Team USA Eagles Key Contributor Melancon Continuing to Ooze With Poise and Confidence
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Cole Melancon bristled over the conversation about who was unavailable for the Team USA Eagles heading into the 2020 WinStar World Casino and Resort Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy, this past weekend.
To be frank, he could care less about who was about to climb into the bucking chutes for Team Brazil or about the talk of the lack of PBR experience for some of the Team USA Eagles’ younger riders.
Melancon had all the faith that his USA Eagles teammates would leave AT&T Stadium as the Global Cup champions, which they did on Sunday to become the first home country in eight attempts to win a PBR World or Global Cup event.
“I was hoping I could really steal the mic from them up there (on stage) – but they cut us off — to say, ‘I think the young guns showed up and we showed out and did our job,” Melancon said. “You could put any of these six guys up against anybody any day of the week and we would come out on top. It is going to be exciting next year. We will see what is next.”
Any team at the Global Cup needs not just one rider to step up to be victorious, but at least two, and Melancon was ready to answer the call for his country and his team this past weekend.
For as great as his confidence was in his fellow Eagles, there was likely an even greater belief in himself. Melancon does not want to ever come across as too cocky, but it was apparent from the moment he arrived in Arlington that he was motivated to make sure he did his part to help Team USA for a second time in four Global Cups.
Melancon went 2-for-2 at the 2017 Edmonton Global Cup in which Team USA won its first Global Cup title, but this weekend was a different role for Melancon.
He became a go-to option for Team USA Eagles coach Justin McBride alongside reigning two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood.
It was a role he was looking forward to fulfilling this weekend. It was something Melancon, who earned a last-minute spot on this year’s team with his victory at Iron Cowboy two weeks ago, talked to some friends about Saturday at the Hilton Arlington host hotel.
“There in Edmonton, I was kind of the low man on the totem pole,” Melancon said. “I wouldn’t say they thought that, but that is just how I felt. They never made me feel like that. I knew coming into here, I am riding good, I am healthy and everything feels good and, just pretty much, I knew if we come down to that Bonus Round (I would be ready).
“In Edmonton, I knew there were bulls in there I could ride. I think Justin had Stormy (Wing) get on one and Cooper (Davis) got on one. And they dominated on them. Coming here, the bull power was different than anywhere else, and they really brought the A game. To be at that level, where Justin and J.W. (Hart) have the confidence in you to throw you out there and put it all on you, it puts a lot of pressure on your shoulders. I wouldn’t say it is a lot of stress, but it puts a lot on you. It is awesome to be able to be that guy.”
Melancon went 2-for-4, riding Monkey for 88.25 points on Championship Sunday to put the Eagles back into the lead for good in the final out of Round 3.
He also was the first rider to get the Eagles on the scoreboard on Saturday night with his 86-point ride on Top Down after Boudreaux Campbell (6.43 seconds on Big Black Cat) and Daylon Swearingen (6.31 seconds on Wicked Dreams) bucked off.
“Make no mistake about it, Melancon is a gamer,” McBride said. “He has a strong confidence in himself, and a great bull rider has to have that. He is well on his way. He has gotten a lot better since Edmonton, and it doesn’t seem to be an end in sight because he believes it. It is not put on. It is not phony. He believes in his ability.”
Melancon’s ride on Monkey put an end to Team Australia’s own buoying confidence and ascension into the event lead, and it swung all the momentum back into the hands of the Americans.
It gave the Eagles the first pick of the Bonus Round draft, and it proved even more beneficial once Lockwood (1.66 seconds on Nailed) and Melancon (4.9 seconds against Air Support) were both bucked off in the Bonus Round.
Team Australia also failed to convert in the championship round as Lachlan Richardson and Aaron Kleier failed to reach the 8-second mark in their attempts to usurp Team USA on the leaderboard.
Third-place finisher Team Brazil got a ride from Jose Vitor Leme (89.5 points on Jive Turkey), but Claudio Montanha Jr. could not convert on Strange Cargo (6.91 seconds) for what could have potentially been a winning ride.
