most most athletes,
John they've found it to be really appealing. I mean
they speak to they speak about things like now they
sort of have a purpose in bull riding that's even
bigger than themselves. I think they had that before in
terms of providing for their families. Right now, this teamwork
and this camaraderie are really strong for them and they're motivating.
(12:47):
One of the other factors is that there's coaching involved.
You know, many of the top bull riders in the
world will of their own volition, you know, hire sports
trainers to help them if they're conditioning, but very very
few have anything that we might characterize as coaching in
(13:08):
terms of their development team when they're individual athletes. But
in the team series, every team, every team in the
league actually has a head coach and an assistant coach.
I believe every team, every team in the league also
has athletic training, sports training, some teams have sports psychology.
You know, we offer our guys sports nutrition, and so
(13:29):
I think what we're seeing happening also even just in
the statistics and the numbers is that the guys are
starting to ride at a higher percentage. Most guys, not
every but most guys in the league are finding that
they're riding in a higher percentage level too. And I
think it's all these things that I just mentioned combined.
(13:49):
One of the other aspects that's really unique about team
bull riding is that the bulls are randomly drawn in
sets of five to the team, and then the coach
makes the decision on which riders are going to get
on which bulls. So the basic format of the team
series is that it's a five on five game. So tonight,
you know, the Texas Ratlers are playing the Austin Gamblers.
Tomorrow the Texas Ratlers are playing the Oklahoma wild Catters,
(14:11):
and the Austin Gamblers play you know, the Carolina Cowboys,
et cetera. This kind of round robin game structure for
the season. And so I think the the other big
factor in higher riding percentages is that that the coaches,
you know, get these pins of five bulls and then
make a decision, you know, what bowl does John matchup
(14:33):
best with to try to maximize the score. You know,
of course, you win. A team wins based on the
highest ride score across five attempts.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Right, No, I love that so much. That's amazing. And
I mean I believe you guys actually have a performance
center in Colorado too, didn't you?
Speaker 6 (14:50):
The league does, Yes, KBR does. It's offered to all
Western sports athletes actually for free, so they can come
in and train and I think guys have improved their
performance there. And then there's a facility not PBR related
here in the Greater THEDFW area that a lot of
athletes choose to go to as well. That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Now, I mean we kind of touched on it earlier,
but this weekend also it's not just about, you know,
the bull riding. It is also about the fan fest
that is happening. There's something literally for everybody. Starting on Thursday.
There's the championship. Thursday, there's also a Rattle Battle Rattlesnake Cookoff,
which is hosted by Tim Love. Tim Love is no
(15:31):
you know, stranger to the DFW area, especially for Worth.
And there's also a charity pancake dinner or breakfast sorry
that is happening on Saturday morning and proceeds of that
go to the the Future Farmers of America chapters of
the Arlington Heights and Arlington High School youth programs. How
amazing is it that not only is there people coming
just to watch you guys ride the bulls, but also
(15:53):
celebrate everything that is the Western culture and everything is
happening around you.
Speaker 6 (15:58):
Yeah, it's fantastic. I mean Worth is the capital cowboy
capital of the world. You know, there's no place on
earth quite like the historic Fort Worth's stockyards. We benefit
greatly to that from that as the hometown team and
fort Worth and Dallas fort Worth and and a lot
of the programming that we have over the weekend to
complement the bull riding is really about giving back to
(16:20):
our fans and creating, as you said, opportunities to celebrate
Western lifestyle. So, yeah, Thursday, I think we do. You know,
this is one of the more unique culinary festivals, not
just locally but nationally. We actually cook our mascot. So
sixteen of the best chefs in Fort Worth who've been
(16:41):
curated and invited by Chef Tim Love will come and participate.
It's you know, many of the best chefs. It's it's
established ships like don Or John Bonell, you know, and
and Donn Chimo chefs and then up and coming chefs
like Christian Luhrman, you know over at Tinys and other
terrific restaurants in town. Sixteen of the best chefs are
going to be competing for cash and prizes for them.
(17:04):
This is in Mule Alley on Thursday. It's from five
to seven pm. That is an additional ticketed event. It's
all you can sample and with open bar. And then
we'll migrate fans from that VIP kickoff party right into
Capitole Coliseum, which is night one of the bull riding performance.
And then our fan festival, which Thursday will launch earlier
in the day, continues through Friday and Saturday. This is
(17:27):
all free. There are kids activities, family activities, We'll have
autographed signings, sponsor activations. Monster Energy's got a really cool
display where folks can come down and get a free
barbered haircut, so that'll be fun. And then Saturday morning.
You mentioned one of two significant things that are happening.
(17:48):
The first is, you know, it's important to us to
give back to the community, particularly young people. Helping support
and develop leadership skills and agriculture is something that's really
close to our heart, and so as you mentioned, we're
going to have a donation based f FA charity pancake
breakfast on Saturday morning. It'll be from nine am to
(18:09):
noon and we'll be cooking pancakes and bacon. This is
on the dirt at Cowtown Coliseum, so kind of a
fun way to get into rodeo arena, you know, when
it's not operating as a rodeo. The Navy will be
doing a swearing in ceremony for new recruits, which also
will be a special aspect that morning, and then the
pancake breakfast rolls right into the ratter days Stockyards Parade,
(18:32):
which is also of course free to the family. Our
writers will be their writers from other teams will participate
as well. So that's from eleven thirty to noon on Saturday.
The herd walks the Fort Worth Longhorn. He Herd will
walk and then and they're kind of the lead in
the parade and then autograph signings at the area at
brand Store and other activities. So yeah, really a lot
(18:55):
of fun for the family. We'll have a college football
pailgate happening on Saturday on the Livestock Exchange line right
there in the Stockyards, and then we'll do watch parties
as well Thursday, Friday, Saturday. We're actually we're we're moving
very swiftly toward sellouts for the bull riding on Thursday
and Saturday night. So one of the things we're going
(19:17):
to do is have our jumbo Tron active in the evenings,
so for fans who don't get tickets on one of
those two nights, they can come out and enjoy a
watch party and cheer on the Texas Rauters.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
You guys got overflow. That's a bazy I love that
we do.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
We do. It's going to be a really fun weekend
and the weather looks fantastic, which is great, which is great.
