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Miami Hurricanes fans catch falling cat in American flag during game in chilling video

At the University of Miami and Appalachian State football game, the stray feline was spotted dangling by its claws from the upper bowl of the stadium

The American flag was all over the news on Saturday, September 11. While on one side, a student senator at Washington University was accused of snatching up almost 3,000 American flags used to commemorate the lives lost in the 9/11 terror attacks on the 20th anniversary before throwing them in trash bags, in Miami, the flag became instrumental in rescuing a scared animal.

At the University of Miami and Appalachian State football game on Saturday night, September 11, a stray feline was spotted dangling by its claws from the upper bowl of Hard Rock Stadium. Fans attending the Miami Hurricanes home opener against Appalachian State saw during the first half that a cat not only got loose in the stadium, but it was hanging by a wire that was dangling off the upper deck.

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The cat reportedly writhed and wriggled as it tried to get itself back to safety. As some fans took out their cell phones and began recording, others jumped into action.

Fans below the cat stretched out an American flag that managed to break the animal’s fall when it finally lost its grip. “It hung there for a little while with its two front paws, then one paw, then I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s coming soon,” said Craig Cromer, a facilities manager at the University of Miami who has had Miami Hurricanes season tickets with his wife, Kimberly Cromer, for about seven years. At every game, they hang an American flag over the railing right in front of their seats. 

Once the Cromers realized what was happening, they sprung into action. Craig, per the Miami Herald, ripped his flag free from his zip-ties, and he and his wife stretched it out to create a landing pad for the terrified cat. Their flag broke the fall and let a group of students in the section below grab the cat as it fell to the ground. Kimberly said this was “probably the strangest thing that’s happened. As per the Herald, when they first noticed the creature, the Cromers thought it was a dog. Another fan nearby thought it was someone’s child. 

Video of the incident has since gone viral. One student raised the cat into the air like it was Simba from ‘The Lion King’. Even the Hard Rock Stadium tweeted that a donation had been made to Humane Society Miami in the wake of the cat’s petrifying plunge. The tweet read, “We are happy that due to the heads up nature of fans in sections 107, 110 & 208 the cat landed safely after a harrowing fall. We wish the cat the best in his remaining eight lives. We have made a donation to @humanemiami and encourage fans to do so.”

Craig later told the Herald, “This is my first catch.” On Twitter, the rescuers were applauded for their quick thinking. One person simply wrote, “Heroes.” Another person tweeted, “Thank you for saving the cat!” One tweet also read, “Well at least people still care for animals…… What a trip that cat went on lol.”