Outlaw Bringing Swagger to Oklahoma Ahead of Freedom Fest
By: Justin Felisko
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – It was a little under four months ago when Chase Outlaw grit his teeth and slipped on his navy blue and red Oklahoma Freedom jersey moments after the team selected him with the 22nd overall pick in the inaugural PBR Team Series Draft, presented by ZipRecruiter.
Outlaw believed he had first-round talent despite rightful injury concerns of the other seven general managers and teams in the league. Outlaw, though, still did not expect to fall all the way to the end of the third round inside Texas Live! in Arlington, Texas.
“I am fired up,” Outlaw said on draft night. “I am kind of surprised I went this long but it is what it is and we are at where we are. Everybody who picked over me because of my injuries come July, and really come November, they are really going to be scratching their heads.”
Outlaw gave a glimpse of what some of the other seven teams may have wished they drafted when the 30-year-old rode Big Black for 90.25 points Friday night at Cowboy Days during Oklahoma’s 261-0 victory over the Nashville Stampede.
It was the sixth time Outlaw went for 90 or more points on Big Black.
The Hamburg, Arkansas, native finished Cowboy Days 1-for-3 as the Oklahoma Freedom went undefeated (3-0) to win Cowboy Days.
Oklahoma (8-8, Cowboy Days 3-0) got the final win Sunday by defeating the Kansas City Outlaws (7-9, Cowboy Days 2-1) 170.75-87.
Briggs Madsen (86.75 points on Happy Gambler) and Eli Vastbinder (84 points on Left Eye Lopez) got the job done for Oklahoma in their victory over Kansas City. They then cheered on Nashville as the Stampede (4-12, Cowboy Days 1-2) upset the Carolina Cowboys 259.25-257.75 to cement Oklahoma the event win as the only undefeated team at Cowboy Days. Carolina finished 2-1 at Cowboy Days.
The Freedom have quickly gone from basement dwellers in the PBR Team Series to fifth overall in the standings ahead of their homestand – Freedom Fest – next weekend at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Sept. 16-18.
Derek Kolbaba also ended the night on a good note for Oklahoma by riding Jeremiah for 88.5 points in the Bonus Round.
Coach Cord McCoy believes his team has the confidence and true belief they are a championship-contending squad, which was on pure display in Winston-Salem this weekend.
The Freedom know they were not 100% at the start of the season, but the core group is rounding into prime form during the stretch run to the PBR Team Series Championship (Nov. 4-6) in Las Vegas.
“Yeah, I think they have known their talent, but I think the cool thing is that no matter where the other team is from, what kind of buckles the other guys are wearing, that there’s five guys in this locker room who don’t really care,” McCoy said.
That mentality is built off Outlaw in a large way, McCoy continued.
“They come to ride the bulls and do their job, and (Chase) Outlaw is a good leader in that sense,” McCoy said. “He’s really not afraid of another team, and if that’s what you want to call the chip on the shoulder, they do want to win. They’re not timid. When you look at it that way, the guys that believe in themselves, that is big.”
The Freedom will begin its homestand Friday night against the Austin Gamblers (10-6), a team they defeated 86.75-83.25 on Saturday night in Winston-Salem. The Gamblers are tied for the best record in the league with Arizona and Carolina. Oklahoma is only two games out of first place.
Freedom Fest airs Friday night on RidePass on Pluto TV beginning at 8:45 p.m. ET.
In ways, Oklahoma has adopted a chip-on-the-shoulder mentality across the board, believes Outlaw.
“Being a bull rider, you always have a chip on your shoulder to make the whistle and prove yourself every time,” Outlaw said. “You have to prove yourself every time. It doesn’t matter what we did yesterday or the time before, it matters what you can do this time. The Oklahoma Freedom, we’ve sort of been hit or miss, but we’ve got all of our guys back, except for Jess, and we’re firing on all cylinders, we saw that here.
“There’s nowhere to go but up from here.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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