We all have we have a ten degree reprieve that
I think we're all really really happy for.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Oh yeah, last weekend would not have been fun considering
how very warm it was, But no, this weekend is
going to be absolutely perfect for.
Speaker 6 (19:49):
This and I love it.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
But we did talk about rattlesnake. What is your favorite
way of eating ratsnake?
Speaker 6 (19:55):
Oh my gosh, Well, you know, one of the things
about rattlesnake is one of these meats that will really
take on the flavor of whatever's around it. It doesn't
have for those who haven't tasted rattlesnake. You know, I
wouldn't characterize it as a as a pungent or really
strong tasting meat, and so I think it makes it
fun for some of the chefs to prepare because they're
(20:18):
just able to kind of put together, you know, a
dish around it. Last year, this isn't a direct answer
to your question, but last year, for sure, the band's
favorite dish and which also ended up being the winning
dish with the judges as well, was a rattlesnake ravioli
(20:38):
that was just delicious. That chef actually at Dicky's Arena,
our home venue, beat all the other chefs that participated
last year, so that was it was. It was really delicious.
It created a lot of buzz throughout the festival where
everyone was saying, did you try the did you try
the ravioli? And then lo and behold it one. So
it's fun. The voting format actually for folks who come
(21:01):
and you know, buy a ticket and enjoy all these bites,
they get a voting token and so of the sixteen chefs,
the top three fan vote getters will make the finals,
and then the judges will judge those top three and
rank them and award the trophies. So the trophy, by
the way, is a three foot tall rattlesnake statue. Whoa
(21:25):
loo is pretty cool and quite unique.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Yeah, I mean you put that in your home, people
were going to want to know how you got that
or where you came from. So and that, Yeah, telling
the story of how well I cooked this amazing rattlesnake
and it won. So three foot tall, that's amazing.
Speaker 6 (21:41):
There's there last year there you know, there were one
or two dishes that we could characterize as kind of
an Asian spice style rattlesnake. The rabbioli won. There was
some there was a grilled rattlesnake, there was some barbecue flavors.
Just really it you know, it ran the gamut. It
was so fun to see the chef's creativity.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, I mean that's they're artists, so at the end
of the day, but if they're going to create something
amazing and you know, you get to eat it, that's right. Now.
Not only did you did the team win the championship
last year, but you won for Executive of the Year
with the PBR. What does that What did that feel like?
First off? And then also you know, you kind of
(22:21):
also maybe won because not only you guys won the championship,
but you signed the free agent when it came to
trace Red and then you know, a late season trade
with Eli Vassbender. First off, congratulations and also how did
it feel to you know, have such success in you know,
this year or this past year.
Speaker 6 (22:43):
Yeah, it was really humbling. You know, the accolade was
was really humbling. And I think, while I, while I
appreciate it and certainly take some credit for it, with humility,
I really feel that an award like that is a
reflection of just the overall class of our organization. And
you know, we have a terrific front office. I consider
it the best in the league. We have an excellent
(23:05):
coaching staff, and obviously on the dirt, you know, our riders,
supported by our coaches, won the championship, and so I
think those are all, you know, contributing factors. But it's
it's definitely humbling one of the fun aspects of this job.
I have a history and sports, but more on the
media side. This is the first time and the league side,
(23:25):
actually worked in a contributed in a leadership position for
about eight years at PBR before we launched the team
series and then and then came over to was invited
to head up the Texas Ratlers. But this is the
first team side you know job for me. And so
one of the more rewarding aspects has been the player personnel,
you know part of it, and as you said, the
(23:48):
you know, the trades that are involved. It's interesting every
team we hear about this and other sports, and it's
become quickly true in the PBR Team series as well.
You know, different teams have differferent programs or different systems, right,
Different coaches have different philosophies. And there are you know,
across the ten teams, there are somewhere between about about
(24:10):
one hundred and twenty five riders let's call it, who
are on these teams across the league. And they're all fantastic.
I mean, these are the best bull riders literally on
planet Earth. They come from Australia and Brazil and Canada,
you know, Mexico and all across the United States. They
are the cream of the crop bull riders. Some of
them work better or produce better results, you know, and
(24:33):
have a better experience in certain systems versus others. Right,
there's some locker rooms that are loose and love to
play you know, rock music to get themselves gended up
for competition. There are others that are you know, we
might describe as more calm and focused, right, And so
the part of the art of the general manager role
(24:57):
is putting together a combination of bull riders that can
thrive in that system, that can developed trust with one another,
that can trust and respect and really listen to the
coaches and then achieve great results. And many of the
best coaches and general managers in the history of sports
(25:18):
will describe that as a process that has definitely been true.
You know, in my experience, it's a process. Our team
all three seasons of the league has had a history
of getting a little bit of a slow start for
various reasons, and then you know, as the season progresses
kind of I think coming together and gelling as a
(25:41):
team and then producing better results in the second half
of the season and through the championship. That certainly played
out the first two seasons for our squad, and it
seems to be playing out now, you know as well.
We've won three of our last five games. One of
the ones we lost, you know, we rode three out
of five bulls and just got beat by a team
(26:02):
that performed better on the day last Friday in Greensboro,
North Carolina. Our team not the fifth perfect game in
a league history, really really difficult and good achievement, a
perfect game with riding five all five bulls in the game,
and in fact that that earns a team a spot
in what we call the shootout round, the bonus round,
(26:25):
and our writer wrote in that round and won that
round as well. So we went six for six on
the night, which is just stellar. So, you know, to
come full circle to your question, it's a it's a
humbling experience to have earned you know, Executive the Year
in the league. And as I said, I think, I
think it really just is a testament to the quality
(26:47):
of our overall organization and I'm very grateful for it.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Where do you keep your trophies or plaques or anything,
because some people put them in the bathroom. Some people
just love making a shrine of themselves. How do you
kind of but there's that well.
