Bullfighting: Dos

The fights! (I almost hate saying that!) The thing is, this is less of a true "fight", and more of a "dance". I know, I know, I'm likely to get virtual tomatoes thrown at me for saying that. Diehard fans probably will not appreciate my analogy. But...I'm a girl, this is my blog, so you're getting my lowly opinion of the sport. Which I never knew I enjoyed until this past weekend. ;) I'm NOT an expert, I've only ever been to one of these events in my lifetime (though I've been to MANY rodeos), but I have been a wee bit educated by Brad over the past few months. It is my understanding the fighters earn points by being as close to the bull as possible (without getting hurt) and putting on a great show. They're there to please the crowd. I'm not trying to play down the danger factor though! I mean, I don't want to be in an arena with a bull that would rather tear me up like a rag doll as to look at me! Those bulls are heavy and full of energy! And that barrel the clown is in that the fighters can use as a barrier...it is surrounded by 200 lbs of steel. So...when the fighter gets pinned against the fence by the barrel and the bull is head butting it for all he's worth...just think how fun that would be! Yeah, I don't have that much testosterone in me that I feel the need to jump right in! ;)

One more thing...sorry about the poor quality of these photos! I'm not set up to photograph bullfights! I needed a MUCH larger flash (as in not on my camera, but separate units) and a faster lense. The lense I REALLY would have like to have had there is only about 10k so...yeah, no awesome pics from me! But you can get the idea of what's going on.

Pre-show warm up/ mind clearing.

Various scenes from before the first fight.

Of course Old Glory and the national anthem.  And "Soul Man" the clown.

Opening the first gate...let the games begin!

More "games"...the guy in the large photo - he's doing a back flip over the bull! The bulls were usually the most mad when they first came barreling out of the shoot. And that's when this fighter did his flip. The crowd was impressed! I SO wish I could have captured the flip over the bull better. Maybe once Brad makes a jillion dollars he can buy me that sweet lense and flash to be the photographer at his events! ;) (keep dreaming, Kristen, keep dreaming!)

That middle photo - ouch!

More entertainment after the 3 long-goes. "Soul Man" had three contestants eat a banana and dance to some funky music out in the middle of the arena. He had three rounds of dance-offs and after each dance-off one contestant was picked off. But the dancers didn't know it - except for the one's that were picked off. Since they were blindfolded they didn't really know what was going on. At the end only one girl was left dancing by herself. Of course the crowd was cheering her on, Soul Man was leading her to believe another contestant was dancing better than her, so she tried even harder. At the end she was un-blindfolded and realized she was out there all by herself and was quite embarrassed. But the crowd loved it and had a great time.

Back to bullfighting...remember what I said about the barrel...it's over 200 lbs.  That guy is trying to keep from getting crushed between it and the fence.  With a mad bull hitting it has hard as he can!

Last fight of the envening...this fighter was the winner!

Giving out awards at the end of the night. In the top photo is, Brad, "Soul Man" the clown, and Sandy, the three co-founders. I am VERY proud of what they have accomplished in getting this started. I am looking forward to attending more bullfights. The first ones will be here in TX but eventually they will be held in other states. You know I'll be posting when the next fights will be!

Now for a little more something you didn't know you didn't know..."Soul Man" was the featured soldier in a music video "Castles in the Sand".  Thank you to all American Soldiers who keep fighting so that we can enjoy the freedoms this country have to offer!  Click HERE to see the video.