MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) 鈥� The most notable catch in Saturday's game between No. 22 Miami and Appalachian State didn鈥檛 even happen on the field.
Wasn鈥檛 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.
鈥淭hey were trying to grab it from above and they couldn鈥檛 reach it but they were scaring it downward,鈥� 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. 鈥淚t hung there for a little while with its two front paws, then one paw, then I was like, 鈥極h my goodness, it鈥檚 coming soon.鈥欌��
That鈥檚 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.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know anything about that or what was going on,鈥� Diaz said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檒l tell you, if the cat will help us in our red-zone offense I鈥檓 going to see if we can give it a scholarship.鈥�
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.
鈥淪trangest thing that鈥檚 ever happened at a game,鈥� Kimberly Cromer said.
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