Speaker 6 (27:01):
I'll say that I'm lucky enough to actually have two
of our championship trophies. In the bull riding business, that's
a belt buckle, as you might guess. So one of
them is presently sitting at my waist part of my
part of my belt setup and holding up my jeans,
and then my second one is actually on the on
(27:23):
the side credenza. So that's beautiful part of what's really
fun about these. Some of your listeners will have seen
photographs or videos. The Team series trophy is a giant
belt buckle that's about a foot and change high by
almost two feet wide. It weighs almost twenty pounds. It
(27:44):
was handed silversmith by Montana Silversmiths out of Montana, out
of billions, and it's just it's a gorgeous piece of
handcrafted hardware. It's about a half a million dollar trophy
with all of its component parts, and so the the
individual you know, belt local trophies that we win, and
(28:07):
our writers and our ownership group and the front office
and coaches, et cetera, as you would imagine a replica
of the giant belt buckle. So it's particularly special when
we get to parade that trophy buckle around town. Of course,
we will have it out at Ratler Days and take
pictures of it this weekend, but it's pretty fun to
stand next to that trophy and have a mini little
(28:29):
version on the belt.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Yeah, you're like, that's the brill one and then this
is mine and that's that's at the end of the day.
Speaker 6 (28:36):
That's right now.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
As much as we're here to talking about the Ratlers.
In my research about you, I noticed you spent eighteen
months living and studying abroad, not only in China, Tibet
and Nepal and Thailand. Can you touch on what you
learned in that time and then how you kind of
take it to you know, today, and like you're talking
about having to manage a team, and you know, we've
(28:58):
heard so much about Phil jaf Accident, his Zen philosophy
and the way he would always study. How much did
you learn from that experience and then kind of take
it to what I guess in your everyday world too.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
Yeah, that's a fantastic it's a fantastic question. I'd always
really wanted to live abroad, gown and have that experience.
It was not something that my parents really supported in college,
which was fine. I think they were concerned about my
ability to focus, you know, on the educational studies. But
I kind of promised myself that at some point in
(29:31):
my future I was going to do that. I just
really wanted to be able to experience other cultures with
more depth than I envisioned I could do on a
typical you know, two or three week vacation. So yeah,
after working professionally for eight or nine years, I decided
to effectively take a self funded sabbatical. I'd saved up
(29:53):
money for a while and decided to go to Asia
in China, which was an you know, incredibly rich and
different culture. Once I got over there, I discovered that
many Chinese people on the weekends would go to small
(30:17):
mountains all over the country and do these hikes where
you know, for a century or more, people maintain like
steps stairs, steps cut out of stone into these mountains,
and people would take tour buses out there and just
spend the day hiking these mountains and soaking in nature
(30:37):
in the views. And it just seemed really interesting to me.
And so I went out and did a couple of
these and found found this experience, you know, to be
incredibly rewarding. I was, I can tell you for sure,
I was the only you know, six foot two Caucasian
mail on these on these hikes, surrounded you know by
(30:57):
locals who who I think think both thought it was odd,
we're quite surprised by this foreign guy being there, but
also really supportive, you know, and energetically kind, and so
that was a really enriching experience, I think, to kind
of get in touch with nature and also just be
alongside another culture as as they were doing the same.
(31:20):
You know that outdoor and being in nature to me
is to be closer to God, and you know that
certainly transcends culture, right, It's true, that's really about the
human experience. That that led me to Tibet, and I
actually actually hiked to every space camp treks there in Tibet,
(31:43):
and then I ended up crossing the border into Nepal
and doing it again from the Nepali side. So I've
been to base camp, everyspace camp where the big time
climbers go. You know, both of these are they're not
technical hikes to get there. They're they're challenging, for sure,
they're not for the faint of heart, but but they're
reasonably safe, you know, things to do. So that was
(32:05):
a terrific experience. And then when I got to Thailand,
I ended up through some friends making some connections with
some locals and ended up having a job opportunity to
help open a resort on a little boutique, a boutique
resort on an island in southern Thailand, and so I
lived in I studied Thai and lived in Thailand for
about six months of the experience, and that was that
was just deeply rewarding because I was really living alongside,
(32:30):
you know, folks in a very different culture, eating insanely
spicy fish stew for breakfast with rice and you know,
just all of it. So, you know, in terms of learning,
I think, I think I was going over there in
part to discover some things about myself and I and
I joke, I joke with people sometimes that it's interesting
(32:53):
you can put yourself anywhere in the world and when
you're calm, when you find a calm place, in a
still place, it's sort of it's still you and there
you are. It's not what I think about it. It
isn't actually that revelatory because because of course it's you,
and of course you are wherever you are. But you know,
(33:16):
I don't think in my experience, and certainly through that experience,
I learned that it doesn't really matter where I place myself.
While the outside environment you know, can can be fresh
and new, you know, or a distraction or whatever. I'm
still who I am, you know, learning, learning and growing
(33:38):
and developing, and you know, having the human struggles that
all of us have, you know, from time to time.
So yeah, it was enriching.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
It's amazing. I love all of that and I love
Yeah it does sound simple that yes, you are still
you no matter where you are, but finding you wherever
you are is really the goal in what people really
need to figure out. And as much as the chaos
is in everyday while life winter, it comes to what
our family, friends, you know, work, traffic jams, you know,
(34:11):
writing bulls, whatever it is, at the end of the day,
you still need to find that that calm and that
center and that you at the end of the day.
Speaker 6 (34:19):
Yeah, it's true, it's true. I think, I think just
part of the human condition of any of us. Sometimes
see the grass, you know, the proverbial grass is greener
on the other side, And I guess the point I'm
making is that the grass can be green on this
side too. It's all just about perspective. Yeah, it's just
as green. It's the same green on both sides.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
It just looks different because you're not on that side.
Speaker 6 (34:44):
That's right. It's all perspective exactly.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Now.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
If people want to find out more about this upcoming weekend,
the Texas Ratlers buy tickets. How can they do all
the things?
Speaker 6 (34:54):
Yeah, great question. Texas Ratlers dot Com has all the
information for fans on the fan festival and tickets. As
I mentioned, we are we are barreling towards sellouts for
Thursday and Saturday night. So for your listeners, if either
of those nights were the ones that work best. Thursday
night is a Cowtown Coliseum, you can hit their website
(35:14):
and tickets will still be available probably through through tomorrow
for that event. For Tomorrow night, and then Friday and
Saturday tickets are available at the Dickey's Arena website.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
There we go chat. Thank you so much for your time.
