Professional Bull Riders take over TD Garden for Boston debut
For the first time in the organization's history, the Professional Bull Riders tour, often seen as PBR, will make a stop in Boston. The riders will enter TD Garden hoping to stay on a bull for at least eight seconds to qualify a run.
"It's a pretty surreal moment when you take just a second to look out and see the fans that come," said Cade Madsen, a 20-year-old professional rider who grew up in Utah. "I have an older brother that rides bulls, and so he's my role model, so I just kind of followed in his footsteps."
The PBR trucked in dirt to fill the center of the TD Garden that is often ice for the Boston Bruins or a parquet floor for the Celtics. The layers of dirt are not as forgiving as they seem.
"If you come from pretty high in the air it feels like concrete," said Madsen.
The riders get on in a section of the arena called the buck and shoot. It's a pen where Madsen will mount the bull and get strapped in. Once he calls for the signal, the gate opens, and he hangs on for dear life.
"For most people it's the adrenaline that comes along with it," explained Madsen. "I just enjoy being a cowboy, and cowboys they ride bulls and broncs."
The bulls are considered just as much athletes as the riders themselves. They are seasoned and prepared for the event. While they do travel around, reps for the PBR say they have been staying at a local farm while they are not at the arena.