Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today! At the 56th annual Spartan Stampede, Michael Wallace keeps 10,000 spectators engaged without a script, balancing split-second arena coordination with life as a husband and father. For most of the crowd, he is simply the man in the barrel. When a bull turns and a rider hits the dirt, attention shifts to the brightly dressed figure positioned at the center of the arena inside an aluminum drum.