I look forward to this weekend. It's going to be
so much fun. And you know, obviously congratulat or congratulations
for your everything that has happened this past year. And
then you know, good luck with happening this weekend, continuing
that undefeated streak at home.
Speaker 6 (35:40):
Thanks so much, Jeohn. We look forward to seeing you out.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
Clickcling the.
Speaker 4 (37:13):
Part of the.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
Ana, and.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
Thank you so much to everyone for being on the show.
You've just heard Alex Hunter and Joseph Fishers ram with
their song gerbas Tune. On top of the show, you
heard Brandon McLaughlin with Brokeman's Blues, and thank you again
so much to Chad Blank and Ship. Definitely go out
and check out the Radlers this weekend. You are not
gonna want to miss any of that. So so much
(40:08):
going on in the city of Arlington. Definitely check us
out every Friday for our find Out Friday for finding
out even more information about what's happening with your favorite city, Arlington, Texas.
So while you're doing all that fun stuff, make sure
to eat local, drink local, and go rediscover your city.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Tag us and send those pictures over to us on
Facebook Arlington Citizen Media, Twitter atx Citizen Media. Tag us
on Instagram Arlington Citizen Media and send those pictures the
old fashioned way Email Arlington Citizen Media at gmail dot com.
Also go to our website www dot Arlington Citisenmedia dot com.
(40:43):
Don't forget to subscribe and give those five star reviews
of the downtown at Apple Music, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and
also hit us on SoundCloud, iHeartRadio and YouTube.
Speaker 3 (41:09):
Nothing at a a uple of the bob of b.
Speaker 5 (41:17):
Apple, nothing of an up as an uncle of the.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
Alps, bobble of a cop.
Speaker 5 (41:31):
App until other album, other couple of bob app
Welcome to Downtown, brought you by our own sensitives and media.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I am Rudy John And on this episode of the Downtown,
we talked to team president of your PBR team's world champions,
the Texas Rattlers. We talked to Chad Blancn's ship. We
talked to them all about how the Rattlers kick off
their return home. That's right this Thursday in Fort Worth.
You are definitely gonna want to check it out. Is
(00:47):
so much going on with not only the Rattlers, but
there's also a festival going on. We'll get into all
that in a second, but also you get to hear
local music from Alex Hunter and Joseph Fisher Schram with
their song Gerbis Tune. But first here is Brandon McLaughlin
with Broken Man's Blues.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
You're luck cheap cocaine, Hold a whiskey, dude, and what
I got it done?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Tousting cat By, got bills coming there, honey, going now?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I got nerg ety three dollars in my bank account.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Ain't it near needs up?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Hinting nothing new because it's too damn expensive keeping up
with you lords.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
This material things.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
And the fency is whine.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
I try may.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Best make my beer smile. Working all day, I got
holds in my shoes. It's a hard time living with
some more mans. You get back to lack a man
(02:19):
of money.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
It ain't no where to train, ain't hoday.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
I'm being around because you can't even know that I'm
a broken man. You don't know how you have to go.
Just mean him know this.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
I'm gonna tell you.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Something that dak Tello. Tell it to the good moment
I must to give him. I'll be around sunny with
this broadman's semans.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
I would like to welcome to show Chad Blankenship. He
is the team president for your reigning PBR team's world champions,
the Texas Rattlers. How are you doing today, sir? Doing
love chop So, the Texas Rattlers are returning home this
weekend to take on not only the Oklahoma Wildcatters on
the twenty six a rematch of the champion Ship, taking
(04:00):
on the Austin Gambleage on the twenty seventh, and then
finishing the weekend with the Nashville Stampede on the twenty eighth.
What are you most looking forward to this weekend?
Speaker 6 (04:10):
Oh my goodness, Well, a few things one, welcoming tens
of thousands of Texas Ratlers fans new and old to
the events all weekend long. Of course, we've got three
action packed nins of bull riding. Also just a real
huge fan festival that happens in the historic or stockyards.
(04:31):
We can talk a little bit more about that, but
you know, one of the distinctions you mentioned, of course
that we're the reigning defending TBR Team Series champions. In addition,
we are the only team in the history of the
PBR Team Series who remains undefeated on home dirt, and
so we will be looking to continue that achievement this
(04:53):
weekend by winning all three and sweep in the weekend.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
That's I mean, how incredible is that that you are
the only one ones to be undefeated at home. I mean,
you know, obviously the fans help out quite a bit,
but you know, you guys really wanted to do in
the work. So how does that feel just knowing that
you know, no one could touch us at home?
Speaker 6 (05:12):
It's true. Yeah, our our team writers who do the work,
they're just you know, they're the best. They're clearly one
of the best teams in the league. I think it
speaks to a couple things, John. First of all, it's
actually bull writing is extremely difficult, and even for a
team that's really good, you know, it's difficult to win
(05:33):
all the time. And frankly, we see that across all
team sports, right across individual sports as well. You know,
consistently being the best is really really difficult, and I
think you know a lot of things have to go
your way. You also got to make your luck, I think,
and be ready for it and have a winning mindset.
(05:54):
But you know, it's hard. Sports are hard. It's part
of what I think makes them really compelling as a fan.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Yes, well, I mean, speaking of that, we have the
rivalries and not only are y'all taking on the Austin
Gamblers in a rematch from last year, but you're also
having the last aeration of the Texas Cup for the season.
What has this rivalry been for y'all? Like, because you know,
here in Texas it's a rivalry, but it's maybe a
little brother brother rivalry, but at the same time, it's
(06:22):
still a rivalry going on throughout the state.
Speaker 6 (06:25):
It really is. I mean, we first don't want to
say that we have deep respect for our in state
rival I prefer to refer to them as the ugly
green team from the South. They are at plass organization,
they're well run, they have many of the best bull
(06:46):
riders in the league on their team, as do we,
of course, and I think that the in state rivalry
is just a natural. But then what's happened over the
past two and a half seasons, I think has been
really exciting for the fans because we merged. In season one.
