A festival occurs every summer in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona.
The celebration – which honors the city’s patron saint, San FermÃn – is most notable for the ‘running of the bulls,’ called encierro.
Ernest Hemingway immortalized the event in “The Sun Also Rises”. Since its 1926 publication, the event has received tremendous international attention.
You’ve seen it; those crazy Spaniards dodge, duck and run as if their lives depend on it.
We’re talking about six of the baddest bulls in town, walloping down narrow Spanish streets for three horrifying minutes. Miraculously only 14 deaths have been recorded since 1923.
In an unrelated festival this summer in Chicago, a Bull connected.
“Benny the Bull” – the Chicago Bulls team mascot – uprooted an off-duty police officer during the Taste of Chicago festival.
The red-furred Benny was driving a mini motorcycle through the parade. But unlike in Pamplona, this bull was not scheduled to appear on the parade route. So, what did Benny do?
He galloped off, running frantically like a wild animal.
After a Cook County police officer attempted to stop Benny, the bull reacted by aiming his fur hoof in the officer’s face. Backup officers were able to pin the bull to the ground and, for the first time, arrested a bull for battery.
Of the 14 deaths have been attributed to encierros and dozens of serious injuries, 11 of those were to the groin. That would be enough of an indication to keep my basketball balls away from any Chicago Bull.
Now I know you’re thinking, “We’re not in Pamplona. This happened in Chicago, of a different breed of bulls.”
Let’s not forget about another notorious Chicago Bull: Dennis Rodman. Perhaps no bull was as ruthless as Rodman. His attacks include head-butting a referee and kicking a courtside photographer in the groin. He got in scuffles with anyone that stood in his way, including Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal and even ex-Bull Horace Grant.
Which leads me to my take-home-message: Don’t mess with bulls. Benny the Bull is no farm animal.
Next time you see an overstuffed bull riding on a mini motorcycle, get out of the way. Too many people have suffered. Under no circumstances should you hug a bull.
Mascot costumes are disguises for the beast within, occupied by loonies that take pleasure in wearing sweaty suits and possess school spirit beyond a healthy appetite. C’mon, I don’t remember the last time the Bulls made me wanna do a back flip.
Have you ever seen a mascot frown? There’s no way a something can be that happy all the time – unless it’s on meds.
What would possess Benny the Bull, after being stopped by police, to then run off into the crowd as if he would blend in?
The officer who stood in front of Benny the Bull suffered the consequence, as did the referee and cameraman that came face-to-face with Rodman and to those that fell victim to bulls in Pamplona. It’s a dangerous world we live in, but by avoiding bulls you may escape an untimely demise.
And that’s no bull.
