I freely admit that bothering farm animals isn’t an American invention. After all, they’ve been poking and prodding and teasing bulls in Barcelona since the Romans owned the place. People have devised competitions to herd sheep and see how much milk they can get out of cows since time immemorial. But let’s face it, riding a bull just seems like an American thing to do.

Unlike the toreador thing, the bull doesn’t seem to mind it much. The rider is just another horsefly on his back that has to come off. He just needs a little more coaxing than a swat with his tail. You can tell there’s no hard feelings. The bulls barely pause to stomp all over the riders after they toss them off. They just like running around a ring, and get back to it as soon as possible. They’re like toddlers at a circus. The sooner they get away from the clowns, the better they like it.