In the regular season, the Austin Gambers were ranked one,
we were ranked two, and our team, you know, made
(07:07):
a good run. We finished third in season one. In
season two, we also once again you know, emerged as
two of the strongest squads, and as you noted, we
in fact met in the championship game. I think the
rivalry was already real, but it became even more real,
you know, for the Riders and our fans last year
and then this year also as you mentioned, you know,
(07:28):
we played one another in the regular season three times,
and so we're one and one against one another. So
Friday night, for fans you know who come out, they
very much can pick sides. We hope they picked the
hometown Test Area, Texas rathers and cheer us on to
a victory in the Texas Cup as we call it.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Yes, I love that so much. I mean, you need
rivalry when it comes to sports. You need you need
a reason, that extra motivation if you will to go out,
work even harder and then prove something, especially at home. No,
we want lose at home. And as y'all have said,
you guys don't lose at home.
Speaker 6 (08:04):
Yeah, And it's one of the things I think too, John,
that's made the made this team format bull riding so
compelling for fans. You know, you're you're aware and many
of your listeners will be aware. Bull riding has been
around for one hundred plus years, since two guys were
sitting on a fence and dare at each other. You know,
who can stay on that bowl over there? The longest,
(08:27):
pretty organic roots to this sport, and PBR you know,
has been thriving for the past thirty five years with
tours operating in Australia and Brazil and Canada, in the
United States and Mexico, and then this new PBR team
series launched, you know two and a half years ago
toward the end of the third season. Now, and I
think part of what makes the team format really fun
(08:50):
is is rivalry.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
You know.
Speaker 6 (08:52):
Of course there's rivalry between individual athletes, you know, Fetter
and Nadal, you know and Djokovic. It occurs in individuals sorts,
and we've seen that, you know, in PBR every few
years there'll be a couple of guys who emerge and
make a run against one another for the world championship,
and it can make it exciting. But I think in
(09:12):
team sports that that rivalry feeling, you know, is even
is even more pronounced. Right now in the league, every
team plays every other team at least three times, some
sometimes four times in a season, depending on the schedule,
and so it it really puts the building blocks in
place for us to build, you know, build that rivalry,
(09:34):
and it makes it fun for fans.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, oh, without a doubt. I mean, it gives that
extra bit of you know, you go in and you know,
you might see somebody with a Gamblers shirt on and
be like, hey, not tonight. And then once after everything's
all said and done, afterwards you shake hands, maybe by
each other beer and enjoy life.
Speaker 6 (09:53):
Yeah, there's a funding little anecdote. We we were playing
the Arizona Riders last season in their home arena, and
is similar to many other team sports, the head coach
has an opportunity to challenge a call on the field
and ask for a replay. You know, you get one
one challenge per game, and if you win, you keep it,
(10:15):
and if you lose, you the challenges goes away. So
last year, we challenge a ride, whether it was a
qualified rid or not, for one of the Ridge Rider athletes,
which I believe would have clinched the game. And sure enough,
he did not make the second whistle, and so they
took his score off the board, and you know, the
(10:37):
entire arena boos my coach, and so my coach, you know,
in the moment, tips his hat to the fans and
everybody sees it, it starts booing more loudly. Well then,
you know, the event ends an hour later, and our
coach and our team are walking to the hotel, which
is a short walk right across the street from the arena,
(10:57):
and he's thinking to himself, oh my gosh. You know,
I my hat and slightly taunted the fan base, and
now I've got to walk through them to get home.
You know. But but Western sports fans and PBA R fans,
you know, more specifically, are a certain kind of breed,
and so of course when they did leave the arena
having booed my coach and my team, they're stopping our
(11:18):
guys and asking for autographs and complimenting us on the wins.
And so I think I think that speaks to a
few things. It speaks to the class and the respect
you know of PBR fans. I also think it speaks
to your comment that it's just sports are fun. I mean,
this is entertainment. It's fun. The athletic achievement, the grit
and determination that it requires are very real, and also
(11:42):
it's it's fun.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
So yeah, this isn't Philadelphia where you go up there
and you know you might get murdered afterwards or something. No, yes, now,
I mean so we talked about how much is a
team sport this is, but then there are there are
rivalries between individuals as as much as this is. You know,
the third season, trying to wrap up, you talked about
(12:05):
how is the camaraderie between the guys because of the
fact that this was just a singles kind of sport
for the longest time, and now three seasons in we
all actually have great teamwork in you know, camaraderie can
you speak on how great it is backstage in the
locker rooms.
Speaker 6 (12:24):
Yeah. I think with most teams and for most most athletes,
John they've found it to be really appealing. I mean
they speak to they speak about things like now they
sort of have a purpose in bull riding that's even
bigger than themselves. I think they had that before in
terms of providing for their families. Right now, this teamwork
and this camaraderie are really strong for them and they're motivating.
(12:47):
One of the other factors is that there's coaching involved.
You know, many of the top bull riders in the
world will of their own volition, you know, hire sports
trainers to help them if they're conditioning, but very very
few have anything that we might characterize as coaching in
(13:08):
terms of their development team when they're individual athletes. But
in the team series, every team, every team in the
league actually has a head coach and an assistant coach.
I believe every team, every team in the league also
has athletic training, sports training, some teams have sports psychology.
You know, we offer our guys sports nutrition, and so
(13:29):
I think what we're seeing happening also even just in
the statistics and the numbers is that the guys are
starting to ride at a higher percentage. Most guys, not
every but most guys in the league are finding that
they're riding in a higher percentage level too. And I
think it's all these things that I just mentioned combined.
(13:49):
One of the other aspects that's really unique about team
bull riding is that the bulls are randomly drawn in
sets of five to the team, and then the coach
makes the decision on which riders are going to get
on which bulls. So the basic format of the team
series is that it's a five on five game. So tonight,
you know, the Texas Ratlers are playing the Austin Gamblers.
Tomorrow the Texas Ratlers are playing the Oklahoma wild Catters,
(14:11):
and the Austin Gamblers play you know, the Carolina Cowboys,
et cetera. This kind of round robin game structure for
the season. And so I think the the other big
factor in higher riding percentages is that that the coaches,
you know, get these pins of five bulls and then
make a decision, you know, what bowl does John matchup
(14:33):
best with to try to maximize the score. You know,
of course, you win. A team wins based on the
highest ride score across five attempts.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Right, No, I love that so much. That's amazing. And
I mean I believe you guys actually have a performance
center in Colorado too, didn't you?
