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A team of star athletes representing South Florida is ranked no. 1 in its league, won its regular season, has grown its fan base and secured its spot in the championship finals.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not the Florida Panthers. It\u2019s not the Miami Heat or the Marlins. And it\u2019s definitely not the Dolphins.<\/p>\n
This is the Florida Freedom, a team of professional bull riders hosted in the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. Since becoming South Florida\u2019s newest sports franchise last year, the team has dominated the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) league and is expected to make a splash at the 2025 PBR Camping World Teams Championship<\/a> in Las Vegas next weekend. The champion team will win a $250,000 prize and the coveted giant belt buckle trophy.<\/p>\n The Florida Freedom\u2019s whirlwind success this season \u2014 winning 25 out of 35 competitions\u2014 has emerged as a prominent storyline in the world of PBR, a relatively young sports organization founded in 1992. Professional bull riding, considered to be more dangerous than football, was mostly an individual sport until 2022, when PBR introduced teams. There are 10 teams in the league representing different cities, mostly concentrated in the South and Midwest.<\/p>\n The rules for team competitions are similar to traditional individual bull riding: hold on to the rope tied around the bull for eight seconds with one arm, don\u2019t touch the bull with your other arm, and don\u2019t fall off. In the team series, the five riders on each team compete in head-to-head rounds to score points. Whichever team gets the most points aggregated from all five riders wins.<\/p>\n Along with their growing list of wins, the Freedom\u2019s fan base has grown \u201csurprisingly fast,\u201d said Sean Gleason, CEO of PBR. Ticket sales for Florida Freedom events increased by five percent this season, as fans started to warm up to the sport after PBR launched its team series, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe weren\u2019t sure if it would be a long, slow build or if we\u2019d see an immediate outpouring of support,\u201d said Gleason. \u201cThe first year that we were there was a tremendous year. We\u2019re drawing great crowds, and they\u2019re understanding that the Florida Freedom is their team.\u201d<\/p>\n Originally, the team was the Oklahoma Freedom representing Oklahoma City. Businessman Heath Freeman, who bought the team in 2022, and the league decided to relocate the Freedom to Florida, Freeman\u2019s home state.<\/p>\n The Florida Freedom is currently training in Decatur, Texas. As the league grows, Gleason said the goal in the next few years is to establish facilities for each team in their respective cities and for athletes to be based there during the season.<\/p>\n Florida was attractive for several reasons: the region\u2019s rapid growth, large media market, passionate sports fan culture and the largest Brazilian population in the country. Many of PBR\u2019s riders hail from Brazil, known for its rich cattle ranching culture. In fact, all of Florida Freedom\u2019s riders are Brazilian or of Brazilian descent, including the father-son duo at the helm of the team.<\/p>\n The coach and the MVP<\/p>\n Paulo Crimber, the legendary retired bull rider and PBR Hall of Fame athlete, joined the Freedom as its head coach when it moved to Florida. With the first selection in the 2024 draft, the team chose Crimber\u2019s son, bull riding prodigy John Crimber. The younger Crimber, now 20 years old, was named MVP two years in a row.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just a dream come true,\u201d said Paulo. \u201cWe always want our sons to be better than we were, and that\u2019s mission accomplished right there.\u201d<\/p>\n Paulo grew up in a small town in Brazil, milking cows as a 7-year-old boy. He went to a bull riding event in his hometown one day and daydreamed of being on top of the bull. He came to the U.S. as a professional bull rider in 1998, an 18-year-old who didn\u2019t know a word of English. He learned in Texas, where he still lives, and now speaks English with a perfect Texan accent. Over the years, he\u2019s helped dozens of his fellow Brazilians navigate life in the U.S., turning Decatur into a home-away-from-home for Brazilian bull riders.<\/a><\/p>\n After two neck injuries, Paulo retired from bull riding at 28. He then worked as a PBR judge and translator. When the league launched its team series, Paulo said he saw an opportunity for himself and the sport. He joined the Arizona Ridge Riders as a coach and later signed onto the Florida Freedom.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought that was the future of the sport. PBR has been individual for 30 years, and it couldn\u2019t get any bigger. The teams just took it the next level,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd now, you\u2019re watching TV, you flip the channel, you see Florida Freedom, and say \u2018What is that?\u2019 It\u2019s just a bigger door opening for more people, more fans, to reach out and see how amazing our sport is.\u201d<\/p>\n John, on the other hand, wasn\u2019t always convinced.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was pretty dumb at first. Well, not dumb! It\u2019s just that I never heard of PBR teams. I just wasn\u2019t about it,\u201d John said. \u201cBut as soon as that first year went, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I wanted to be part of a team and be in that atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n Following in his father\u2019s footsteps, John has been enamored with bull riding his whole life. At age 6, he started riding miniature bulls. \u201cI fell off so fast, but I got kind of angry at myself,\u201d he said. \u201cI expected so much more of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n John carried that high standard with him into adulthood, especially with his father as his coach. When he is in the chute before he heads out to the arena, John said he looks at his dad, who reminds him to \u201cgo out there and have fun.\u201d That makes him feel calm before gripping onto the back of a bucking bull for eight seconds.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a love-hate relationship sometimes,\u201d John said, laughing. \u201cHe expects a lot from me and I love it. I wouldn\u2019t want to be on any other team.\u201d<\/p>\n Heading to the championship<\/p>\n So what does it take to be the no. 1 team in the league?<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of hard work, determination, team effort,\u201d Paulo said. \u201cJust sweat, blood and pain.\u201d<\/p>\n Riders who are accustomed to competing individually and riding the biggest, baddest bulls they can have to change their mindset to focus on what\u2019s best for the team, Paulo said.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of guys are still adapting into the format. It\u2019s not an easy task, but I\u2019m blessed to have a very great owner and team behind me that support me with my decisions,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m very blessed to have a group of young guys with very strong and big hearts. They give everything they got.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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