The New York Mavericks made history after winning their first home game on August 9 and 10 with a double win.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
In an event the likes of which Brooklyn has never seen before, the New York Mavericks scored two consecutive wins in their first home game as a professional bull riding team at Barclays Center this weekend.
The Mavericks, New York City’s first bull riding team, put on a high-energy show from start to finish, securing a win on both nights of the inaugural Maverick Days on August 9 and 10. On Friday, the Mavericks left the arena having posted a score of 260.25 in three rides against the scoreless Kansas City Outlaws. They returned on Saturday and beat the Florida Freedom 85.75 to nil.
The Professional Bull Riding Team Series features ten riders from two teams competing for the highest score in a four-ride competition. Similar to individual bull riding, athletes must stay on the bucking bull for at least eight seconds to earn points. If a cowboy falls off before the clock reaches eight, the ride is considered pointless, and their teammates are under pressure to make up the difference.
In the first round, a Kansas City rider was thrown out at 7.9 seconds. Mavericks opener Davi Henrique de Lima was ready to get the team on the scoreboard, but couldn’t get out of the chutes on the bull Smoke Show. The scoreboard remained unchanged during the second ride, but the pace of the game picked up in the third.
Another misstep by Kansas opened the door wide for Hudson Bolton, the 18-year-old Maverick from Tennessee, who held on to the end and scored an 86-point ride. Lima matched Bolton’s prowess on his second ride with another 86 points.
With only two competitors remaining, Kansas needed to score both highly to win – but after their rider fell after 5.38 seconds, the Mavericks were declared the winners, finishing the match with another match record of 88.25 by Mauricio Moreira.
During the two-day showdown, the Barclays Center saw a record-breaking number of cowboy hats and spurs. Fans of all ages were spotted in their best rodeo outfits. Some viewers of the show came from as far away as Texas, Virginia and Missouri, while people from Brooklyn simply jumped on the train to enjoy the event.
The arena, normally a venue for concerts and basketball games, was transformed into a rodeo arena for an event in the South. Workers trucked in 750 tons of dirt and built steel pens for the bulls, a total of six football fields long.
If the man versus animal fight wasn’t enough to keep the spectators entertained, the energetic rodeo clown and the entertainment during halftime did the trick.
The Mavericks once again defended their home court during Saturday’s competition, scoring an upset win over the Florida Freedom, scoring 85.75 points while the Freedoms scored zero points.
Bolton delivered the game-deciding ride in the third round, but in the end it came down to 18-year-old John Crimber, the Mavericks’ closer and 2024 PBR The favorite for team MVP honors will be coming off a big hit. Crimber had an impressive ride the night before but stumbled on Saturday and fell after a 5.97-second time.
After the competition, the Mavericks riders said it was the energy of the fans that motivated them during their rides.
Bolton told the Brooklyn Paper that the screams of the crowd drowned out the music and the sound of the buzzer that tells drivers when they’ve reached their eight-second mark. But it was the fans’ deafening cheers that sustained him and made him realize he was on his way to victory.
“It’s always super cool to drive like this in front of your fans. I’m grateful to all the fans who came,” said Bolton.
Braidy Randolph, a Mavericks rider who was thrown off in 3.69 seconds on Friday, said in those final moments before the chute opens, it’s up to the players to remember their training and stay calm. Since they never know how wild their bull will be, they have to rely on muscle memory to be victorious.
“I’ve never felt like I do at our home games,” Randolph said. “Home games just feel better. It doesn’t matter what comes your way here, you feel like you can handle it.”
Their victories ended the opening round PBR Maverick Days with a perfect 2-0 record, improving to 4-5 this season. The latest win saw New York rise from 9th to 8th in the league.
Next, the Mavericks travel to Nashville for the PBR Camping World Team Series at Bridgestone Arena from August 16-18, where they will face the Texas Rattlers on August 17.
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