Speaker 6 (14:50):
The league does, Yes, KBR does. It's offered to all
Western sports athletes actually for free, so they can come
in and train and I think guys have improved their
performance there. And then there's a facility not PBR related
here in the Greater THEDFW area that a lot of
athletes choose to go to as well. That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Now, I mean we kind of touched on it earlier,
but this weekend also it's not just about, you know,
the bull riding. It is also about the fan fest
that is happening. There's something literally for everybody. Starting on Thursday.
There's the championship. Thursday, there's also a Rattle Battle Rattlesnake Cookoff,
which is hosted by Tim Love. Tim Love is no
(15:31):
you know, stranger to the DFW area, especially for Worth.
And there's also a charity pancake dinner or breakfast sorry
that is happening on Saturday morning and proceeds of that
go to the the Future Farmers of America chapters of
the Arlington Heights and Arlington High School youth programs. How
amazing is it that not only is there people coming
just to watch you guys ride the bulls, but also
(15:53):
celebrate everything that is the Western culture and everything is
happening around you.
Speaker 6 (15:58):
Yeah, it's fantastic. I mean Worth is the capital cowboy
capital of the world. You know, there's no place on
earth quite like the historic Fort Worth's stockyards. We benefit
greatly to that from that as the hometown team and
fort Worth and Dallas fort Worth and and a lot
of the programming that we have over the weekend to
complement the bull riding is really about giving back to
(16:20):
our fans and creating, as you said, opportunities to celebrate
Western lifestyle. So, yeah, Thursday, I think we do. You know,
this is one of the more unique culinary festivals, not
just locally but nationally. We actually cook our mascot. So
sixteen of the best chefs in Fort Worth who've been
(16:41):
curated and invited by Chef Tim Love will come and participate.
It's you know, many of the best chefs. It's it's
established ships like don Or John Bonell, you know, and
and Donn Chimo chefs and then up and coming chefs
like Christian Luhrman, you know over at Tinys and other
terrific restaurants in town. Sixteen of the best chefs are
going to be competing for cash and prizes for them.
(17:04):
This is in Mule Alley on Thursday. It's from five
to seven pm. That is an additional ticketed event. It's
all you can sample and with open bar. And then
we'll migrate fans from that VIP kickoff party right into
Capitole Coliseum, which is night one of the bull riding performance.
And then our fan festival, which Thursday will launch earlier
in the day, continues through Friday and Saturday. This is
(17:27):
all free. There are kids activities, family activities, We'll have
autographed signings, sponsor activations. Monster Energy's got a really cool
display where folks can come down and get a free
barbered haircut, so that'll be fun. And then Saturday morning.
You mentioned one of two significant things that are happening.
(17:48):
The first is, you know, it's important to us to
give back to the community, particularly young people. Helping support
and develop leadership skills and agriculture is something that's really
close to our heart, and so as you mentioned, we're
going to have a donation based f FA charity pancake
breakfast on Saturday morning. It'll be from nine am to
(18:09):
noon and we'll be cooking pancakes and bacon. This is
on the dirt at Cowtown Coliseum, so kind of a
fun way to get into rodeo arena, you know, when
it's not operating as a rodeo. The Navy will be
doing a swearing in ceremony for new recruits, which also
will be a special aspect that morning, and then the
pancake breakfast rolls right into the ratter days Stockyards Parade,
(18:32):
which is also of course free to the family. Our
writers will be their writers from other teams will participate
as well. So that's from eleven thirty to noon on Saturday.
The herd walks the Fort Worth Longhorn. He Herd will
walk and then and they're kind of the lead in
the parade and then autograph signings at the area at
brand Store and other activities. So yeah, really a lot
(18:55):
of fun for the family. We'll have a college football
pailgate happening on Saturday on the Livestock Exchange line right
there in the Stockyards, and then we'll do watch parties
as well Thursday, Friday, Saturday. We're actually we're we're moving
very swiftly toward sellouts for the bull riding on Thursday
and Saturday night. So one of the things we're going
(19:17):
to do is have our jumbo Tron active in the evenings,
so for fans who don't get tickets on one of
those two nights, they can come out and enjoy a
watch party and cheer on the Texas Rauters.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
You guys got overflow. That's a bazy I love that
we do.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
We do. It's going to be a really fun weekend
and the weather looks fantastic, which is great, which is great.
We all have we have a ten degree reprieve that
I think we're all really really happy for.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Oh yeah, last weekend would not have been fun considering
how very warm it was, But no, this weekend is
going to be absolutely perfect for.
Speaker 6 (19:49):
This and I love it.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
But we did talk about rattlesnake. What is your favorite
way of eating ratsnake?
Speaker 6 (19:55):
Oh my gosh, Well, you know, one of the things
about rattlesnake is one of these meats that will really
take on the flavor of whatever's around it. It doesn't
have for those who haven't tasted rattlesnake. You know, I
wouldn't characterize it as a as a pungent or really
strong tasting meat, and so I think it makes it
fun for some of the chefs to prepare because they're
(20:18):
just able to kind of put together, you know, a
dish around it. Last year, this isn't a direct answer
to your question, but last year, for sure, the band's
favorite dish and which also ended up being the winning
dish with the judges as well, was a rattlesnake ravioli
(20:38):
that was just delicious. That chef actually at Dicky's Arena,
our home venue, beat all the other chefs that participated
last year, so that was it was. It was really delicious.
It created a lot of buzz throughout the festival where
everyone was saying, did you try the did you try
the ravioli? And then lo and behold it one. So
it's fun. The voting format actually for folks who come
(21:01):
and you know, buy a ticket and enjoy all these bites,
they get a voting token and so of the sixteen chefs,
the top three fan vote getters will make the finals,
and then the judges will judge those top three and
rank them and award the trophies. So the trophy, by
the way, is a three foot tall rattlesnake statue. Whoa
(21:25):
loo is pretty cool and quite unique.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Yeah, I mean you put that in your home, people
were going to want to know how you got that
or where you came from. So and that, Yeah, telling
the story of how well I cooked this amazing rattlesnake
and it won. So three foot tall, that's amazing.
