The GCW Tour, Spain & Morocco: San Fermin, Day 2, Part 4

I have seen crowds. I've been to concerts held in stadiums. I was at Safeco Field for Game 1 of the Mariners playoff series against the Yankees the year the Mariners won 114 games (and, if I recall correctly, got swept by the Yankees). I'm not unfamiliar with the experience of large groups of people.

But I have never seen a crowd like the crowd following the San Fermin fireworks. It was like someone packed Safeco Field (or the stadium of your choice), locked all but one set of gates, and then pulled the fire alarm. 

People were everywhere. Baby carriages, wheel chairs, and, God help me, rolly bags were running people over. A few groups of geniuses decided to use their red sashes to tie everyone in the group together so when you crossed paths with them you had to wait for the entire line to pass before you could get through. Drunks were being dragged by their less drunk friends, couples would suddenly stop to start groping each other, no one seemed capable of moving directly toward any discernible goal. 

It was the sort of experience that makes you think carrying a cattle prod wouldn't be a wholly unreasonable option.