[quote name='Afflicted']my problem with bull fighting....
even if the bull wins it still dies.
that makes it not a sport imo.[/QUOTE]
It was the same with the Aztecs. They were proud to win and die for their god.
I got the chance to go to a bullfight while I was in Spain for my high school Spanish class. We rooted for the bull every time, and even got to see one dude get launched into the air and carried out of the arena. Naturally, the next matador had to come in and finish the performance.
In case people don't know about bullfighting, dudes on horseback (picadores) come out before the matador enters and they poke the animal in the back with big-ass pikes to weaken the animal's back muscles.
Next, the banderilleros come out and poke decorated sticks into the bull's back (the sticks have large, barbed hooks to hold them in place under the animal's skin).
The matador then makes his appearance, taunting the bull with a large pink cape for a few minutes before switching it up to the smaller, red cape. By the way, bulls are color-blind, so they can't make the distinction between red or any other color (it's the motion of the cape and matador that they charge at).
After several passes with the muleta, the matador grabs his sword and attempts to strike between the should blades of the animal, thus penetrating the bull's heart and hopefully killing it. Some other dudes then come out and stab the bull in the brain and swirl the knife to make certain that it is dead.
The crowd, depending on how impressed with the performance, will petition the the president to award the matador with a piece of the bull (ears, tail). Also, I guess the crowd can grant the bull a stay of execution if they feel that he has peformed bravely. He'll go on to become a stud for future generations of fighting bulls.
I would love to go to Pamplona to see a bunch of macho idiots trying to outrun an 800-pound animal get
ed up and hauled away in an ambulance.