“If (Melancon) wouldn’t have rode that bull, we would have been in a tough position going into the short go, and he stuck it on that Monkey bull and he made it look easy,” Lockwood said.
Lockwood and Melancon were the only two members for the Eagles to record two rides during the two-day competition in which American bull power was on full display.
26.32% of the bulls at the 2020 Global Cup USA were marked 44 points or higher, compared to 15.89% last year in Arlington.
Make no mistake about it, the Lockwood/Melancon duo was not simply a Batman-and-Robin pairing.
McBride, instead, compared it to an NFL quarterback needing his wide receiver to step up or vice versa.
“They complemented each other very well,” McBride said. “We had to have that. The last time we were able to get a win in Edmonton, Cooper was the guy and Stormy complimented him very well. It is like having a great quarterback and a great wide receiver. Jess is that great quarterback, and Cole was that great receiver. He put up the huge numbers this game, but Jess did the first night, too.
“You have to have that. You need that 1-2 punch. You see when you have just one, it is tough.”
Team USA had already clinched the 2020 Global Cup title by the time Air Support had bucked off Melancon on the final out of the event Sunday.
Air Support was marked a Global Cup-best 46.5 points, and Melancon admitted he would like another crack at the son of Air Time.
“It always sucks to buck off, no matter if you got it wrapped up or if that is the ride that is going to get the win for you,” Melancon said. “I knew that bull was going to be a hard-to-ride bull, and I had the confidence that I was going to ride him, but I just didn’t know how hard it was going to be. If I didn’t lose my bull rope, I would have rode that bull all day long. I ain’t making no excuses, but if I could have held onto that bull rope, I think it could have been big points. If I get a crack at him again, it would be worth it.”
Melancon gets his next test against a high-end bull this coming weekend at the U.S Border Patrol Invitational in St. Louis.
The No. 6-ranked bull rider in the world has drawn Smooth Wreck for Saturday night’s 15/15 Bucking Battle. Fans can watch the 15/15 Bucking Battle exclusively on CBS national television Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
“Man, I’m pumped about it,” Melancon said via text. “I really think I will get along with that bull good. I like bulls away from my hand and he is that and more. He can be really showy and I think we are going to get along well… for some big points.”
Air Support is set to buck again, this time against Montanha in the 15/15 Bucking Battle.
15/15 Bucking Battle Matchups
Ramon de Lima vs. Old Fort Days (25-1, UTB)
Claudio Montana Jr. vs. Air Support (5-0, UTB)
Derek Kolbaba vs. Shownuff (25-5, UTB)*
Dener Barbosa vs. Slingin Tears (16-4, UTB)*
Mason Taylor vs. Marquis Metal Works Bill The Butcher (9-3, UTB)$
Fabiano Vieira vs. Blue Crush (12-5, UTB)
Matt Triplett vs. Big Black (21-10, UTB)
Eduardo Aparecido vs. Chain Smoker (13-3, UTB)
Colten Jesse vs. Apper’s Mind Freak (23-5, UTB)
Cole Melancon vs. Smooth Wreck (22-7, UTB)
Daylon Swearingen vs. I’m Legit Too (9-3, UTB)
Kaique Pacheco vs. Speed Demon (42-7, UTB)
Jess Lockwood vs. Nailed (17-24, UTB)*
Jose Vitor Leme vs. Jive Turkey (3-2, UTB)$
Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. Preacher’s Kid (12-0, UTB)
*Bull previously bucked off rider
$Rider previously rode bull
The two-time Global Cup winner and leading PBR Rookie of the Year contender can now focus on another kind of gold.
A PBR world title.
Melancon heads into Round 1 Saturday night for his matchup against Holy Terror (3-2, UTB) sitting 188.25 points behind world No. 1 Joao Ricardo Vieira.
Round 1 airs exclusively on RidePass beginning at 7:45 p.m. ET.
“Shoot, with what happened last week (at Iron Cowboy), man, we are going to give those guys a run for their money and try and go for world title,” Melancon said. “If you are going to be there, you might as well try. If you are not there for the gold, and you are there just to be there, then you are there for the wrong purposes.”
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