It wasn’t even on the field, yet it was the most breathtaking moment of the Miami Hurricanes’ football game against the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Sept. 11.
Early in the second quarter of Miami’s home opener, fans noticed the gray-and-white Tuxedo cat dangling perilously from the upper deck at Hard Rock Stadium, and watched as the cat’s tenuous grip slid from two paws to one.
As the cat dangled cliffhanger-style from a cable, a Miami fan rushed down over the railing and attempted to carry it to safety. Instead, the cat pawed at the air before plummeting to the ground.
When the cat landed in the folds of an American flag, the gasps turned to shouts.
Even Hurricane sports’ play-by-play commentator Joe Zagacki took note and took a small break from the game to call the incredible catch.
“He got the cat!” exclaims the narrator. Unbelievable!” According to Zagacki.
Miami season ticket holders Craig and Kimberly Cromer carry a flag to every home game and drape it over the railing in front of their seats, according to the Miami Herald. The Cromers initially assumed the ruckus was caused by a dog or a baby. They ripped the flag from its ropes and dragged it into a landing pad when they realized it was a cat losing its grip.
“They were trying to grab it from above and couldn’t reach it, so they scared it downward,” said Craig Cromer, a University of Miami facilities manager.
A student section fan grabbed up the seemingly unharmed cat and triumphantly displayed it in front of the stadium, striking a stance from “The Lion King.”
The cat’s fate after the game was unknown, as were the specifics of where it came from and whether it was ticketed to enter. Early Monday, representatives from Hard Rock Stadium and the Miami Dolphins, which control the venue, did not reply to requests for comment.
Hard Rock Stadium announced via its official Twitter account after the game that it had contributed an undisclosed amount to the Humane Society of Miami and invited supporters to do the same.
“We are delighted that the cat landed safely after a terrible fall thanks to the heads up nature of fans in sections 107, 110, and 208,” the post stated. “In his remaining eight lives, we wish the cat the best.”
The cat’s rescue meant that the Hurricanes’ dreadful performance was the true calamity of the game. The Canes beat the Mountaineers by two points, but the close result irritated Miami Coach Manny Diaz so much that he considered recruiting when he heard about the cliffhanging kitty.
“I don’t know anything about it or what was going on,” Diaz said after the game. “But I’ll tell you what, if the cat can help our red-zone offense, I’ll see if we can get it a scholarship.”
Watch the video here:
