Animals don’t tend to understand our strange rituals, like baseball games and NFL playoffs. Why would thousands of humans gather in one place to spectate a handful of others? While it’s very important to us, they just don’t understand.
Interrupting The Game
One thing that they do understand is where people are. They can get attention and food. From pets brought along to the game to strays and even wild animals, they don’t care if they interrupt our favorite games. Thankfully, the crowd tends to go wild and love the surprise. Here are the funniest and most memorable times that animals interrupted sports events.
1. A Cat Makes A Home Run
In 2021, a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles was interrupted by the unlikeliest of things. A cat got onto the field and was eventually chased out. One of the commentators can be heard saying, “This (the cat) is faster than anybody on the (New York) Yankees.”
2. A Nap At Halftime
During a soccer match between Sol de América and Guaraní in the Paraguayan Primera Division tournament, a dog looked at the field and thought the grass looked comfy. She plopped down on the field and decided to take a nap. Staff woke the dog up and escorted it happily out of the stadium.
3. Gators On The Green
The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is known for great golf and great food. But since it’s in New Orleans, there’s another element that golfers sometimes worry about. At this point, it feels like a time-honored tradition that a lizard weighing over 200 pounds tests the mettle of golfers.
4. Bat Country
During an NBA game, an unexpected visitor decided to pay everyone a visit. A bat started flying through the stadium. Manu Ginóbili was at the event and had previously caught a bat during a 2009 game. This time, he wasn’t needed, as the mascot managed to catch the bat with a net.
5. A Squirrel Gets A Closer Look
During a U.S. Open Tennis match, duo Greet Minnen and Yanina Wickmayer faced against Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva. During the match, a squirrel decided to get a closer look at the action and ran across the court, interrupting the game.
6. Chasing The Ball
Alianza were playing off against the Philadelphia Union when they noticed something running onto the field, probably trying to chase the ball. The dog got what he wanted and even chewed on the ball for a minute before being taken off the field.
7. Bad Luck
Just a few days into November, a black cat decided to run across the stadium during a playoff between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. Superstitious fans would say that affected the outcome of the match. The cat ended up running into the endzone and scoring a touchdown!
8. Oh Deer
Thought that the alligator would be the only animal to appear during the PGA Tour? A deer decided they wanted some of the spotlight and ran through the gold course.
Source:
10 Times Animals Interrupted Sports
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