From Dwight Perry, The Seattle Times: Sideline Chatter —
Take that, Pamplona: The New Zealand farm town of Te Kuiti (pop. 4,374) staged its first “Running of the Sheep” on Saturday, stampeding 2,000 of them through downtown to mark the 20th anniversary of the national shearing championships.
Unlike Spain’s straight-ahead bulls, however, the Kiwi sheep scattered, obviously ignoring the “No Ewe-Turn” signs. Nonetheless, residents termed it a success.
“We all live off the sheep’s back here,” organizer John Grainger told the New Zealand Herald. “We want to emphasize that sheep are the backbone of the economy.”
Locals reportedly got the idea watching major-league ballplayers follow their union’s lead on the steroid issue.