Running with the bulls, thinking like the turkeys.

The Fiesta de San Fermin. Running with the bulls. The rite of passage made famous by Hemingway. Darwinism in action.

One of the more fascinating things I've seen while watching OLN's coverage of the Tour de France is its daily coverage of the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Part ESPN-overkill (with its slow-motion replays, animated graphics, and block-by-block analysis of the course, complete with fatality statistics), and part Comedy Central (mocking the participants, acknowledging that it's better to be in the commentary booth than down in the street), the show covers the bull running as though it were an actual sporting event. They even introduce the day's bulls, showing each one's name, photo, weight, and interesting fact.

I end up rooting for the bulls, hoping that they get in one last blow for their dignity, as they run terrified from the stockyard to the bullring, where they will be poked, stabbed, and eventually skewered by the matador ("balletic torturer"), picadors ("henchmen"), et al., to the delight of the bloodthirsty crowd.