The touchdown did not count, of course

November 5, 2019 12:42 PM

A black cat appeared on the playing field during a Dallas Cowboys–New York Giants game. Announcer Kevin Harlan's call was purr-fect. (Cindy Boren, WaPo). Youtube also has Harlan's call, along with another video of fan reactions (including non-human fans).
posted by Johnny Wallflower (31 comments total)

h/t Fizz
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 12:42 PM on November 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

I was at a party at a venue and they were showing this game above the bowling lanes and like everything stopped when the cat came on, and even those of us who aren't really football fans were transfixed. More cats-less concussions.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 12:49 PM on November 5, 2019 [8 favorites]

Sab Cat engages in direct action once again.
posted by zamboni at 12:51 PM on November 5, 2019 [10 favorites]

I always feel worried for animals in these situations and hope they're not too scared or confused.
posted by slkinsey at 12:54 PM on November 5, 2019 [45 favorites]

In true cat form, it takes a pause right before it reaches the end zone because it seems to know that this is what we want the cat to do, so very “Fuck you, I'll do what I want when I want, I'm a cat.”
posted by Fizz at 12:58 PM on November 5, 2019 [38 favorites]

If I may fan out for a moment, this call shows how amazing Kevin Harlan is at his job not just because he calls the cat's "touchdown" so hilariously well, but because he seamlessly segues between calling the actual game and goofy nonsense about the animal on the field without confusing the listener. Joe Buck could never.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:03 PM on November 5, 2019 [28 favorites]

gah thanks for posting this. my nfl fandom went from 100 to 0 over the past few years so i probably wouldn't have run across this goddamn delightful moment. the nfl films treatment by the checkdown is fantastic as well.

(harlan is GOAT)
posted by capnsue at 1:15 PM on November 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

This could spawn a whole bunch of new folsky sayings:

"Like a panicked cat in the end zone."

"Running like a cat at the 10 yard line."

"Like a long-tailed cat on a field full of cleats."

Etc.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:18 PM on November 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

Thank heavens the cat didn’t stop to protest murder by police!
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:19 PM on November 5, 2019 [14 favorites]

Hopefully this cat is alright. When this happened in a San Jose Sharks game, the cat got the nickname "Jo Pawvelski" and was later adopted.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 1:42 PM on November 5, 2019 [10 favorites]

Love Kevin Harland.
posted by jamjam at 1:53 PM on November 5, 2019

My wife and I simultaneously said to each other that this must have been planned. A black cat in the first MNF game after Halloween? Too coincidental. Someone knew what's up. Follow the money.
posted by kevinbelt at 1:56 PM on November 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

"And the cat is in the CDW Red Zone" was great. Agree Harlan is awesome.

"The guy is drunk, but there he goes!" is another great one.
posted by Windopaene at 2:00 PM on November 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Adopted by a Sharks player and their family, in fact!
posted by tavella at 2:00 PM on November 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

NFL has had the video in the YouTube link above taken down.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:23 PM on November 5, 2019

Too bad Deadspin isn’t around to make fun of the media coverage of this.
posted by midmarch snowman at 2:23 PM on November 5, 2019 [17 favorites]

NFL has had the video in the YouTube link above taken down.

That lines up with what I think the NFL I am familiar with. They're not about fun or good will. It's profit, patriotism, & propaganda.
posted by Fizz at 2:25 PM on November 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

You can't watch the video in MetaFilter's embedded player, but you can still click through to watch it on the YouTube site.
posted by mbrubeck at 2:29 PM on November 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Never count out Touchdown Tomcat.
posted by capricorn at 2:38 PM on November 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

Kevin Harlan's call of Kevin Harlan being hit in the face with a basketball
posted by seiryuu at 2:46 PM on November 5, 2019 [17 favorites]

The fan reaction video was hilarious. Hard to beat cat hijinks but there were some squirrel shenanigans at a Twins game this past summer.
posted by MillMan at 2:54 PM on November 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Action shot
posted by mbrubeck at 5:53 PM on November 5, 2019 [6 favorites]

I don't watch sports, so I get all my sports news from Sled Dog Sports Network, and they kept me up to date on this valuable content.
posted by matildaben at 5:57 PM on November 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

"Checkerflagman, throw that yellow bird at me see what happens"
posted by clavdivs at 6:24 PM on November 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

I live next to the stadium. I'd bet that's the same cat that wanders through my yard on a regular basis....
posted by blaneyphoto at 6:45 PM on November 5, 2019 [10 favorites]

Action shot

Of a different cat on a different sports field in a different year.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:32 PM on November 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

There is a feral/homeless cat problem around MetLife Stadium. PuppyKittyNYC wants to help those animals, and needs money, supplies, and foster homes to do so.
posted by LindsayIrene at 8:51 AM on November 6, 2019 [7 favorites]

I was watching the game Monday night, so saw the cat live. The poor thing looked very scared, so I was feeling kinda bad about it. However, I did come across this Slate article, which includes a story about a stay cat running out on the field of an A's game in 1990. Then manager, Tony La Russa, ended up rescuing the cat and starting an his own rescue organization, ARF. So that's pretty neat!
posted by ephemerista at 8:52 AM on November 6, 2019 [5 favorites]

Alan Taylor, The Atlantic: Animals on the Playing Field

It’s not just Monday Night Football cat—animals all over the world find themselves caught up in our games. Below, a recent collection of photos of some of the kangaroos, cats, opossums, dogs, bees, deer, squirrels, alligators, and many other animals who have taken it upon themselves to intrude on us humans while we were in the middle of our many important sporting events.

posted by tonycpsu at 2:47 PM on November 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

I'd be surprised if most stadiums didn't have a feral cat population. A ton of available food waste to eat, plus the rodents that the waste attracts, often a fairly open construction that a feline would have no trouble entering, and I suspect the resident workers will be often happy to encourage cats over rats. The only thing I could see preventing it is that I presume that they often use poison for rodent control, which will kill any predatory cats in short order.
posted by tavella at 5:19 PM on November 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

As you'd expect when it comes to football, the Canadian version of this is better: this rabbit was not flagged for its awesome touchdown celebration.

it's astonishing to watch something less than a foot high get six feet of air. If I could jump like that I could bypass the stupid escalators at the mall.
posted by Sauce Trough at 12:44 AM on November 7, 2019 [2 favorites]