I watched two soccer games! ..... and Pamplona is ticking me off

Well well, I guess miracles will never cease, I actually watched two soccer games in their entirety. 

So on Saturday, after I got home from work, I was too beat to do any yard work. Plus it was just too damn hot. So I plopped myself on the couch in front of the tv, not to watch soccer, or bullfights, but to watch a movie. Nothing in particular, just a movie. So I went to Netflix, I went to Prime, I went to Disney, I even went as so far to go to Tubi. What the hell is Tubi?

Anyway, I found a couple of movies and started to watch them but within 10 minutes I turned them both off, they were lame. Both of them were horror films but lost my interest quickly. It is hard to find a good horror film these days.

So, I wandered over to the World Cup. Why am I doing this I asked myself. Because there is absolutely nothing else to do I responded.

So I did, I watch all of England vs Norway, and then I watched all of Argentina vs Switzerland. And both games went into extra time so it was a hell of a lot of soccer to sit through!

First, why are they playing games in Miami? Humidity people, the humidity!

Anyway, England vs Argentina is going to be a game for the ages. Spain vs France will be good too. Did this bring me back into the soccer ranks? No, no it didn't. But whatever, I'll watch it when I have to I guess. But never MLS, never. 

On to Pamplona. Pamplona is kind of ticking me off I need to say. 

There are so many damn people trying to run with the bulls it is insane. There are always a lot of people but every year it seems to get worse. And these damn people that don't follow the rules and giving mostly Americans a bad name, as if we didn't already have a bad name. 

First off, I said I would post a YouTube link to the channel that shows the bullruns the most. That is RTVE Play. They do two videos a day of note, one that is the run as it happens, and the other is a highlight video a few hours later. The highlight video is fun to watch because you can see all the runners fighting each other, not to get away from the bulls but trying to somehow get in front of the bulls, (which is the idea after all.) But the runners grab each other, push each other, tug on each other's shirts, push and shove. I would be mad as hell if I were running with the bulls only to have some jerk off come out of nowhere and shove me to the side. Madness.

Here are some links from the first day, if you watch one then it is easy to start finding the videos from the other days in your feed. They just start coming up naturally.

Live video from Day 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TutmbSQi19c

Highlight video from Day 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcDSeBnS15M

Anyway, back to me being ticked off. 

First, way too many people. Look at this photo.

The sea of people on the left of the photo aren't even runners, they are just trying to catch a glimpse. Most of them aren't even going to be able to see anything! Go have breakfast, what the hell are you doing? Then of course the runners on the right, how can you even hope to run next to a bull with that many people? Huh, how!? 

They need to start limiting how many people can run, seriously.

Anyway, on to Americans making fools of themselves. Check this guy out.

This dumb ass painted his face like the Joker and ran with the bulls. Now, some people might say "how awesome, good for him. He's having fun!"

No, not good for him. It is strictly against the rules to run in any type of costume. Also, 100% no recording devises, no phones, no cameras, no headsets, nothing. It is too dangerous being out there with the bulls and you need to be completely focused on the bulls, not on your camera. 

Don't believe me? Check this photo out, (warning, kind of graphic image)

So this guy was just minding his own business, ended up on the ground with some other runners, now he has a bull's horn buried deep within his arm. Yikes. This is serious stuff people.

So, back to the Joker. He got away with running his first day, but got carried away by the police after the run and while he was hanging around in the plaza de toros with others. I'm sure he was given a fine and told he could not run anymore.

Well, the next day, he was back again, just this time without the face paint but still with the green hair. The police nabbed him quickly and escorted him off of the course. They may have fined him again. According to this photo it says he can be fined up to 6000 Euros.

I hope they do fine him, I hope they make him very unwelcome in Pamplona.

See, the problem is with people like this is they make it about themselves. They want to be the center of attention however when it comes to the bulls and the fairs in Spain, the bulls are the center of attention. They are the ones that are going to be put to death in the plaza that afternoon. Why make it about yourself? The world of the bulls is about the bulls, its not about you Ugly American.

And lastly, there is a girl that is lucky to be alive today. I don't know if she is American or not, but I wouldn't doubt it. Here is a link to today's highlight video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGAzV9Ygm6o

At the 5:00 mark, the video starts to show runners and bulls in the dreaded "callejon" that leads into the bullring. This is a very dangerous part of the course because it narrows and becomes somewhat of a bottleneck. 

Today's bulls were from the dreaded Miura ranch. They are very big, and with huge horns. 

So this girl ends up on the ground in the callejon along with a bunch of other runners. At the 5:08 mark, she starts to do something you should never do, start to get up. At the 5:13 mark she is getting up and has a bull running at full force right next to her. She is damn lucky nothing happened, she escaped death. Oh, and the worst part of it, she had a phone in her hand. What is it with these damn kids and their phones? She was clearly breaking the rules and almost paid with her life.

One of the main rules you have to follow, and anyone that has done any reading on how to run with the bulls would know this, is you never get up if you fall down. Stay on the ground and wait for other runners to tell you it is ok to get up.

Why?

Because if you get up while a bull is coming you are a sitting duck.

That is how the American Matthew Peter Tassio got killed on July 13th, 1995, 31 years ago today.

For more information on that sad day please see this post from my bullfight blog where I talk about it a little bit and provide two photos from that day.

http://blogplazadetoros.blogspot.com/2022/03/my-review-of-book-bulls-before.html

So, Pamplona has just one more day to go, and the World Cup has just a few more games to go. Let's get this all over with so I can get on with my life.