Speaker 6 (21:41):
There's there last year there you know, there were one
or two dishes that we could characterize as kind of
an Asian spice style rattlesnake. The rabbioli won. There was
some there was a grilled rattlesnake, there was some barbecue flavors.
Just really it you know, it ran the gamut. It
was so fun to see the chef's creativity.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, I mean that's they're artists, so at the end
of the day, but if they're going to create something
amazing and you know, you get to eat it, that's right. Now.
Not only did you did the team win the championship
last year, but you won for Executive of the Year
with the PBR. What does that What did that feel like?
First off? And then also you know, you kind of
(22:21):
also maybe won because not only you guys won the championship,
but you signed the free agent when it came to
trace Red and then you know, a late season trade
with Eli Vassbender. First off, congratulations and also how did
it feel to you know, have such success in you know,
this year or this past year.
Speaker 6 (22:43):
Yeah, it was really humbling. You know, the accolade was
was really humbling. And I think, while I, while I
appreciate it and certainly take some credit for it, with humility,
I really feel that an award like that is a
reflection of just the overall class of our organization. And
you know, we have a terrific front office. I consider
it the best in the league. We have an excellent
(23:05):
coaching staff, and obviously on the dirt, you know, our riders,
supported by our coaches, won the championship, and so I
think those are all, you know, contributing factors. But it's
it's definitely humbling one of the fun aspects of this job.
I have a history and sports, but more on the
media side. This is the first time and the league side,
(23:25):
actually worked in a contributed in a leadership position for
about eight years at PBR before we launched the team
series and then and then came over to was invited
to head up the Texas Ratlers. But this is the
first team side you know job for me. And so
one of the more rewarding aspects has been the player personnel,
you know part of it, and as you said, the
(23:48):
you know, the trades that are involved. It's interesting every
team we hear about this and other sports, and it's
become quickly true in the PBR Team series as well.
You know, different teams have differferent programs or different systems, right,
Different coaches have different philosophies. And there are you know,
across the ten teams, there are somewhere between about about
(24:10):
one hundred and twenty five riders let's call it, who
are on these teams across the league. And they're all fantastic.
I mean, these are the best bull riders literally on
planet Earth. They come from Australia and Brazil and Canada,
you know, Mexico and all across the United States. They
are the cream of the crop bull riders. Some of
them work better or produce better results, you know, and
(24:33):
have a better experience in certain systems versus others. Right,
there's some locker rooms that are loose and love to
play you know, rock music to get themselves gended up
for competition. There are others that are you know, we
might describe as more calm and focused, right, And so
the part of the art of the general manager role
(24:57):
is putting together a combination of bull riders that can
thrive in that system, that can developed trust with one another,
that can trust and respect and really listen to the
coaches and then achieve great results. And many of the
best coaches and general managers in the history of sports
(25:18):
will describe that as a process that has definitely been true.
You know, in my experience, it's a process. Our team
all three seasons of the league has had a history
of getting a little bit of a slow start for
various reasons, and then you know, as the season progresses
kind of I think coming together and gelling as a
(25:41):
team and then producing better results in the second half
of the season and through the championship. That certainly played
out the first two seasons for our squad, and it
seems to be playing out now, you know as well.
We've won three of our last five games. One of
the ones we lost, you know, we rode three out
of five bulls and just got beat by a team
(26:02):
that performed better on the day last Friday in Greensboro,
North Carolina. Our team not the fifth perfect game in
a league history, really really difficult and good achievement, a
perfect game with riding five all five bulls in the game,
and in fact that that earns a team a spot
in what we call the shootout round, the bonus round,
(26:25):
and our writer wrote in that round and won that
round as well. So we went six for six on
the night, which is just stellar. So, you know, to
come full circle to your question, it's a it's a
humbling experience to have earned you know, Executive the Year
in the league. And as I said, I think, I
think it really just is a testament to the quality
(26:47):
of our overall organization and I'm very grateful for it.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Where do you keep your trophies or plaques or anything,
because some people put them in the bathroom. Some people
just love making a shrine of themselves. How do you
kind of but there's that well.
Speaker 6 (27:01):
I'll say that I'm lucky enough to actually have two
of our championship trophies. In the bull riding business, that's
a belt buckle, as you might guess. So one of
them is presently sitting at my waist part of my
part of my belt setup and holding up my jeans,
and then my second one is actually on the on
(27:23):
the side credenza. So that's beautiful part of what's really
fun about these. Some of your listeners will have seen
photographs or videos. The Team series trophy is a giant
belt buckle that's about a foot and change high by
almost two feet wide. It weighs almost twenty pounds. It
(27:44):
was handed silversmith by Montana Silversmiths out of Montana, out
of billions, and it's just it's a gorgeous piece of
handcrafted hardware. It's about a half a million dollar trophy
with all of its component parts, and so the the
individual you know, belt local trophies that we win, and
(28:07):
our writers and our ownership group and the front office
and coaches, et cetera, as you would imagine a replica
of the giant belt buckle. So it's particularly special when
we get to parade that trophy buckle around town. Of course,
we will have it out at Ratler Days and take
pictures of it this weekend, but it's pretty fun to
stand next to that trophy and have a mini little
(28:29):
version on the belt.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Yeah, you're like, that's the brill one and then this
is mine and that's that's at the end of the day.
Speaker 6 (28:36):
That's right now.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
As much as we're here to talking about the Ratlers.
In my research about you, I noticed you spent eighteen
months living and studying abroad, not only in China, Tibet
and Nepal and Thailand. Can you touch on what you
learned in that time and then how you kind of
take it to you know, today, and like you're talking
about having to manage a team, and you know, we've
(28:58):
heard so much about Phil jaf Accident, his Zen philosophy
and the way he would always study. How much did
you learn from that experience and then kind of take
it to what I guess in your everyday world too.
Speaker 6 (29:10):
Yeah, that's a fantastic it's a fantastic question. I'd always
really wanted to live abroad, gown and have that experience.
