Mental Floss

The Quick 10: 10 Times Critters Have Delayed Sporting Events

You've probably heard about the Spurs' Manu Ginobili snatching a bat out of the midair with his bare hands at a game a couple of days ago - and if you haven't, don't worry, there's video below. It's certainly not the first time there's been a creature distraction at a sporting event, although it might be the most impressive quick reaction to one (not necessarily smart, but definitely fast). Check out these 10 critter-related delay of games. And thanks to the fabulous Steven (MoroccoMole on Twitter if you're looking for a fun new person to follow) for the Q10 idea!

1. Squirrel interrupts Cleveland/Chicago game. I found this and was like, "If I wanted to watch three minutes of an annoying squirrel, I'd go sit on my front porch." And then I ended up watching the whole thing and laughed all of the way through it - the commentators are very dryly funny.

2. Seagull steals a golf ball. And then drops it in the water hazard. Whoops! So is that a stroke against the golfer or the bird?

3. As promised, Manu Ginobili catches a bat.

DOG
DOG

5. Randy Johnson annihilates bird. Ever wonder what would happen if a bird was hit by a 95-mph fastball? Here you go:

6. Hawks' mascot wants to be put in the game. The NBA's Atlanta Hawks have a pre-game ritual of letting their Hawk mascot fly around for a second and impress the fans. Usually it does its thing and comes right back to the handler - but this time, he flew around the arena and settled on the backboard. The handler was eventually able to coax it back into its cage as the audience cheered.

7. Dog craps on court. Dog mishaps don't just happen outside. During a Pistons/Magic halftime, a charity organization received a donation. While his owners were receiving the check, a seeing-eye dog decided to go #2 on the court. It took three minutes to clean up the mess, so the Pistons got an extra three minutes of warm up time.

8. Black cat on field in Chicago. It wasn't Halloween, but it was probably still a bad omen when a black cat ran onto the Chicago White Sox field during the eighth inning of a 2002 game against the Texas Rangers.

ducks
ducks

10. Bear uses golf course as playground. During the Senior U.S. Open in Colorado last year, a bear hops on the course and begins frolicking around like it's time for recess.

I know there are others - apparently a baboon once interrupted a golf tournament in Japan - so share your animal interruptions in the comments! Personal stories are welcome as well.