What 2 Watch 4: Attitude Is Everything for Team USA Eagles and Team Canada in Price for Glory

By: Darci Miller

PUEBLO, Colo. – Bull riding is a mental game.

Even the best riders in the world are open about how much their mental state and confidence affects them as they pursue greatness, and the importance of the right mentality only increases when a team environment is thrown into the mix.

When it comes to the 2020 WinStar World Casino and Resort PBR Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy, attitude is everything.

It’s this concept that takes center stage in the seventh episode of the Global Cup docu-series Price for Glory (Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network).

When it comes to the Team USA Eagles, the problems are few and far between. Coaches Justin McBride and J.W. Hart can select their entire roster from among the Top 35 bull riders in the world, and they have experienced veterans to act as leaders and motivators.

McBride and Hart called a group of prospects together in Springfield, Missouri, ahead of team selection to check in with their veterans and remind a class of youngsters that they have a shot at making the team.

Longtime team captain Cooper Davis was one of the experienced riders to speak up about his experiences.

“Whenever I get to show up at that deal, that’s my favorite event all year, to get to be around the guys that I look up to in the locker room,” Davis said. “And knowing that they’re behind me, it’s just kind of like a brotherhood deal that you only get that one weekend a year to do. And it fires me up just to be a part of it.”

RELATED: Team USA Eagles and Wolves announce final roster selections

Another guy that was particularly fired up was Chase Outlaw, who made his Global Cup debut at the 2019 edition of the event, and McBride was impressed by their initiative.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt in my mind that in the future of the Global Cups that Cooper Davis, no doubt, will be leading a team of his own one day,” McBride said. “I could see Chase being a guy with Cooper, doing it together.

“One of the main points I wanted to make to them is there’s two things in their professional career they should want to achieve, and that’s to be a World Champion and to win a Global Cup title.”

Months later, and Outlaw is unable to compete in Arlington because of offseason reconstructive shoulder surgery, and Davis’ status is not looking good following a neck fracture at the season-opener in New York.

While many prospective Eagles were fired up and ready to go, McBride and Hart spent some time speaking to two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood. They had concerns about his attitude and wanted to ensure he’d be competing with the team’s best interests at heart.

McBride told Lockwood they’d be asking more of him, but that’s the price of being the best, and Hart said a 110% commitment would be required.

“I’m already doing it. I’ve just got to step up and take the responsibility that comes along with it,” Lockwood said. “I’m a young guy, and everyone expects me to do some growing up real quick. That is expected. It comes with the territory of being the best bull rider in the world, having a gold buckle and such things as that. But it’s also a quick transition where, two, three years ago from this day, I was a senior in high school. I see what they’re saying, and I know exactly what they’re saying is that you have a responsibility that comes with being No. 1 and being one of the best there is, and that’s having to mature a lot quicker than anyone, and to take that stance.”

For Team Canada, meanwhile, things are a little bit more complicated.

The duo of head coach Scott Schiffner and Tanner Girletz was a controversial decision, and the two gathered some of Canada’s best prospective riders in Olds, Alberta, for a training camp – and to help clear the air.

“Basically, we’d heard rumors that a few of the guys were having a little bit of trouble grasping the concept that we were going to be the coaches,” Girletz said. “And we just kind of let everyone speak their mind, and we spoke ours, and we all kind of come to the understanding that we’re all in this together, and we all want to win this thing as a team. So it was a great talk. I don’t think anyone is going to leave here with any doubt that me and Scott are not in this for ourselves. We’re in it for Canada, and to win this deal.”

Schiffner is known for his brutal honesty, and he wanted any rider he was considering for his team to be able to be equally as honest with him.

“I’ve got big shoulders. I can take it,” Schiffner said. “Tell me how you feel so we don’t have to tippy-toe around everything and he-said-she-said everything that’s going on. Just tell me and then we can deal with it.”

As abrasive as Schiffner knows he can be, he also made clear to his riders that, if they’re on the team, he’ll have their back at all costs. That includes Dakota Buttar, who’s had a contentious relationship with Schiffner for years.

But if everyone is ready to start with a clean slate, Schiffner said, Team Canada’s potential is sky high.

“We want to leave everything here,” Schiffner said. “We want to draw a line in the sand, and we want you to be on this side or that side. There’s not going to be hovering on that line. You’re either with us or you’re against us, and when we find them guys that are 100% with us, I think we’ve got a great thing.

“We’re not just riding for one individual. We’re riding for a whole country. And we’re already ahead of most people because we bleed red.”

 

REHAB & RECOVERY

In 2019, the Team USA Wolves suffered a number of serious injuries to some of their core riders.

Cannon Cravens, who broke his leg and was out for the season, and Colten Jesse, who underwent reconstructive shoulder surgery, visited the PBR Sport Performance Center to rehab their injuries.

“Everybody that’s come through the SPC doors has left with a different perspective on what this is and what this could be,” said SPC Executive Director Antwon Burton.

The facility contains not just workout equipment, but also a Buckrite, areas for physical therapy, hot and cold plunge pools, cryotherapy and access to some of the top sports medicine experts in the country.

“PBR’s done a great job with building this facility,” Jesse said. “I feel like it’s outstanding. It’s unlike any other place you’re going to go. None of us have all this stuff at the house, so it’s kind of nice.”

BULL POWER

The world’s best bull riders are just one half of the equation at the Global Cup. The other half is, of course, the world’s best bucking bulls.

Nine-time Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger supplies 30 bulls for the event, which is both an honor and a highlight to his season.

“There’s just a lot of men and a lot of time to take care of these animals so that they can perform at their highest level,” Berger said.

The Chad Berger Bucking Bulls ranch in Mandan, North Dakota, is 400 acres of land and houses 300 bulls, all of which are given the best care possible to ensure both their health and their performance.

“Those bulls, they don’t just land in Arlington,” Berger said. “They’re well taken care of before they ever get there. They’re groomed, they’re exercised, they’re on a high-protein diet. It’s a process. These bulls get taken care of better than any animal I know.”

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