
An anxious crowd watched on as a cat dangled from the upper deck at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday while the University of Miami played Appalachian State.
Videos shared on social media showed the football fans had their attention drawn away from the game during the first half as the cat struggled to hold on with its two front paws.
Fans below had their hands extended in an effort to catch the cat in the case of a fall. The roar of the crowd swelled each time the cat frantically tried to pull itself up without success.
Eventually, the cat fell, flailing as the crowd erupted, but was caught by fans using an outstretched American flag to break its fall. A group of students was then able to grab it.
A cat survived a dramatic fall Saturday inside a packed American football stadium, after fans created a makeshift net with an American Flag to safely catch the feline. ????
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) September 12, 2021
The stadium later tweeted to confirm the cat was safe… ???????? pic.twitter.com/IjTWEILa2i
Craig Cromer, a Miami fan who works as a facilities manager at the university, told the Miami Herald it was his flag that was used to catch the cat.
Cromer told the outlet that it also peed on the crowd beneath it while the cat dangled for a few minutes.