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PBR
- Professional Bull Riders / Kawasaki
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Philadelphia, PA (10/8/2012) - Kawasaki recently announced it
is the Official ATV and SxS Sponsor of the PBR
– Professional Bull Riders, which is known
as the “Toughest Sport of Earth,”
so Kawasaki has been inviting the off-road media
out to the final rounds of the 2012 PBR Series
throughout the country for an up close and personal
look at the sport of bull riding.
I had the opportunity to attend the Philadelphia
Invitational this past weekend at Wells Fargo
Center in Philadelphia, PA for the second to
last round before the 2012 PBR Built Ford Tough
Series finale in Las Vegas, NV on October 24-28th
where the PBR points leader will claim the World
Championship buckle along with one million dollar
bonus.
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The main goal of all the PBR riders
is to last 8 seconds on the back of a
bucking bull, which is no easy task |
Professional Bull Riders was founded in 1992 by
20 bull riders each taking a $1,000 gamble on
the sport, and their gamble paid off with the
series now attracting over 2 million fans annually
in its twentieth season, and the PBR continues
to grow as fans continue to flock to the arenas
around the country to see if the bull riders can
make it 8 seconds on the back of a nearly one
ton bucking bull before being tossed to the ground.
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Regardless
if the Bull Rider last 8 seconds, the
dismount is usually not pretty |
Kawasaki felt the adrenaline pumping sport
of PBR bull riding was a perfect venue for promoting
their Utility ATV and SxS / UTV vehicles, so
they signed on as an official sponsor in June,
and announced a Win-My-Ride promotion for PBR
fans with Kawasaki Mule 4010 Trans (Grand Prize),
Brute Force 750 4x4i EPS (2nd Place), and Brute
Force 300 (3rd prize). PBR Fans can enter to
win by texting WINMYRIDE to 868727 and the winners
will be announced after the finals in November,
2012.
| Kawasaki's
Win My Ride PBR Fan Prizes |
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Grand
Prize
Kawasaki Mule 4010 Trans |
2nd
Place Prize
Kawasaki Brute Force 750 |
3rd
Place Prize
Kawasaki Brute Force 300 |
I arrived the arena several hours before the
opening ceremony to get my media credentials
and get a sneak peek behind the scenes with
Kawasaki’s Jon Rall, and he gave me an
overview of the PBR series and why Kawasaki
decided to become involved.
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PBR's
Jim Haworth (left) & Kawasaki's Jon
Rall (Right) |
“Kawasaki saw an opening at PBR, and
we know that our customers are sitting up in
the stands, so we got involved. It has been
a really good match,” said Rall.
While on my tour, I the oppurtunity to meet
PBR CEO, Jim Haworth, and ask him about Kawasaki
coming onboard as the Official ATV and Side
by Side of PBR.
“Kawasaki has the same toughness that
we do, and they really live up to what they
say. It is a quality product, so it really stands
for what our sport is. PBR is the toughest sport
out there, and we believe Kawasaki is too,”
said Haworth
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Bull Riders along with the PBR Bar &
Grill Dancers met with fans before the
opening ceremonies |
Before I knew it, the fans began to roll in
with many of the top bull riders signing autographs
and taking photos with the fans, which was well
received and a great way to build a connection
between the fans and athletes.
The opening ceremonies kicked off just after
8PM with the 35 bull riders set to ride for
tonight’s event, and each bull rider was
announced to the crowd in a dramatic opening
ceremony, which included some impressive pyrotechnics
and fire lit PBR logo on the arena floor, which
energized the crowd.
