If the Seattle Seahawks hold an essay contest during training camp and the topic is “What I Did During My Summer Vacation” offensive tackle Russell Okung is going to win.
Over the weekend, the left tackle participated in the annual “Running of the Bulls” in Pamplona, Spain.
“I really want to get the most out of life,” Okung told a reporter.
Okung participated with his agent, Peter Schaffer. The lineman did have to dodge a charging beast but escaped both the incident and the run unscathed. The left tackle had reluctant permission from the Seahawks.
“Well, they didn’t really like it, but they told me to be safe and they trust me to make the best and right decisions. That’s why they picked me in the first place.”
The Pamplona trip was organized by Schaffer’s wife Allison. Apparently, she told her husband to have fun and asked if she could “double the life insurance.”
A reporter asked Okung if he had taken out any additional insurance for the run and the lineman answered “Besides praying, no.”
Before the run, Okung said that he and Schaffer were told to leave twice because they had cameras on their shirt. After each disqualification, the duo sneaked back in line.
The former Oklahoma State Cowboy described the atmosphere as “electric” and once the bulls were released things turned “surreal.”
Okung also described running with the bulls as a third and long play with the game on the line. Of course, in the NFL the defensive end isn’t going to gore or trample a lineman to death.
After his run, Okung tweeted “Came, saw, people were gored, and we conquered!”
Had Okung been injured, and unable to play this upcoming season, he would have been out more than $8 million. That’s his annual salary under his current contract. He would have also been the butt of a million jokes and the fall guy if the Seahawks somehow don’t win Super Bowl XLVIII.
“You get to show your courage. We definitely did that. Those bulls are some big animals.”
Okung: Extreme Athlete
Okung likes this kind of stuff. While discussing his run with the bulls, he joked about cliff diving and hang gliding. The lineman was dead serious though when expressing his desire to swim in Devil’s Pool at Victoria Falls in Zambia. Devil’s Pool is an area of water that has such low currents that it allows swimmers to frolic on the edge of the falls’ 335-foot drop without worrying about being pulled over the side.
Rex Ryan
New York Jets coach Rex Ryan also participated in the 2013 “Running of the Bulls.” In fact he did it twice, Sunday and Monday. A video found its way onto the internet showing Ryan climbing a barricade and then several moments later the bulls came running down the street. Okung laughed after a reporter asked him if Ryan was a chicken.
“Hey, you said it. I didn’t say it.”
Current Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly and former Jets safety Scott Frost ran with the bulls last year.
Running Of The Bulls
There are many cities that host a “Running of the Bulls,” or encierro, but the most famous occurs every year in Pamplona, Spain as part of the Festival of Saint Fermin. The tradition goes back centuries and started when organizers needed to get bulls from their corrals to the bullring. The fastest way to do that was to have the animals run through the streets of the city. Young men, wanting to show off their masculinity (some would also say their lack of intelligence), soon joined the scampering bulls.
Running of the Bulls occurs every year from July 7 through July 14 (the festival begins July 6). There’s one run each day and they all start at 8am. A loud bang signals that the coral gates are open. A second bang sounds after the bulls have been released. The third bang means the bull have entered the ring and a fourth indicates that the run is over.
The “bulls” consist of a herd of six bulls and six steers. The cattle rush through the streets of Pamplona at 15 miles per hour. The length of the run is 903 yards and it lasts about two minutes. To participate you must be 18 years or older, run in the same direction as the bulls, be nice to the bulls, and participate completely sober.
No Bull
Since 1910 (the first year they began keeping records), 15 people have been killed during the running of the bulls. All but two died from goring and all but two were Spaniards (one was American the other was Mexican). Annually, between 200 and 300 are injured. No one died in 2013, but six were gored and 50 were injured seriously enough to be taken to the hospital.
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