Brooklyn born sisters enjoying the ride as PBR debuts in their hometown

Brooklyn, New York — The New York Mavericks made their PBR Camping World Team Series home debut on Aug. 9. It was the first professional bull riding event hosted at Barclays Center. Although the Mavericks are brand new, they already have their own pair of super fans.

Meet Evelyn and Cynthia Robinson. They are sisters. And they absolutely love bull riding!

"If anyone sees this sports and isn't hooked, they don't have a pulse," Evelyn said. "It's so dynamic and it draws you in. And when you have the rider and the bull in unison, it's poetry in motion."

The sisters currently live in San Jose but were born and raised in the Brooklyn community of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Over the years, the Robinson's have grown into die-hard bull riding fans. So when Evelyn and Cynthia learned PBR was coming to Brooklyn, they were unable to contain their excitement. 

"Listen, we could both barely work," Evelyn said.  "It's like Christmas. It's like knowing you're going to unwrap this gigantic package on Christmas day. When I first called her (Cynthia) and told her - she screamed BROOKLYNNNNN! So from there on, the excitement has built up."

Evelyn and Cynthia grew up just a few miles away from Barclays Center. Bull riding wasn't as fashionable in New York back in those days. But they feel summer vacations down south may have subliminally instilled the values and images associated with cowboys and cowgirls.

Their family raised tobacco in Virginia and North Carolina.

"We had to work!" Evelyn said. "We slopped pigs, fed chickens, picked crops... We did it all. It's that love of the simple, stripped down country life that is part of that PBR vibe."

"We were not exposed to it as children," Cynthia said. "Evelyn stumbled onto it on TV. She got hooked on it. Then hooked me on to it. So then we had to go see it live. A friend of ours had tickets for an event in Oakland. So that was our first event and we were off and running.

The Robinson sisters said they attend at least five to six PBR events a year. They said if it were not for those things called "jobs" they would travel to see many more. For Evelyn and Cynthia, there's no better form of entertainment.

"PBR we think is everything still good about America," Evelyn said. "Every time you go to an event it's like visiting family for the weekend."

The Robinsons give PBR credit for making their sisterhood even stronger.

"It's been an amazing journey," Cynthia said. "We've met some of the most amazing people in the stands, on the dirt, behind the shoots. We've done bull-housing tours, so we got to play with some of the bulls. It's been awesome. We've done all types of things together since we were little girls. We've been hang-out homies all of our lives and we're still going strong."

The New York Mavericks first ever homestand served as a homecoming for Evelyn and Cynthia. The sisters traveled from San Jose to Brooklyn on a red-eye flight. They had two of the best seats in the house. They were seated in section 7, row 14, seats 1 and 2, right next to the bucking chutes. To make the experience even better - prior to day 2 of the competition, the two ladies were featured during the pre-game show of the nationally televised event. On top of all that, the Mavericks delivered a win in their debut at Barclays.

"Returning to Brooklyn is always a chance to reconnect with our roots," Evelyn said. "While California is home there is no other place like Brooklyn, the energy, the strong sense of community much like the PBR and it was an amazing experience growing up in the "borough of trees" that Brooklyn toughness and can do attitude like all the PBR riders has served me well it's true "if you can make it here you can make it anywhere"  the fact that the PBR chose our city for it's newest team made us beyond proud. I predict that the Mavericks will be strongly supported at Barclays Center because New York fans are like no others, loyal, rowdy and all in. After this weekend's Mavericks Days event with a packed house for both days we're sure folks will attend again next year with even greater attendance from surrounding boroughs and states. We will definitely be there cheering them on."

PBR Teams: Stampede Days is the fifth of 12 regular-season events for the third PBR Camping World Team Series season. Competition will begin at 7:45 p.m. CDT on Friday, August 16, and Saturday, August 17, and conclude Sunday, August 18 and at 1:45 p.m. CDT.