Champion ‘go-all-out’ mentality on display at National Finals Rodeo

Any conversation about the National Finals Rodeo these days pretty much has to start with Trevor Brazile.

Because it will almost surely end with Trevor Brazile.

Brazile, the 36-year-old legend in his own time from Decatur, Texas, has dominated the rodeo world for a decade now. The renowned calf, steer and team roper has won nine of the past 10 all-around titles, and he owns three tie-down roping titles, three steer roping crowns and one team roping championship.

That's 16 world titles in all. And he acts as if he's just getting started, though he is the heavy favorite to claim another all-around crown this year - he leads the field by more than $103,000 - and is ranked first in team roping entering the NFR, though with a relatively slim lead of $15,000.

The 2012 NFR kicks off its 10-day run tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center, and fans can certainly expect to see Brazile's go-all-out mentality on display once again.

"I've always done it like that, like I'm just going after my first world title," Brazile said. "I never wanted to look back on a season and say I could have done more. It's easier to take when you know you did all you could."

Such was the case at the steer roping finals, which are held in November, separate from the rest of the NFR. Brazile did all he could, and lost to Rocky Patterson by the slimmest of margins - just $419. Even with all his victories, he knows nothing is guaranteed, particularly at the NFR, which has a total purse of $6.125 million, spread over seven categories.

"I want to look back on my career and have no regrets," he said. "There are a lot of times I'd rather be doing other things. But I've always said that I would always do what I did to get that first world championship.

"People ask, 'How do you stay on top?' You do exactly what you did to get on top in the first place. You don't stay on top any way but the way you got there. If somebody knocks you off, they worked harder."

Having such a mind-set, and such a work ethic, allows Brazile to worry much less than some of his peers about the possibility of losing.

"I'm not worried about getting beat. The fear is not getting beat, but getting beat knowing that I haven't done all I could do to win," he said.

That happened in 2005, the only year in the past 10 that hasn't ended with Brazile as the winner of the prestigious all-around title. Yet that only served to motivate him further, as he has won the past six all-around crowns.

"I don't feel like I had my full focus where it needed to be in 2005, and it's really lit my fire since then," he said. "I might have gotten beat anyway, but at least it would've set a little better with me if I felt my full focus was there. I let myself get spread too thin."

He ha certainly had his full focus for several years running now, and that's allowing him to approach some pretty hallowed ground in the rodeo world.

Brazile is tied with Jim Shoulders, arguably the greatest rodeo cowboy of all time, for the multi-event world title record with 16. If Brazile takes either the all-around or the team roping, he will own that record. Brazile has a combined 50 go-round wins in the NFR and the National Finals Steer Roping, one shy of Billy Etbauer's record. And if Brazile wins the team roping world title, he would become the first cowboy with multiple world titles in four categories (all-around, calf roping, team roping and steer roping).

So does joining or surpassing such renowned company faze him?

"It's not overwhelming. I need stuff like that to chase so that I don't get complacent," Brazile said. "You've gotta have stuff to move toward, so that you don't sit still.

"Anytime you're talking about Jim Shoulders, it means a lot. I've got the utmost respect for him," he said of the PRCA star who dominated back in the 1950s. "Any (record) like that, it's not what I set out to do, but it's fun to have those opportunities."

Team roping will be Brazile's only event for the next 10 days, meaning he can lock in on that as he pursues two world titles.

"I'm just focused on winning more money in team roping than anybody else," he said. "If I do my job, that takes care of the all-around."

Regardless of the outcome, he won't look back and wonder whether he worked hard enough.

"At the end of the day, I've done everything I ever wanted to do," said Brazile, who's married and has two kids - a 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. "I'm still getting to do what I want to do to make a living."