SPORTS

 

Cockfighting: An Underground Super Sport

Stephanie Smith, OP Sports Guru

A cockfight, for those of you who are
unaware for some reason, is a fight between
two specially trained and bred roosters held in
a ring called a cockpit. The roosters, called
gamecocks, are not the same kind that you
would find on your average chicken farm.
Those animals would be far too docile, and
do not possess what is known as the “fighting
spirit.” These gamecocks are specially bred
and conditioned for increased stamina and
strength.

The gamecocks possess an inherent
aggression toward all other males of the
species and do not have to be trained much
to do what they do. Usually wagers are made
on the outcome of the match with the sur-
viving, or last bird standing being declared
the winner of the event.

Belgium, France, Mexico, Haiti, Italy,
Philippines, Puerto Rico, Peru, and Guam
have many well-established arenas complete
with spectator seating. This seating surrounds
the ring in a way that is similar to a wrestling
or boxing arena. Fights may be held all
throughout the day. In many countries cock-
fighting is a family event, and in others cock-
fighting is as popular as baseball and football
are in the United States. Among the competi-
tors who raise the gamecocks there is great
pride in the skill of their birds as well as in
winning a championship.

Contrary to how cockfighting is viewed
overseas, it was declared an illegal sport in the

United States. The only exceptions
to this illegality being in the great
states of New Mexico and
Louisiana, as well as in the U.S.
Territories of Puerto Rico and
Guam. Thirty states have not only
declared it illegal but made cock-
fighting a felony and, as such, it is
also illegal to possess roosters for
fighting in these states. On top of
all that, it is illegal in forty states to
even be a spectator at cockfights.
Animal activists continue to lobby
for a ban on the sport.
Cockfighting is seen as a traditional
sport in some cultures, while other
consider it to be a form of animal
cruelty.

Supporters of cockfighting will
generally insist that although there
are some individuals who mistreat
their gamecocks and turn the sport
into a cruel one, most do not.
They believe cockfighting and
breeding gamecocks to be a noble
and exciting sport. Those against
cockfighting maintain that it is a
perversion of the natural behav-
iour exhibited by roosters in the
wild, and that breeding the birds
for maximum aggression is cruel
and unnecessary.

 

 

Running with, and Taunting the

Stephanie Smith, OP Slowpoke

You’ve heard of it. You’ve seen archive
footage of it. A Spanish matador standing in
the middle of a ring surrounded by legions
of screaming fans holds out a red sheet. The
bull, enraged by this act of vulgarity comes
charging toward the matador who jumps out
of the way with a little sashay, narrowly
avoiding being skewered. He dances the
dance with the bull until it is tired and beat-
en. He then bows and has roses thrown at
him, and a pretty Spanish sefiorita comes
and kisses him full on. Alright!

But wait, there’s more. What you may
not know is that the bullfight ends not when
the roses are thrown or when the sefiorita
comes running out into the ring, but when

_the matador thrusts his sword between the
eyes of the bull. This is why it’s called a
blood sport. That and the chance that the
bull could outwit the matador and spear him
like a shish kebob.

Another sport involving bulls is Spain’s
famous Running of the Bulls. As you might
have guessed it involves just that; running
just in front of bulls that have been let loose
in the streets. The running of the bulls actu-
ally didn’t start in a glamorous way at all. In
fact, it was originally a just relocation of the
herd from the corrals in the outskirts to the
bullring. Local young men jumped into the

course to outdo each other
and prove that they.were
the bravest, and thus the
Running of the Bulls was
born.

However, unlike bull-
fights, which are per-
formed by professionals,
anyone feeling brave
enough may run with the
bulls. Another major dif-
ference between the two
sports is that in the run-
ning of the bulls, there is
never any violence towards
the bulls—even tail-pulling
is frowned upon. Injuries
are common, both to the
participants who may be
gored or trampled, and to
the bulls, whose hooves are
known grip poorly on the
paved or cobbled street
surfaces. Hurting the ani-
mals is not good manners
and you may end up get-
ting the ass kicking of a
lifetime from Pablo, who
runs with the bulls every
morning before work.

 

1 6 THE OTHER PRESS NOVEMBER 30 20066