MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) ā The most notable catch in Saturday's game between No. 22 Miami and Appalachian State didnāt even happen on the field.
Wasnāt even a football. It was a cat.
The animal somehow got into Hard Rock Stadium, then got caught by one of its paws off the facade of the upper deck in the first quarter. where fans using an American flag as a makeshift net of sorts were able to safely catch it before it was carried off to safety.
āThey were trying to grab it from above and they couldnāt reach it but they were scaring it downward,ā said Craig Cromer, a facilities manager at the University of Miami and season-ticket holder who with his wife Kimberly brings the flag to each home game. āIt hung there for a little while with its two front paws, then one paw, then I was like, āOh my goodness, itās coming soon.āā
Thatās when the Cromers unhooked the flag from the ties they use to keep it on a railing and hoped for the best. The petrified cat fell, bounced a bit off the flag and eventually was secured by some in the nearby student section before being brought away by stadium security workers.
Miami coach Manny Diaz said he learned of the cat incident postgame. The Hurricanes held on Saturday, topping Appalachian State 25-23.
āI donāt know anything about that or what was going on,ā Diaz said. āBut Iāll tell you, if the cat will help us in our red-zone offense Iām going to see if we can give it a scholarship.ā
The cat was not showing any signs of injury. The Cromers, other than a spilled beverage and getting sprayed by the dangling cat, were otherwise fine.
āStrangest thing thatās ever happened at a game,ā Kimberly Cromer said.
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