It was not something that my parents really supported in college,
which was fine. I think they were concerned about my
ability to focus, you know, on the educational studies. But
I kind of promised myself that at some point in
(29:31):
my future I was going to do that. I just
really wanted to be able to experience other cultures with
more depth than I envisioned I could do on a
typical you know, two or three week vacation. So yeah,
after working professionally for eight or nine years, I decided
to effectively take a self funded sabbatical. I'd saved up
(29:53):
money for a while and decided to go to Asia
in China, which was an you know, incredibly rich and
different culture. Once I got over there, I discovered that
many Chinese people on the weekends would go to small
(30:17):
mountains all over the country and do these hikes where
you know, for a century or more, people maintain like
steps stairs, steps cut out of stone into these mountains,
and people would take tour buses out there and just
spend the day hiking these mountains and soaking in nature
(30:37):
in the views. And it just seemed really interesting to me.
And so I went out and did a couple of
these and found found this experience, you know, to be
incredibly rewarding. I was, I can tell you for sure,
I was the only you know, six foot two Caucasian
mail on these on these hikes, surrounded you know by
(30:57):
locals who who I think think both thought it was odd,
we're quite surprised by this foreign guy being there, but
also really supportive, you know, and energetically kind, and so
that was a really enriching experience, I think, to kind
of get in touch with nature and also just be
alongside another culture as as they were doing the same.
(31:20):
You know that outdoor and being in nature to me
is to be closer to God, and you know that
certainly transcends culture, right, It's true, that's really about the
human experience. That that led me to Tibet, and I
actually actually hiked to every space camp treks there in Tibet,
(31:43):
and then I ended up crossing the border into Nepal
and doing it again from the Nepali side. So I've
been to base camp, everyspace camp where the big time
climbers go. You know, both of these are they're not
technical hikes to get there. They're they're challenging, for sure,
they're not for the faint of heart, but but they're
reasonably safe, you know, things to do. So that was
(32:05):
a terrific experience. And then when I got to Thailand,
I ended up through some friends making some connections with
some locals and ended up having a job opportunity to
help open a resort on a little boutique, a boutique
resort on an island in southern Thailand, and so I
lived in I studied Thai and lived in Thailand for
about six months of the experience, and that was that
was just deeply rewarding because I was really living alongside,
(32:30):
you know, folks in a very different culture, eating insanely
spicy fish stew for breakfast with rice and you know,
just all of it. So, you know, in terms of learning,
I think, I think I was going over there in
part to discover some things about myself and I and
I joke, I joke with people sometimes that it's interesting
(32:53):
you can put yourself anywhere in the world and when
you're calm, when you find a calm place, in a
still place, it's sort of it's still you and there
you are. It's not what I think about it. It
isn't actually that revelatory because because of course it's you,
and of course you are wherever you are. But you know,
(33:16):
I don't think in my experience, and certainly through that experience,
I learned that it doesn't really matter where I place myself.
While the outside environment you know, can can be fresh
and new, you know, or a distraction or whatever. I'm
still who I am, you know, learning, learning and growing
(33:38):
and developing, and you know, having the human struggles that
all of us have, you know, from time to time.
So yeah, it was enriching.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
It's amazing. I love all of that and I love
Yeah it does sound simple that yes, you are still
you no matter where you are, but finding you wherever
you are is really the goal in what people really
need to figure out. And as much as the chaos
is in everyday while life winter, it comes to what
our family, friends, you know, work, traffic jams, you know,
(34:11):
writing bulls, whatever it is, at the end of the day,
you still need to find that that calm and that
center and that you at the end of the day.
Speaker 6 (34:19):
Yeah, it's true, it's true. I think, I think just
part of the human condition of any of us. Sometimes
see the grass, you know, the proverbial grass is greener
on the other side, And I guess the point I'm
making is that the grass can be green on this
side too. It's all just about perspective. Yeah, it's just
as green. It's the same green on both sides.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
It just looks different because you're not on that side.
Speaker 6 (34:44):
That's right. It's all perspective exactly.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Now.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
If people want to find out more about this upcoming weekend,
the Texas Ratlers buy tickets. How can they do all
the things?
Speaker 6 (34:54):
Yeah, great question. Texas Ratlers dot Com has all the
information for fans on the fan festival and tickets. As
I mentioned, we are we are barreling towards sellouts for
Thursday and Saturday night. So for your listeners, if either
of those nights were the ones that work best. Thursday
night is a Cowtown Coliseum, you can hit their website
(35:14):
and tickets will still be available probably through through tomorrow
for that event. For Tomorrow night, and then Friday and
Saturday tickets are available at the Dickey's Arena website.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
There we go chat. Thank you so much for your time.
I look forward to this weekend. It's going to be
so much fun. And you know, obviously congratulat or congratulations
for your everything that has happened this past year. And
then you know, good luck with happening this weekend, continuing
that undefeated streak at home.
Speaker 6 (35:40):
Thanks so much, Jeohn. We look forward to seeing you out.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
Clickcling the.
Speaker 4 (37:13):
Part of the.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
Ana, and.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
Thank you so much to everyone for being on the show.
You've just heard Alex Hunter and Joseph Fishers ram with
their song gerbas Tune. On top of the show, you
heard Brandon McLaughlin with Brokeman's Blues, and thank you again
so much to Chad Blank and Ship. Definitely go out
and check out the Radlers this weekend. You are not
gonna want to miss any of that. So so much
(40:08):
going on in the city of Arlington. Definitely check us
out every Friday for our find Out Friday for finding
out even more information about what's happening with your favorite city, Arlington, Texas.
So while you're doing all that fun stuff, make sure
to eat local, drink local, and go rediscover your city.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Tag us and send those pictures over to us on
Facebook Arlington Citizen Media, Twitter atx Citizen Media. Tag us
on Instagram Arlington Citizen Media and send those pictures the
old fashioned way Email Arlington Citizen Media at gmail dot com.
Also go to our website www dot Arlington Citisenmedia dot com.
(40:43):
Don't forget to subscribe and give those five star reviews
of the downtown at Apple Music, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and
also hit us on SoundCloud, iHeartRadio and YouTube.
Speaker 3 (41:09):
Nothing at a a uple of the bob of b.
Speaker 5 (41:17):
Apple, nothing of an up as an uncle of the.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
Alps, bobble of a cop.
Speaker 5 (41:31):
App until other album, other couple of bob app
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